Hamburg (dpa) - As petrol prices continue to hit the roof, the world's
major car makers are rushing ahead with plans to produce huge numbers
of zero-emission electric vehicles at affordable prices.

Toyota, General Motors and Mercedes all recently announced that an electric car will be in the showroom in the next two years.

Toyota appears to be a nose ahead of its competitors after CEO
Katsuaki Watanabe recently announced at a press conference in Tokyo
that the car industry had no choice but to move away from fossil-
burning fuels.

"Without focusing on measures to address global warming and energy
issues, there can be no future for our car business," he said. "Our
view is that oil production will peak in the near future. We need to
develop power trains for alternative energy sources."

Toyota has assigned a group of 50 research engineers to develop a
more powerful battery for the hybrid and electric car. The lithium- ion
battery currently being tested has itself been a revolution in
extending the range of the electric car. Toyota has announced that it
will offer hybrid versions of all its models in the next ten to 20
years. A plug-in hybrid will go on sale in 2010.

Toyota's plans come after General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner announced
that its Chevrolet Volt electric car will go on sale in 2010 at a price
of under 30,000 dollars after the concern had to concede huge losses on
the SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle) and pickup truck market with customers
turning to smaller and more economical cars in the United States.

The German car makers Mercedes Benz, BMW and Volkswagen are
following a dual strategy. Both are fine-tuning the technology of the
petrol and diesel engine while at the same time working on plug-in
electric cars.

Mercedes has announced an electric drive version of the Smart
minicar powered by lithium-ion batteries for 2012. Some 100 electric
Smarts are currently being tested as fleet cars in London. At the same
time it has announced small-scale production of a fuel-cell version of
the B-Class in 2010.

Mercedes claims that the next generation fuel cell drive is capable
of cold-start at temperatures below minus 25 degrees Celsius and has a
significantly higher range of 400 kilometres. The B-Class F-Cell is to
sell at a price similar to the petrol model with a price range of
between 21,800 and 28,000 euros.

VW CEO Martin Winterkorn recently told Germany's mass-circulation
BILD tabloid: "There is no way past diesel and petrol cars over the
next few years but the future belongs to the plug-in electric car".

Fuel consumption of new Volkswagens, BMWs and Audis has been
reduced by between10 and 15 per cent with weight-reduction measures,
engine management systems and start-stop technology. The Blue Motion
diesels have emission figures similar to petrol cars combined with
hybrid technology.

The VW Polo Blue Motion for instance has a carbon dioxide emission
figure of only 99 grammes per kilometre. Winterkorn says he wants to
bring fuel consumption of the Golf down to between three and four
litres.

Nissan meanwhile is starting a global offensive for an electric car
market. It has announced that it will build a range of electric cars in
the "near future". Nissan, owned by Renault, is reportedly planning a 1
billion dollar budget on the electric car segment with an electric car
planned for California in 2010 with a range of more than 100
kilometres.

BMW's former head of research Burkhard Goeschel does not see the
end of the combustion engine just yet although there will be more
electric vehicles on the road soon.

Goeschel dampens the euphoria over electric cars. "The infra-
structure for loading the energy is an issue that will have to be
addressed. It starts with small things like an electric plug in the
underground parking garage".

San Francisco meanwhile could move ahead to become one of the
world's first cities with electric cars on the road in huge numbers. It
is currently working on plans for building a network of charging and
battery-exchange stations throughout the city. (dpa)