* Germany - BMW's electric car range predictions seem optimistic
(Photo from BMW: The BMW i3 battery-electric car will be shown at the Frankfurt Car Show in September, then go on sale across the world. BMW's new battery and hybrid cars will be sold under the new 'i' brand)
Munich,BAV,Germany -The Detroit News, by Neil Winton -June 22, 2013: --
German luxury car manufacturer BMW stunned this reporter a couple of weeks ago in Paris by saying electric cars will have batteries with twice the current power within four to five years, which will double the range... BMW has its supporters, but that claim was met with some skepticism by experts who see a much slower pace of progress. Others say the drive to produce a battery-only vehicle which competes head on with traditional engines is doomed and will only succeed if electric cars are designed with less weight, shorter range and more modest utility ambitions. Charging technology needs to leap forward too...
* USA - Electric Vehicles not sustainable
(Photo: The GM-Saturn Flextreme)
Washington,DC,USA -Road Ahead, by John McElroy -Jun. 24, 2013: -- The problem is the entire EV industry and infrastructure is being pushed by government mandates and subsidies, not by natural market demand... Several issues have come to light recently that call into question the environmental benefits of electric vehicles. It’s all got to do with how EVs are manufactured and recycled, as well as how the electricity they use gets generated. These are issues that will not be resolved easily... The EPA report, titled “Application of Life-Cycle Assessment to Nanoscale Technology: Lithium-ion Batteries for Electric Vehicles,” adds the cathode issue could be solved using nano technology, but the energy required to manufacture those cathodes currently is prohibitive... Another EV study that came out this year, “Comparative Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Conventional and Electric Vehicles,” published in the Journal of Industrial Ecology by Yale University, says the carbon footprint of EVs could be “indistinguishable from those of a diesel vehicle” depending on how far they are driven and where they get electricity... The key to these two studies is they look at the life-cycle energy use of EVs. That means they calculate all the energy needed to manufacture the vehicles, plus the amount and sources of energy used in operation and the energy needed to recycle them. Unlike some auto makers who advertise their EVs are zero-emissions vehicles (are you listening Nissan?), these studies show EVs are anything but emissions free...Labels: carmakers news worldwide, electric vehicles EV
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