Dutch satellite navigation company TomTom has unveiled its first electric car navigation system at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show.
The Carminat TomTom Z.E. Live, which will be featured on Renault electric cars, is a collaboration to extend TomTom’s navigation product to electric cars.
The Carminat TomTom Z.E LIVE receives information from the battery on its current state of charge, which is used to determine the available range of the vehicle.
This information is then visualized on the navigation screen, showing the journey against the available range and the routes to the charge stations.
This will help to effectively plan charging and remove drivers’ “range anxiety”, giving them confidence that their journey can be completed. The system also includes an eco-routing – providing the driver with an option to select the most energy efficient route.
In case a stop is needed on the way, the Carminat TomTom Z.E. Live also contains a list of over 5,000 European charging stations, providing information in real-time about the availability of stations so that drivers can stop and ‘fill-up’ when necessary.
The first vehicle to feature the system will be the Renault Fluence Z.E., set to hit the roads later this year in Europe and currently on display at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show.
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