The Wheego LiFe was an early-2010s limited-production

all-electric An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors for propulsion. It can be powered by a collector system, with electricity from extravehicular sources, or it can be powered autonomously by a battery (sometimes cha ...

city car developed by American automobile manufacturer Wheego Technologies from the bodyshell of the Chinese-made

Shuanghuan Noble The Shuanghuan Noble (also sold as the Shuanghuan Bubble, the Martin Motors Noble and the Martin Motors Bubble) is a 4-seater Chinese hatchback that was made by Shuanghuan Auto. It was sold in various European and Asian countries and has generated ...

. The Wheego LiFe was unveiled at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show and was sold in the United States at a price of US$32,995 before any applicable tax credits and other incentives. The Wheego LiFe was built with a 30 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery pack and had an all-electric range of . The first delivery took place in April 2011 to a customer in Atlanta. A total of approximately 300 whips and 100 LiFes were sold through 2013, when production ceased.

History

Wheego Electric Cars Autonomous Fusion, formerly WHEEGO Technologies, is an American company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. WHEEGO develops vehicle technologies including: software, systems, tools for self-driving cars or autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligen ...

Inc. was formed as a spin out from RTEV (Ruff & Tuff Electric Vehicles) in June 2009 and its first automobile was a two-seat compact car under the

Wheego Whip The Wheego Whip was an early-2010s limited-production all-electric city car developed by Wheego Technologies, made from the bodyshell of the Shuanghuan Noble. A total of approximately 300 units were sold through 2013, when production ceased. H ...

name in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

and marketed by

Shuanghuan Auto Shuanghuan Auto (officially Shijiazhuang Shuanghuan Automobile Co., Ltd.) (双环汽车) was a Chinese automobile manufacturer headquartered in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, founded by Zhao Zhigang. It was established in April 1988 and acquired t ...

in China as the E-Noble, its brand name for the rest of the world. In the U.S. it was to be launched in August 2009 as a low-speed vehicle with a top speed of or as a Medium Speed Vehicle with a maximum speed of , depending on local state regulations. These versions used

dry cell upLine art drawing of a dry cell: 1. brass cap, 2. plastic seal, 3. expansion space, 4. porous cardboard, 5. zinc can, 6. carbon rod, 7. chemical mixture A dry cell is a type of electric battery, commonly used for portable electrical devices. Un ...

sealed AGM lead–acid batteries, with an

all-electric range All-electric range (AER) is the maximum driving range of an electric vehicle using only power from its on-board battery pack to traverse a given driving cycle. In the case of an all-electric vehicle, it means the maximum range per recharge. For ...

of on a single charge, and capable of recharging on any standard household 110 or 220-volt electrical outlet.

Production and sales

The 2011 Wheego LiFe production model used a 30

kWh A kilowatt-hour (unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a unit of energy: one kilowatt of power for one hour. In terms of SI derived units with special names, it equals 3.6 megajoules (MJ). Kilowatt-hours are a common bil ...

lithium iron phosphate battery pack, could reach speeds up to and Wheego Electric Cars claimed that it had an

of . The chassis was the same as the

, which once imported from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

was reinforced for safety in the U.S. assembly plant to pass U.S. crash-testing. Final assembly took place in Corona, California. Around 73% of the vehicle was composed of American products giving it a high domestic content rating. The first Wheego LiFe was delivered to a customer in Atlanta, Georgia on April 22 (

Earth Day Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EarthDay.org (formerly Earth Day Network) including 1 b ...

), 2011. As of March 2012, the company had manufactured 36 cars since April 2011, and only two cars were left in inventory. Wheego's business strategy was to build the cars only when the company gets money from sales or through venture capital. About 400 units were sold through 2013, when production ended.

Specifications

The 2011 Wheego LiFe had the following specifications:Wheego.
2011 Wheego LiFe Technical Specifications
". Wheego.net. * Battery: 30 kWh (36 3.2 V cells at 260 Ah) lithium iron phosphate battery pack. * Motor: Nominal , peak horsepower * Range: * Torque: 95 lb⋅ft (129 N⋅m) * Charge capable: 120 V and 240 V * Charging time: From 50% SoC to 100% Soc 5 hours with Level 2 charging system * On-board charge port: J1772 compliant * Top speed: at 8,500 rpm

References

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History

Production and sales

Specifications

References

Further reading