Blog: Electric realism

Dave Leggett | 29 September 2009

There is a fair bit of hype around regarding electric cars. Improvements are coming, but electric drive can only take us so far – quite literally, when you consider range constraints.

There is still a lot of work ahead – with battery technology, with charging infrastructure, with viable business models – in order to knock the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) off its perch of automotive powertrain dominance. And the ICE is not standing still – it is getting more efficient, too.

Last week we carried an interesting interview with Thomas Weber, Daimler's board member for group research and development. He said that it would be some 20 years before a cost-effective electric vehicle could be produced with a range comparable with today's petrol and diesel motors - around 500 miles (800km).

There will be degrees of improvement as we go, but we are not facing an imminent and rapid automotive technology revolution. There is plenty of good work going on with advancing electric drive technology, but a sense of perspective is needed also.

INTERVIEW: The future is electric but some time away

And here's something we published earlier this year:

RESEARCH: Market projections for EVs and hybrids