Battery-Only Cars Face Avalanche of Negatives

France, International, Marketing/Market Forces and Sales, Opinions, UK (United Kingdom)

June 9, 2010

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by Neil Winton (Detroit News) …The only way that unaffordable, impractical, battery-only cars will sell is because of huge government subsidies, and a few early-adopter zealots with too much money who don’t mind being stranded every couple of weeks. Germany, Britain and the rest of Europe are involved in planning massive, painful and unprecedented spending cuts to their welfare, pension and public health schemes. Guess which government budgets will survive the cull; money for rich people who already have $30,000 to buy a second car, or funds for the poor?

So as the launch of the first battery-only electric cars approaches, the evidence is building. They cost too much. They have limited and unpredictable range. Claims that they emit zero carbon dioxide are erroneous, unless you live in nuclear-powered France, or hydroelectric Switzerland. Plans to have a store of charged batteries ready to replace spent ones might make sense in small countries like Israel and Denmark (as planned by Renault of France and Better Place), but the economics of the scheme don’t look compelling. READ MORE

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