The first mainstream cars that plug into the electric grid are not expected for another year—but the battle to provide charging and battery services to those early adopters is already heating up. The tension between two companies—General Motors and Better Place—which might provide those services was palpable on Monday during a panel discussion in Palo Alto, Calif., entitled “Electric Cars: Transformational Change or Niche Trend?”
To get a better understanding of electric car adoption across the pond, the automotive group at global consulting firm Frost & Sullivan interviewed nearly 2,000 consumers in the UK, France, Germany, and Italy—mostly in London, Berlin, Paris and Milan. "Consumers see major barriers to adoption with factors such as infrastructure and range,” said Frost and Sullivan auto industry manager Catherine Butterworth. Adopters of electric cars are likely to be from France or the UK, aged 26-35 or older than 55, male, and have high disposable income.
The theme of the 2009 Tokyo Auto Show 2009 is “Fun Driving for Us, Eco Driving for Earth.” So, it’s no surprise that Japan’s biggest automakers will be rolling out their funkiest electric cars—vehicles that can lean, download files from home, and carry smaller electric unicycles. The show opens to the public on Oct. 24.
According to Fox News, the US Department of Energy threw away nearly $1 billion in loans to Fisker Automotive and Tesla Motors—two Calif.-based auto startups trying to produce the next generation of American-made energy-efficient cars. On several of its shows, including America's Newsroom and Your World, Fox News criticized the loans because Fisker and Tesla currently produce expensive cars that are made in Europe.
The smash hit IPO of lithium ion battery maker A123 Systems is sending waves of euphoria through the clean tech and plug-in car market. Mass.-based A123 Systems is now worth nearly $2 billion—indicating huge investor confidence in the future of electric cars, plug-in hybrids, and the batteries that make them go. Yet, A123 has yet to make a profit and faces significant hurdles to mass commercial success.
The race toward sustainable mobility is moving car companies in odd and unexpected directions. For example, Honda today unveiled the U3-X, a compact electric personal mobility device that fits between the rider’s legs to provide movement forward, backward, side-to-side, and diagonally.
BYD, the Chinese car company backed by investment guru Warren Buffet, has big dreams. The company hopes to be China’s No. 1 automaker in about five years and to be the world’s leading carmaker by 2025. And they plan to get there by selling green cars.
For the past few months, Nissan-Renault has been tiptoeing around the idea of leasing the battery packs that power its upcoming electric cars. The goal is to assuage consumer worries about getting stung with the high cost of replacing an electric car battery if it fails or loses too much capability over the course of years. Nissan has not confirmed details, but recent comments from executives show that the company is seriously considering the idea.
After years of complaints from blind pedestrians that ultra-quiet hybrid cars pose a safety threat, the auto industry is responding by producing on-board devices that emit sounds, such as jet engines, boings, or human voice saying, “Excuse me.” One day, electric car and hybrid drivers might download “vroomtones” for their cars, the way they download ringtones for cell phones today.
By the end of the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show, Volkswagen will have unveiled as many as nine world premier vehicles. What’s the common denominator? “Maximum efficiency," according to VW. The coolest in the bunch is the L1, a two-seat hybrid concept that could get hundreds of miles per gallon, and the E-Up! all-electric minicar. With these concepts, VW is pointing to small innovative platforms, new levels of aerodynamic design, and electric or hybrid drive.
