The Smart fortwo ED is an upcoming pure electric car. It will be built by Daimler and use lithium-ion battery packs supplied by Tesla Motors. Testing of prototypes has been underway in Europe since 2007.
Earlier this year Daimler announced it would be bringing the vehicle into global production including the United States. Vehicle deliveries are intended to begin in 2010.
Coulomb Technology is the California-based start-up that has been deploying smart networked public electric car chargers. The company has been officially been selected by Daimler to exclusively supply the chargers for home use that will come with the electric smarts.
Coulomb offers unique wireless communication technology embedded in the chargers. This allows users to check charger availability and status via an online interface. The technology also allows for a subscription service so users can charge their EV at any Coulomb charger. These have already started being deployed in the public sphere across the nation.
The Smart program is Coulomb's first step into the home charger market.
“smart USA is demonstrating their commitment to reducing emissions and dependency on foreign oil with the introduction of their electric drive smart fortwo,” said Richard Lowenthal, CEO of Coulomb Technologies. “We are proud to say that our partnership with smart USA will provide their electric car buyers with home and public charging capabilities including energy cost optimization, web and smartphone-based charging management services, and high availability through remote monitoring. The adoption of advanced public and home infrastructure is essential for the launch of these electric vehicles.”
Source (Coulomb)
