Japanese company Teijin Ltd. has unveiled its ultra-light PU_PA electric car built with carbon-fiber materials developed by the company.
The PU_PA electric car was made with technologies for trimming weight, hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and electric vehicles (EVs). It is exhibited at Teijin Mirai Studio, the company’s exhibition hall, from March 30, 2010.
The two-seater lightweight PU_PA EV weighs just 437 kilograms, about half that of rival electric cars.
About 80 percent of the concept car is made with Teijin materials. The PU_PA electric car has an average running speed of 60km/h and can hit 100km per charge.
Carbon-fiber materials developed by Teijin, at one-fifth the weight of steel but 10 times stronger, is used for the vehicle body. Special plastics are used for the windows.
Teijin will use its innovative concept car as a marketing tool to showcase the group’s environmentally responsive technologies and customer-oriented solutions.
As a symbolic electric concept car, it is infused with proprietary advanced technologies:
Weight Reduction
– Body incorporating a core structure made of carbon fiber composite material.
– Windows made of polycarbonate resin with a heat absorbing function weighing only half as much as glass.
– Modularized parts made with single-piece molding, etc., reducing total parts to about 20.
Biotechnology
– Interior items (seats, floor mats, etc.) made with bio-derived polyester.
Reduced Environmental Burden
– Metal-toned TEFLEX PET film, used as an alternative to chrome plating.- Low-noise tire cord made with TEONEX polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) fiber.
Electronics
– Multi-device communication using CELL FORM two-dimensional communication sheet.