% Tesla-S' near 300mi range is not mentioned, yet refueling time is %
http://www.autotalk.com/global-automakers-split-on-green-car-strategy-24059/
Global automakers split on ‘green car’ strategy
By AFP June 19, 2014
Global automakers are locked in a showdown evoking the video format
wars of
the 1980s, as they bet on what eco-friendly vehicles will prevail in
the
battle for dominance of the burgeoning low-emissions sector.
In a contest reminiscent of the scrap for pre-eminence in the home
video
market, which pitched Betamax against VHS, huge auto firms are going
all out
for very different technologies.
Toyota, which is ending a battery deal with US electric car leader
Tesla, is
concentrating on mass-producing a fuel-cell vehicle, along with smaller
rival Honda.
Nissan, by contrast, has bet the farm on all-electrics, unveiling its
second
model this month — despite weak sales of its flagship Leaf — and is
pushing
the technology in China, where officials are scrambling to contain an
air
pollution crisis.
Japan’s number-two automaker is also reportedly in talks with Germany’s
BMW
and Tesla about standardizing re-charging systems, after the US company
took
the rare step of agreeing to share its patents with competitors to
boost
lacklustre electric vehicle production.
“Nissan and Tesla… came out with very ambitious goals for the
technology but
had to backtrack, partly because demand… wasn’t strong enough,” said
Stefan
Bratzel, director of Germany’s Center of Automotive Management.
“Daimler, Toyota and General Motors are the most advanced in fuel
cells, but
the problem is the high cost of the technology and necessary
infrastructure.”
Limited range, high price
Analysts say very low or zero-emission vehicles will dominate the next
phase
of independent travel, with governments everywhere rolling out stricter
emissions standards.
This near-certainty is sparking massive investment, with Japan’s seven
major
car manufacturers expected to spend a record $24 billion on green car
research and development this year, according to the Nikkei business
daily.
Detractors says electric vehicles simply shift emissions to the
fossil-fuel
burning power plants that provide the energy to recharge their
batteries.
They are also hampered by a short driving range.
Fuel cell cars, on the other hand, are seen as the Holy Grail of green
cars
as they’re powered by a chemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen, which
produces nothing more harmful than water.
Still largely experimental, fuel-cell vehicles could get a boost as
various
jurisdictions, including the US state of California, launch new
hydrogen
refueling stations.
Toyota is eying a 500-kilometre (300-mile) range for its fuel-cell car
—
more than twice the Leaf’s current range — and much faster re-juicing.
The company, while not abandoning electric altogether, sees the fuel
cell as
the next logical step after its big early success with the Prius
gas-electric hybrid, which has sold about 3.7 million units since its
launch
in the late 1990s.
“Electric vehicles are still so limited by the cruising range,”
Nobuyori
Kodaira, Toyota’s executive vice president said in a recent interview.
“Hydrogen can be recharged in three minutes… Quick-charging an electric
vehicle still takes about half an hour.”
Different paths, same goals
Cleaner power generation, however, may boost the appeal of electric
cars,
said Jos Dings, director of Brussels-based NGO Transport & Environment.
“If… we manage to make electricity in a much cleaner way — there is a
lot of
investment in renewable energy — then it can definitely be a
sustainable way
forward,” he said.
Still, Nissan’s Leaf has shifted about 120,000 units since its launch
nearly
four years ago, way below expectations.
But its chief executive Carlos Ghosn — a steadfast cheerleader of
electric
cars who has scoffed at rivals’ ambitious plans for a commercialized
fuel-cell vehicle — said new re-charging stations will be crucial to
demand.
“All of it is very closely linked to the development of infrastructure,
but
we are seeing more and more competitors coming onto the scene which is
always a tell-tale sign,” he told AFP earlier this year.
Ghosn was speaking in Bhutan, where Nissan sealed a deal to supply the
tiny
Himalayan kingdom’s government with a fleet of its green vehicles as it
eyes
an all-electric transport policy.
Governments throwing their weight behind strict roadside pollution
standards
and other environmentally-minded policies is crucial, analysts said.
“I don’t think GM, Ford and Chrysler look at green cars as a profit
opportunity or big growth opportunity in which they are sensing a lot
of
consumer demand or growth — their goal is to meet what the government
requires from them,” said US-based auto analyst Jack Nerad.
Whether one technology ultimately reigns supreme, or they co-exist with
a
patchwork of refueling stations, may not matter much, added the
environment
group’s Dings.
“All car makers are now seriously investing in developing these
technologies, seeing how customers react to them, seeing how they work
on
the road and how much they cost,” he said.
“They all chose different paths and that’s fine, as long as the
solutions
deliver.”
[© autotalk.com]
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