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L.A. Auto Show: Volvo C30 goes electric

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Volvo’s electric C30 made its North American debut Wednesday. Volvo chose to make an electric C30, in development for 18 months, because the car was the lightest and smallest of its fleet.

The two-door four-seater is capable of traveling up to 100 miles on a charge and reaching a top speed of 81 miles per hour. The cells of its 24-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery unit are made in the U.S. by the Indiana firm EnerDel. The permanent magnet motor is rated at 84 kilowatts and can propel the car from 0 to 61 miles per hour in 10.5 seconds.

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As a safety measure, the drive unit is located in rigid areas least prone to be impacted in a crash -- in a reinforced tunnel along the car’s center and between its rear wheels.

Production of a test fleet begins in the second quarter of 2011. The price of the C30 electric hasn’t been set, but some test cars will available in the U.S. late next year.

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-- Susan Carpenter

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