The SMILE, latest entry in Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEV)

It looks a little like a Smart Car, but is even smaller. It's called a SMILE, a battery-electric-vehcile (BEV).

The SMILE is assembled in South Carolina from parts made in China, the SMILE is a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV).

Right now, the single SMILE is the prototype, the only one of its kind. But its manufacturer, South Carolina-based Star EV, plans to have them rolling out of the factory in Apri 2011.

The vehicle will sell for about $10,000, has a top speed of 40 km/h and gets about 55 km on one charge.

The entire world of street-legal NEVs is growing. Nine years ago, a little more than a dozen US states permitted NEVs on streets (none in Canada). Now, there are only a few US states that don't (in Canada only the province of British Columbia permits the NEV on streets.