1. People, have been talking about the electric car for many years.

However, we have been

waiting for their arrival for so long, that the question should be asked: "Has the electric car
got the potential to be a real substitute for ordinary cars fuelled by petrol or diesel"
2. Amid renewed concern about air quality, a leading motor, group has been looking at the
alternatives to conventional fuels. As Trevor Jones, Corporate Development Director of
Bristol Street Limited says, "While an alternative fuel source will definitely have to be
found some time in the future, at the moment the industry is complementing research
into that field with continued efforts to make petrol and diesel cars as safe, reliable and
efficient as possible."
3. Huge obstacles still remain in the electric car's way. California for example, has recently
relaxed its laws on expanding the number of "zero emission vehicles (what they call
electric cars). In France, electric cars are widely available, but in Britain at the moment,
any electric buyer, is making a sentimental decision. There is a limited range available,
and the initial cost can be up to 40 per cent more than the petrol-driven equivalent, it
costs $130 a month to hire the batteries, which need. Recharging every 110 kilometers
(buying them will set you back around $13,000). So, short journeys only, especially as at
present you have to charge up from your domestic power supply. However, you do pay
less road tax, and electricity costs can be as little as 7 cents per mile.
4. The investment of $500 million and five years work leading to the recent launch of
General motors EV 1 car indicates that advances in design and technology are seen
to be of paramount importance. It may prove to be a wise investment: it is not only,
smog-affected areas such as; California that make up the potential market, there is a
scope, for instance, in Asia's polluted, crowded cities.
5. For all the potential, though, there is no getting away from the battery problem. Even the
EV 1 falls down: it carries twenty-six 12V lead acid batteries, which weigh in at over 500
kilograms and still last only 110 kilometers in city traffic. Now that some diesels can do up
to 80 mpg and fossil fuels are lasting long past original predictions, the future for electric
vehicles must be in advance battery technology.
6. There are three main types of batteries. Lead acid batteries are still favourite, partly
because there has been little investment in other types. A huge number of combinations
are being tested, from sodium-sulphur to zinc-air and lithium-iron, but lack of money
scuppers new projects.
7. The other main type is the nickel-cadmium battery. A great deal of research has been
done in this field, especially by French battery company SAFT. Some countries refuse to
touch them however, and farmers and fishermen in France are expressing glowing
concern over levels of cadmium pollution in the soil and water.
8. Pollution levels are the crux around which the electric vs. petrol argument revolves and
the electric lobby is all too aware of the argument that electric vehicles do not save
energy, but simply move it, this may be the case now, but as fossil fuels run out, this
argument will lose its validity.

9. Meanwhile, though, Britain will rely on conventional fuels for a while. The Oxford Bus
Project has seen both positives and negatives, as it were, though the negatives were
limited .to teething problems such as lead-acid battery packs overheating and needing
replacement after only two years instead of the anticipated four. On the plus side, a
comparison was done between the electric buses and their diesel equivalents which
showed 98 per cent fewer particulates, 93 per cent fewer hydrocarbons, 98 per cent less
carbon monoxide and 2l per cent less carbon dioxide. Drivers also commented on the lack
of fumes, the quiet, smooth ride .
10. At present, though. the potential is limited, although Brian Roden of the Electric Vehicle
Association says: "Approximately half a million vehicles in Britain could be converted to
electrical power tomorrow, and this is just business vehicles, such as gas and telecom
vans. Until we see the government develop a forward-thinking plan similar to that in
France, where manufacturer and buyer are financially rewarded, this sort of advance will
never be made."
11. Another alternative suffering from an Iack of investment is compressed natural gas. With
a few modifications, it could easily be used in a conventional car, and at around $3 per
gallon, it makes economic sense. Once again, there is a downside: a tank will last only
150 miles or so, and with few filling points, a combinations engine allowing a switch back
to petrol is vital.
12. There does exist a stepping stone, however, which may appeal to the more commercially
minded: the Hybrid, which allows for the electrically powered engine to be backed up by
another source, circumventing the range problem. Several manufacturers are working on
hybrids, including Land Rover, who are developing an electric/petrol hybrid Land rover
Discovery.
13. Still, the gap between conventional fuel and its alternatives remains a chasm of
indifference. It is down to manufacture to make the alternatives commercially viable
enough for the public to take notice.