Electric cars at Paris car show
Updated on 03 October 2008
As the race to offer the first commercially viable electric car charges up, carmakers hoping to cash in on environmental concerns displayed a slew of models at the Paris Motor Show.
But executives acknowledged that uncertainties linger over the batteries needed to power them - technology needs to advance to meet cost and weight requirements, and infrastructure to recharge them is lacking.
Some of the models on show are still prototypes - such as Renault's Z.E. Concept - while others such as Daimler's all-electric Smart ED, have entered the test phase.
Most of them will not be commercially available for several years - and even then carmakers say they will struggle to meet demand.
"The investments needed for electric cars are colossal," Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn said during the auto show, which runs for two weeks.
"The question is not whether demand will be sufficient. It is whether supply will be able to follow the demand that is already out there," he said.
Electric vehicles have been around for over a century. In 1899, the wiener-shaped "Jamais Contente" or "Never Happy" broke the 100-kilometre-per-hour (60 mph) barrier when motor cars still were a rare sight.
Hindering the development of the electric car was its capacity for energy storage - batteries lacked the performance and range required for regular use.
Since then, the technology has developed, and analysts say recent developments in lithium-ion cell technology - which Daimler, Renault, General Motors and Chrysler plan to use - are promising.
Demand is being led by environmental concerns and by legislation - new EU rules are being shaped to limit carbon dioxide emissions.
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