Two recent articles paint pictures of the future of cars powered partly or fully by electricity. Reported by the DOE's Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE) division, the LA Auto Show made some of the trends visible. The most prominent, to my mind, was that US companies only showed two vehicles: two new hybrids from Ford. Much busier were European and Japanese companies, including BMW with its all electric MINI E (pictured here).
The trend towards foreign leadership in the electric car space is buttressed by this piece: "Foreign companies advance in race for electric car". The story here is positive for US interests in terms of creating a fertile infrastructure environment for electrics, as California's leaders are teaming with Shai Agassi & Project Better Place with the expressed goal of making San Francisco the “Electric Vehicle Capital of the U.S.” Notably absent in this work, however, are the Big 3 US car makers. Right now, they face short term structural and existential challenges and may not have the bandwidth to invest much in the future. Here's hoping they survive long enough to reinvent themselves ... and their cars.
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