Global Electric Car Industry Begins

Global Electric Car Industry Begins





October 2008 - Cars around the world will one day be 
propelled by electric motors, transportation expert Daniel Sperling told a 
meeting of international transportation experts and policymakers in London 
today. 
Sperling said the transformation of automobiles and the entire automotive 
industry has begun with gasoline-electric hybrids, and will continue in 
the next decades with the wide adoption of plug-in electric hybrids, 
battery-only electric cars, and fuel cell electric vehicles. 
Director of the University of California Davis Institute of Transportation 
Studies, Sperling was the keynote speaker at the first meeting of its 
kind, where industry experts and government officials are strategizing on 
how to jumpstart the mass market production of low carbon and electric 
vehicles. 
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called for the conference after 
discussions about transportation energy reform this summer at the Jeddah 
International Energy Conference in Saudi Arabia, the G8 Summit in Tokyo, 
and the British International Motor show in London. 

"I am delighted that the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has shown such 
leadership by taking this first critical step forward in the UK," said 
Sperling. "He is to be commended in calling this important international 
meeting and setting the ball rolling for a low carbon vehicle future for 
the UK." 
The two-day conference is hosted by the United Kingdom's Department for 
Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. 
New initiatives to put Britain at the forefront of a green motoring 
revolution by encouraging a mass market in electric and hybrid cars have 
been announced today. 
With the potential to create up to 10,000 new British jobs and help 
preserve many thousands more, the electric car push comes as part of wider 
plans by the Brown Government to make the most of the low carbon economy, 
with estimates that around a million green jobs could be generated by 
2030. 
Fulfilling the prime minister's pledge this summer to speed up the 
delivery of low carbon and electric vehicles for ordinary motorists, 
experts from across the globe are gathered in Whitehall today to examine 
how to turn this into a reality. 
At the meeting, Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon set out the government's 
next steps to deliver a £100 million commitment to accelerate the 
emergence of greener vehicles. 
Motor manufacturers will be invited to bid for the opportunity to 
participate in a £10 million project to run electric car and ultra-low 
carbon vehicle demonstration projects, overseen by the Technology Strategy 
Board. 
As a result, 100 electric cars will be provided in UK towns and cities by 
the end of 2009 to allow motorists the opportunity to provide feedback on 
the practical steps needed to make greener motoring an everyday reality.

"Electric cars and other low carbon vehicles, like plug-in hybrids, cut 
fuel costs and reduce harmful emissions. If we can inspire more people to 
use them, it will help us to make a positive impact on climate change," 
said Hoon. 
Research and manufacture of electric vehicles is an emerging industry that 
ministers say has the potential to create new jobs and safeguard existing 
employment in the UK. 
Secretary of State for Business, Lord Mandelson, said, "Investment in 
greener motoring forms part of our plan to put the UK at the forefront of 
the new low carbon revolution. We know our automotive sector has a global 
reputation for taking forward new technology and we want the UK to be at 
the heart of new developments in electric vehicles." 
Up to £20m has been dedicated to UK research into improving technology 
that could make electric and other green cars more practical and 
affordable. 
Lord Drayson, Minister of State for Science and Innovation, said, "The 
technologies for low carbon vehicles are developing fast, whether for 
all-electric, hybrid or alternative fuels. The challenge for the UK is to 
ensure industry takes full advantage of this shift and explores 
opportunities now, to position itself as a world leader in low carbon 
vehicle technology in the long term." 
"To do this, the government-funded Technology Strategy Board is providing 
further investment of up to £30m to support industry R&D and 
demonstrations of electric and other low carbon vehicles," said Drayson. 
Technology Strategy Board's Chief Executive Iain Gray, said, "Low carbon 
vehicle technology is exciting, practical and, most importantly, real. 
Such vehicles are already on our roads and as the technology continues to 
improve rapidly, they will only become more effective and more widely 
used. Low carbon vehicles offer the combined advantages of reducing our 
reliance on oil and reducing emissions." 
The government is working with energy companies and the National Grid to 
assess the impact on the electricity system of the widespread use of 
electric drive vehicles. 
The government has committed to facilitate the roll-out of infrastructure 
for charging electric vehicles and to collaborating with other countries 
to develop international standards. 
To encourage the mass production of green vans for the first time, the 
Department for Transport announced today that 10 companies have been 
shortlisted to bid to provide electric and low carbon vans to public 
sector bodies such as the Royal Mail, as part of a £20 million program to 
ensure all road transport emissions are reduced. 

The 10 companies are: Ford, Mercedes Benz, Citroen, Ashwoods, Land Rover, 
Modec, Smiths, Electric Vehicles, LDV, Nissan and Allied Vehicles. 
Shortlisted to bid on a low carbon van are Ford, Mercedes Benz, Citroen, 
Ashwoods, and Land Rover. 
Approved to bid on an all electric van are Modec, Smiths, Electric 
Vehicles, LDV, Nissan, and Allied Vehicles. 
Transport Secretary Hoon said, "Vans make up around 15 percent of road 
transport emissions in the UK, and their emissions are rising more than 
any other mode of road transport. 
"That's why we are committed to this new program to help kick-start the 
market," he said. "In the public sector there is considerable demand for 
vans so we want to use our spending power to lead the way in developing 
lower carbon options that will appeal across the board." 
Liverpool, Newcastle, Gateshead, Coventry, Glasgow and Leeds will be among 
the first councils to allow the green vans on their streets. 
On Tuesday, discussions will continue at Millbrook, Bedfordshire at the 
National Low Carbon Vehicle event. 
Participants in the meeting include industry, academia and government 
representatives from Japan, India, France, Germany, the United States, 
Canada, Portugal, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Denmark, Israel, Czech 
Republic, Norway and Sweden.





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