Pioneer Announces Car Navigation System Specifically Designed For Electric Vehicles

Serkan Toto

Dr. Serkan Toto is an independent consultant and advisor focusing on Japan’s web, mobile and social gaming industries. Based in Tokyo, he works together with financial institutions and startups worldwide. Serkan has been the Japan contributor for TechCrunch.com since 2008. He is sept-lingual, holds an MBA and is a PhD in economics. → Learn More

Wednesday, July 6th, 2011

First an Augmented Reality-based car navigation system, now a model that’s specifically designed for electric vehicles: Pioneer has today announced [JP] the AVIC-ZH09-MEV, which doubles as a multimedia entertainment system and comes with a number of functions that are supposed to make the lives of EV drivers easier. According to Pioneer, it’s the first car navigation system of its kind.

Pioneer says their device can help drivers to extend battery life by taking into account factors like wind resistance, power left, and the amount of power that can be generated through decelerating when displaying routes. It also shows how much energy you are using with your driving style and indicates the nearest charging stations, too.

The device features a 7-inch screen with VGA resolution and LED backlight, an 80GB HDD, a TV tuner, a CD/DVD player, Bluetooth, a USB port, an SD card slot, and 50W×4ch speakers.

Pioneer plans to roll out the AVIC-ZH09-MEV in Japan this month (price: $3,045).