Electric cars might be the solution to our dependence on oil, but how close are they to reality, asks Kyle Fortune
AMONG THE numerous placards outside Detroit’s Cobo Center at the North American International Auto Show this year, one asked: “Who killed the electric car?” According to the film of the same name, it was General Motors (GM) – a decision the company has regretted ever since.
GM was surprisingly forward-looking when its EV1 project was introduced in 1996. But the project was canned in 2003 – to the delight of conspiracy theorists and shock of the passionate few who secured a lease deal on GM’s electric wonder.
It’s impossible to predict how GM might look today, had it pursued its electric dreams. Certainly, the GM line-up in the Motor City in 2009 doesn’t offer a fully electric car, at least not until 2010, when the Chevrolet Volt hits the showroom. GM chief executive Rick Wagoner is on record as saying that cancelling the EV1 was the “worst decision” he’s made, and that not investing in hybrids was a mistake.
Of that there’s no doubt, as GM trails Japanese firms Toyota and Honda in providing hybrids, a position underlined by Toyota’s unveiling of its third-generation Prius in Detroit and the anticipation of worldwide annual sales of around 400,000 in its full year of production.
Where GM and America stalled, others stepped up. Electric cars were central to the model strategies of all the companies exhibiting in Detroit.
Daimler’s chief executive, Dr Dieter Zetsche – speaking on the eve of the show – promised that electric cars would be part of the firm’s future and that the company anticipated having an production model on the road within the next two years.
We already know the Smart Fortwo is due to be the recipient of plug-in motive power, with a Tesla-supplied battery. BMW has 500 electric Mini-E models undergoing tests in the hands of real users. Mitsubishi has gone a step further with a plug-in, battery-powered version of its “i” city car in production.
Even GM’s vice chairman of global product development Bob Lutz admitted that “electricity is the best opportunity to replace gas” as he unveiled Cadillac’s Converj concept, which uses the same Voltec electric drive as the 2010 Chevrolet Volt.
But the Voltec system isn’t completely free from oil dependence, as the “range-extending” onboard generator, which kicks in if the electric-only range is not enough, is a petrol engine.
The race to electrify is definitely on. Ford announced it is accelerating its electric vehicle plans and will have three long-range “EVs” available by 2012.
But for all the talk, there are only a handful of viable electric cars available to buy. Certainly, Irish registration statistics reveal no Teslas, Fiskers or even one Mitsubishi i-MiEV. The ones you can buy today, though, are built by relatively small companies and come with plenty of compromises regarding range, performance, speed of charging and crash worthiness.
Mitsubishi is leading the production charge with its i-MiEV. The Japanese firm expects to build 2,000 i-MiEVs in 2009, 10,000 by the end of 2010 – and double that when a new plant is finished, in 2012.
Performance and range remain key issues. The i-MiEV needs a six-hour charge after 130-160km, and it drains quicker if your commute takes in roads where the traffic flows rather than trickles. Mini’s E and the Tesla Roadster offer similar ranges, though they also offer the sort of performance customers have come to expect from cars. That’s something Fisker promised in Detroit from its beautiful Karma.
Regardless of performance, electric cars all suffer from “range anxiety”. Until they can offer the endless range and refuelling capacity of conventional engines via infrastructural changes, many carry on-board means of recharging, such as Voltec’s petrol engine.
It’s not an American, European, Japanese or even Korean manufacturer, though, that caused sparks to fly in the Cobo Center’s halls. Instead, the honour fell to Chinese upstart Build Your Dreams (BYD), the ambitious firm that showed two electric cars at the show.
The F6 DM is an all-electric saloon that the Chinese firm claims can travel 402km on one charge. What’s more, BYD claims a 50 per cent recharge is possible in just 10 minutes. That’s significantly shorter than any other electric car.
To achieve that fast charge you’ll need to find a charging point – infrastructure is a key issue, and let’s not forget the questions of how the electricity supply system would cope, and where and how efficiently the necessary electricity is produced.
If it’s a case of reducing CO2 consumption, the electric car merely pushes the emissions further up the supply chain, rather than exiting via an exhaust pipe. All of these questions will eventually be answered.
So, who killed the electric car? Who cares – as, really, it’s barely even been born.