In a scene reminiscent of GM cruising almost all its EV1 electric cars in the deplorable end to its EV program documented in the Who Killed the Electric Car? movie, BlueIndy electric cars were destroyed in a scrapyard.
But it’s not as bad as you would think.
When GM crushed its EV1 vehicles, it was to erase any trace of its program that was only built to comply with California regulations.
As soon as they didn’t have to, they recalled all the vehicles, which were only leased, even the drivers wanted to buy them from GM, and they crushed them all.
The entire ordeal was beautifully documented in Chris Paine’s Who Killed the Electric Car? movie.
That’s the first thing that came to mind when I saw BlueIndy sending dozens of its electric cars to the scrapyard (via local news WTHR):
However, the situation and the intention behind it are not as bad as the end of the EV1 program.
These electric cars are known as the Bolloré Bluecar.
It’s a small four-seat, three-door electric car designed by Pininfarina and built by French company Bolloré.
The vehicle has primarily been used as part of car-sharing programs, like the BlueIndy one in Indianapolis.
BlueIndy started in 2015 and grew to 280 vehicles, but only 3,000 people ended up signing up for the program, resulting in them shutting it down last year.
Only a small fraction of vehicles are being destroyed, and not before saving the battery pack and several other key components.
James Delgado, vice president of Blue Systems, commented:
Some of the cars with body damage are indeed being scrapped after the LMP batteries and key components/parts have been removed and stored.
The battery packs are going to be used in energy storage systems and vehicles that are still in good condition are being sent to their car-sharing fleet in Los Angeles.
Electrek’s Take
While I never like to see EVs off the road, this is not like the EV1.
It doesn’t show a problem with EVs as much as it shows a problem with car sharing, which hasn’t caught up in many markets.
Autolib’, BlueIndy, and BlueCity all shut down in the last two years.
Some services had more success, and I still think it could be part of the solution for some people until we get a fleet of self-driving, ride-sharing electric vehicles.
What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below.
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