A company called Better Place has plans of installing thousands of battery replacement and plug-in stations that would serve electric car drivers. The startup from Palo Alto created a stir when it revealed that it would be building thousands of stations where electric car batteries could be recharged, as well as replaced.

This would lead more people to buy electric cars, as being stranded with an exhausted battery and no charging station in sight is one of the biggest worries of potential electric car owners. In such a situation the electric car plans of Better Place would provide an encouraging boost.

It is one of the most effective strategies to come up in an uncertain and tense atmosphere, where car manufacturers are hoping that Washington bails them out against the widespread public opinion that the car industry needs to do what it should have done a long time back that is, reboot itself. The people behind Better Place have envisioned a future with vehicles that are powered by emission free and renewable resources, combined with an efficient network of battery monitors, charging stations and payment avenues. If things work out as planned, electric car companies would be able to launch their cars in a more supportive atmosphere which would ensure the success of the electric car revolution.

Chrysler is planning to manufacture a full line of reasonably priced electric cars for sale. The series would include minivans, as well as off road vehicles. Chrysler’s electric car plans would chiefly revolve around keeping things cheap. These new electric cars would be developed keeping low cost and flexibility in mind so they would not have flashy designs. The program would launch in 2010 and Chrysler plans to add more cars to the series pretty fast.

These new cars would not come only in electric versions as the company has planned to manufacture both electric powered and gasoline powered versions of the same models. So if gas prices increase then the company would produce more electric cars and if they remain low then it can rapidly manufacture more gasoline vehicles. This would cut costs remarkably and also reduce the risk associated with entering a new market. The first electric models would be based on existing vehicles. The first model would most likely be based on the prototypes that the company revealed in September.

The second generation cars that would roll out between 2012 and 2015 would be engineered from wheels up and would be designed to be powered either by gasoline or electricity.

China will be entering the electric car industry sooner than many of the other electric car companies. A car manufacturer from China has announced that it would be rolling out the country’s first indigenous electric car for sale in the mass market within a month. This means that they would be at least a year earlier than many other companies with similar plans.

The car maker BYD Co. would show reporters its electric car F3DM in Shenzhen. The car runs off batteries and can be easily charged from a standard electrical outlet. It also has a gasoline engine which can generate electricity once the battery has been exhausted. BYD has already started marketing the F3DM to cab operators and other potential fleet customers. The company plans to get it into showrooms in as little as a month. The car is expected to cost around 150,000 Yuan, which would be about $22,000. BYD Co. plans to enter the U.S. market by the second half of 2010.

The Chinese government is supporting the development of electric cars for sale, it plans to provide support by allowing subsidies for research-and-development to auto makers. Consumers can expect tax breaks and other incentives. The government would also be building recharge stations and other public infrastructure to facilitate electric cars.

The ongoing economic crisis has hit automakers to the point that some are considering filing for bankruptcy, but that doesn’t mean that we will not see new 2009 electric cars for sale. On the contrary, there is much to look forward to in 2009.

You can expect a number of new gas-electric hybrids in the coming year. Honda is going to reboot its brand Insight, which is a hybrid that was earlier overshadowed by the Toyota Prius. With a price tag of $19,000, the Insight is going to be among the most affordable hybrids. Next is Ford which would be rolling its hybrid sedan, Fusion for $27,270. Early 2009 will also see Toyota launching its next-generation Prius.
The above does not mean that electric car plans of all automakers would be dedicated to low cost models. General Motors for example, would be coming out with a gas-electric version of its Cadillac Escalade that would cost around $72,865 and Mercedes-Benz would be getting into manufacturing hybrids with its gas-electric S-Class that would be priced over $100,000. Volkswagen, Porsche and Aston Martin are coming out with four-door coupe models. The Volkswagen would be priced at $26,790, but the products of Porsche and Aston Martin would have $100,000-plus price tags.

The ongoing financial crisis has obviously affected car manufacturers, most of whom have reported a downtrend in sales. But quite surprisingly Wayne Alexander, who runs a business of electric car conversions, has his hands full like never before.

Alexander converts conventional gas powered cars to electric powered ones. He has been in the business for the last 30 years and charges $12,500 to convert a car or pickup truck. At present he is converting cars at the rate of 4 per month. His cars can travel up to 35 miles on a single charge which takes about 5 hours. Though his business had always been steady, right now orders have shot through the roof. So where major car companies are rewriting their plans for manufacturing electric cars for sale, keeping the current state of the economy in mind, the business of electric car conversions is growing.
The electric cars that are already available in the market are quite expensive and many of the major manufacturers’ products are still 2-3 years away from public launch. Maybe these are the reasons why consumers are rushing to convert their gas guzzling cars into electric ones. Neither they want to pay the high prices of existing models, nor do they want to wait for the models to be launched in the coming years.

The present worldwide financial crisis has hit sales of cars in UK. But the British government’s commitment towards ensuring a better environment, by supporting electric cars remains steadfast. The government recently announced a pilot scheme to test how electric cars fare on the roads of Britain.

The scheme would involve purchasing several electric cars and testing them in three cities. The rider is that the whole exercise would cost about £100m. This has not gone down well with everyone. Several people have raised objections of public money being used to support an industry which is already flush with money. Even environmentalists, who agree that electric car companies need substantial cash for research and development, are of the view that there are better alternatives to using tax money. In 1989, car makers and retailers had promised to cut down carbon emissions from cars. According to the environmentalists, the government would have done better by introducing regulations that would force car manufacturers to develop competent electric cars for sale.

Moreover there are other alternatives, as well as more innovative means of transport like eco transport, hybrids and Segways, which have not received any support from the government. The automobile industry can take care of itself. The government should be supporting these alternative means of transport.

There’s been so much hype about electric cars in the recent times because most of the major car makers across the globe have gone into manufacturing electric cars for sale.

Chevrolet is developing a plug in electric car Volt, which it aims to roll out for sale by 2010. It would be a hybrid, which means the gasoline engine would take over when the battery gets exhausted. So you don’t have to fear getting stranded in the middle of nowhere when the charge runs out.

Chrysler is also developing two hybrid electric cars for sale; they are the Jeep EV and Chrysler EV. It plans to develop a pure electric car, the Dodge EV.

BMW has come out with the Mini E, which is a two-seat, three-door hatchback car.

Nissan has a unique strategy up its sleeve. In 2010, it would be offering a fully electric car to fleet owners. If things go well, the car would be offered for sale across the country in 2012.

Mitsubishi has already started selling its small electric car iMiEV in Japan. It is now developing a commercial automobile, which would be based on the chassis for delivery vehicles like the mail truck.

A number of drivers, especially Toyota Prius owners are increasingly converting their Prius Hybrids into plug in electric cars by installing an extra battery. Though it comes at a hefty price of $10,000, a Watertown based company A123 Systems which started selling it online July onwards, has already sold to 200 hybrid car owners. Six garages in the country have been given the license to install them and all of them have been booked with the job throughout December.

Installing this battery into the Toyota Prius allows the owners to plug in and get it charged like their laptops or cell phones. The Toyota Prius is already recognized as the most fuel efficient car in the United States. A fully charged battery increases its fuel efficiency several times to 100 miles per gallon, over a distance of 40 miles. After that the car goes back to running with its regular fuel efficiency.

But if you take into account the high cost of the battery, it is highly unlikely that car owners would be able to recoup the total cost. In order to do that gas prices would have to go far beyond the recent high of $4 a gallon, or the car would have to travel for over 250,000 kilometers. This makes it wiser to wait for the products of major automakers that have been developing electric cars for sale.

Tesla Motors has been developing high-performance electric cars for sale. It has already attracted the attention of heavy weights like PayPal co-founder Elon Musk, who is its main backer, and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Tesla Motors has raised $186 million until now.

It has produced the Tesla Roadster, which is a plug in electric car with a range of 356 kilometers. It can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h within four seconds. What’s more, it costs just three cents per mile and has a top speed of 201km/h. The first 100 models that came out of the factories sold out within 3 weeks. There are hundreds more in the waiting list.

All of the above make it seem quite rosy. But Tesla Motors has had to face tough times. Earlier this year Fisker Automative was on the firing line of Tesla Motors. Fisker had been earlier appointed by Tesla Motors for designing its saloon model. Tesla Motors alleged that Fisker Automative had stolen confidential information including design ideas. However an arbitrator ruled against Tesla Motors. Following this incident, one of its suppliers filed a lawsuit against Tesla Motors alleging that they did not pay. Recently it was rumored that Tesla Motors would not be able to deliver cars for which it had already accepted deposits. The company has also had to layoff employees working in its assembly operations at UK. But the company is moving ahead bravely and is expected to produce great stuff in the long run.

The way automakers have rushed into developing electric cars for sale, may signal the beginning of another crisis with substantial environmental and economic cost. Lithium ion batteries that are used to power electric cars are a favorite with other industries as well. They are already being used in laptops and other electronic gadgets. Its continuously increasing demand has led industry observers to forecast a commodity crisis in the making. The heat is already being felt as prices of lithium ion batteries have steadily increased over the years, making electric cars quite expensive. If the demand keeps on increasing in such a way that it becomes difficult to keep up with the supply of lithium mineral, then prices would obviously shoot up further.

The situation calls for better research into alternative fuels. People have a tendency to stick to what is working well, without giving much thought to future. In the case of lithium, which is extracted from dried salt ponds or “salt flats”, there could be considerable damage on the ecosystem due to continued exploitation of the the Salar de Atacama in Chile, which is the world’s largest salt flat, and the development of more new sites. These are valid arguments, which are not being given enough attention in the face of the enthusiasm for the new technology and that doesn’t augur well for the future. Are the automakers with electric car plans listening?