Raser just announced that its electric Hummer was able to 50 miles on its battery only in a driving test. The course used included both simulated highway and city driving conditions, and speeds of up to 60 mph.

In  a press release, Jim Spellman, Vice President of Business Development, explained the test results and their significance:

“I am very proud of our team and their work to reach this important milestone. Battery range of this innovative vehicle was more than sufficient to exceed our performance target of 40 miles in all-electric mode. In fact the H3E drove over 50 miles using only approximately 60% of the battery pack. This initial test indicates that the vehicle should easily achieve over 100 miles per gallon in typical local daily driving. The positive results from this test indicate that we can downsize our battery pack, reducing cost and weight of the vehicle, and still achieve the 40 mile all-electric range needed for optimized typical driving.”

“It’s important to note that Raser’s electric Hummer H3E can achieve similar results to the Chevy Volt,” added Mr. Spellman. “The main difference is that our electric powertrain can be used in larger vehicles, such as SUVs and trucks. In fact, if we were to employ the method we believe was used recently by GM to estimate city fuel economy for the Volt, the electric Hummer H3E could achieve more than 190 mpg in city driving using about 70% of the battery pack.”