ULV electric car goes on sale in Japan

The ULV (“Ultra Lightweight Vehicle”) one-person electric car has just gone gold in Japan – by that, we mean it is ready to rock the personal transportation market in that part of the world, thanks to Waseda Environmental Institute’s efforts. Coming with a trio of wheels to move its 72.6kg frame around, this 2m long car is able to travel up to 80km at a maximum speed of 40kph. A single charge requires four hours of your time, at a cost of $0.40. To make it greener, Waseda relies on motor bike tires, a 400W engine and reinforced plastic to make up its chassis. Waseda isn’t running a charity here though, and has priced the ULV at $48,000 – nuts considering you can’t even ferry your date around. Hopefully, mass production and market demand will help push the price down to $9,500 by the time 2015 rolls around.