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CityElWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

CityEl
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

TheCityElisa3wheellightweightelectriccarcurrentlymadeinGermanybyCitycomGmbH.

Contents
1History
2Technicalspecifications
3Seealso
4References
5Externallinks

1992MiniEl'Basic'sideview

History
TheCityElwasoriginallydevelopedastheMiniElbyDanishcompanyElTransA/SinRandersandwas
firstbroughtontothemarketbythemin1987.AfterElTransA/Shadtogiveupproductionin1988and
twosubsequentmanufacturers(Eltrans1A/Sin1991andEltrans89A/Sin1995),CitycomDenmarkA/S,a
Germaninvestor,tookoverandmovedthecompanytoAub.In2009thecompanywasrenamedSmiles
AG,whenitstartedtosellelectricvehiclesofotherbrandsbesidestheirownbutthreeyearslaterSmiles
experiencedfinancialdifficultiesandproductionoftheCityElrestartedwithCityComGmbH.
Thevehicleisforoneperson,seatedcentrally.Ratherthanconventionaldoors,thewholetophalfofthe
vehiclehingesupwardsongasstrutsallowingaccesstothecockpit.Anoptionalchildseatallowsthecarto
carryachild(upto30kg),sittingbehindthefrontseatontheenginecompartment,facingbackwards.The
driveroperatescarlikecontrols(steeringwheel,brakeandthrottlepedals)althoughthevehicleisclassed
asanelectricmotorcycleinsomecountries.
Therehavebeenthreebodystylessinceproductionstarted.The'Basic'versionhasacompletelysolidroof.
Someversionshaveplexiglasssidewindows.TheConvertiblewasafullyopenversionnolongermadeby
CityCom.Initsplacethe'Targa'versionwasconstructed,witharemovablecentresofttopbutsolidrear
windows.InAmericatheCityElwassoldwithadifferentroof,madeoutoffibreglass.[1]Thisroofis
slightlydifferentfromthefactorybuiltCityElroof.

Technicalspecifications
Theolderversionhada36volt,2.5kWmotorwiththree80Ahleadacidbatteries,a40km/h(25mph)
(Series1)to55km/h(34mph)(Series2andup)topspeedandarangeof60to70km(37to43mi)
(Series1)or40to50km(25to31mi)(Series2).TheconsumptionfromSeries2andupwas7to
9kWh/100km.ThenewversionFactFourhasfourleadacidbatteries,amuchbetter4kWelectricmotor
thatprovidesa63km/h(39mph)topspeedand70to90km(43to56mi)range.Theconsumptionis3.5to
5kWh/100km.WhentheFactFourwasintroduced,Smiliesstartedtoofferalithiumionbatteryasan
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alternative,givingthevehiclearangeofmorethan120km(75mi).TheCityElisregularlymodifiedby
enthusiastsanditiscommontoseeCityElspoweredbyalternativebatteries,suchasthenickelcadmium
batteryoradifferentlithiumionbattery.TheimprovedperformanceandrangegiventotheCityElby
usingsuchbatteriesmakethemaviabletowncommutingvehiclewithenoughaccelerationtokeepupwith
citytraffic.
ACityElweighs280kg(620lb),andthefrontendcanbeliftedquiteeasily.Whenthebatteriesare
removeditispossibleforthreepeopletoliftaCityElofftheground.WhenaCityElisretrofittedwith100
AHThunderskylithiumionbatteries,thecarbecomes
approximately70kg(150lb)lighter,bringingtheweightoftheCity
Elwellunderthatofsomemotorbikes.Atthispointthedriverhas
totakeextremecaredrivingat50km/h(31mph)ormorein
moderatecrosswindstopreventtheCityElfrombeingblown
about.

Seealso
Cyclecar

1997CityEl'Targa'(or'fun')

References
1. ^1993CityComCityEl(http://www.evalbum.com/1160)at
avalbum.com

HansUlrichvonMende,MatthiasDietz&BenediktTaschen
(Sep1994),Kleinwagen,SmallCars,PetitesVoitures,
Taschen.ISBN3822889105
CoverageonCityEl

43V100AHlithiumionupgraded
CityEl

(http://www3.ndr.de/ndrtv_pages_std/0,3147,OID1601902,00.html)intheTVshow"Das!mobil",
July27,2005,onGermanTVchannelNDRFernsehen
CoverageinGermanmagazineSolarmobil(http://www.solarmobil.de/zeitschrift/),issues55/56,57,
and59.ISSN0941102X

Externallinks
Germanhomepageoftheproducer(http://www.cityel.de/)
Frenchhomepageoftheimporter(http://www.cityel.fr/)
Danishhomepageoftheimporter(http://www.cityel.dk/)
Service/Dealerhomepage(http://www.elektromobilcenter.com/)(German)
Service/DealerHomepage(http://www.greendrive.dk/)(Danish)
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CityElandFactFour(http://car.pege.org/type/cityel.htm)
BritishCityEldriverwhousesherCityElasdailytransport(http://www.aminorjourney.com/)
BatteryVehicleSocietywithactiveCityElforum(http://www.batteryvehiclesociety.org.uk/)
GermanforumforCityElowners(http://www.elweb.info/)anditswiki
(http://www.elweb.info/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=cityel)
YahooEnglishLanguagegroupforCityElandMiniElowners
(http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/MinielCityel/)
Elektromobil(http://www.elektromobil.com/),GermanlanguagesiteforCityELandotherelectric
vehicles
DutchsitewithlotsofinformationabouttheCityEL(http://www.cityel.eu/)
EcoCarForum(http://www.ecocarforum.com/),includesforumforecofriendlycarsincludingthe
CityEL
Ellert.info(http://ellert.info/),Danishsite,withlotsofinformationabouttheCityELandMiniel]
Retrievedfrom"http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=CityEl&oldid=606244870"
Categories: Threewheeledmotorvehicles Electriccars MotorvehiclemanufacturersofDenmark
MotorvehiclemanufacturersofGermany
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