Abstract

Within the departments Environmentally Sustainable Transport and Automotive of TNO (Netherlands organisation for applied scientific research) several projects investigating safety aspects of electric vehicles have been conducted, including one in cooperation with KEMA and RDW of the Netherlands. Most attention in these projects was given to cars that were converted to electric, starting from conventional vehicles. This choice was made because most of the electric vehicles present in the Netherlands are of the converted kind. Only recently larger numbers of OEM Electric Vehicles have become available. In the study practical safety guidelines for the companies involved in the conversion business have been established. In general it can be concluded that converted vehicles carry greater safety risks due to the way they are made (retrofit) and different, less stringent approval tests for individually modified vehicles. This study presents a strategy to -focusing on safety- optimally convert to electric. Electric, functional as well as crash safety were covered and recommendations were given for each.