Canadian Electric Vehicles FAQs

Electric Vehicle Frequently Asked Questions

if any topic, question or suggestion you have is not here and or you would like it here, please email us

and let us know or phone and ask us directly thanks very much!

Customer questions

What's the cost of the Neon Conversion Kit? The kit price varies depending on the system. It ranges from about $9Kus to about $12Kus, Batteries add between $2500 and $3500.

Are you available to perform the conversion? Yes here on site.

What is the cost of installation? . We have about a 3 month waiting list at the moment but its getting longer. Please call for a quote

How fast will it beYou quote the range as being up to 50 miles depending on batteries. If I want more range (100 miles), is there a battery on the market that you might recommend? The 144 volt car gets 25 - 35 miles range, the 168 volt car gets 30-40 miles range and the AC car should get 50 miles at 45 MPH. You can double or triple this range with lithium batteries but they add $25K to the cost.

I see that the Neon was changed in the year 2000. What year(s) Neon do you prefer for installation of your kit? We have two kits to cover the two body styles.

My limited research thus far shows some advantages to an AC motor. Do you offer this as an option? ? We have a new AC system that will produce a nice "town car" with a top speed of about 45 -50 mph. It is in development and should be in the $10K range. The 144 volt kit starts at 9K and the 168 volt kit with the Zilla starts at about $12K.

Do your DC kits offer regenerative braking? No on-road DC system offers regen.

As mentioned, I live in Portland. I see you have a few Neons at your facility. If all looks good, may I come up for a test drive? I want to be certain that this is a car I am comfortable driving before taking the plunge. We usually have a Neon in stock for test drives. (currently a 144 volt DC system)

" Do you have a kit for my car?"
We only have the three complete conversion kits that are on our web site.
CEV can supply all the basic electric drive system for you to convert almost any vehicle however you would have to built all the vehicle specific parts like motor mounts and battery box's. You would also have to deal with the increased weight of the vehicle by finding and adding heavier springs. We could not help with wiring other than the basic drive system.
*It is not practical to convert a vehicle with an automatic transmission due to the losses, this will decrease the range of an electric conversion.
*It is not practical to convert a 4 wd vehicle due to the added weight and drag of the 4 wd system.
*It is not practical to convert a large car or full size trucks due to there added weight.
*You are much better off in the end to sell the vehicle you have and buy a vehicle that we offer a kit for. The kits come with very detailed installation manuals which makes the conversion relatively easy.

I was wondering if you could answer a question that you've probably been asked a million times (I apologize in advance). Why does the industry rely on batteries to store electricity? I mean, why can't people use an output shaft of a motor to spin a generator that will provide electricity? I realize batteries would be needed to start the process but wouldn't the number of batteries required be reduced if you could use this generator type setup? Do a net search for perpetual motion and I'm sure all your questions will be answered.

I want to convert a 1972 VW Van, with the parts you supply. Do you have instructions on how to convert the vehicle?

We only have complete installation manuals for the S-10, Geo and Neon. If you can imagine how many different makes, models and years of vehicles on the road it would be impossible to have detailed instructions for them all. We can provide one of those (S-10, Geo or Neon) manuals which will give you the basic idea of what is involved. All conversions use the same "basic kit" of parts. The only real changes are battery box's and motor mounts.