Zero Emissions E-car hype
DETROIT (Reuters January 12, 2010) - Daimler (DAIGn.DE) and BMW (BMWG.DE) are feuding over just whose test fleet of small electric cars is closest to serial production in an attempt to ditch their image of thirsty, high-performance luxury cars.
Long reliant on hulking V8s like the BMW X6 sports utility vehicle or sporty coupes such as the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG gullwing, both are now quick to emphasize their efforts to develop zero emission vehicles.
In July, BMW even went so far as to sell its exit from Formula One following a dismal season as part of a “strategic realignment” to channel resources for the development of new sustainable powertrain technologies.
In fact, no carmaker has sold anything but a miniscule number of electric cars. Full scale industrial production of zero emission cars is largely expected around 2012 and market shares of over 5 percent are unlikely within this decade.
Audi says fewer than 1,500 electric vehicles are currently registered in Germany, corresponding to only 0.035 percent of all registered vehicles.
“Some manufacturers are already releasing their e-cars on customers. We are only using test fleets,” VW brand R&D chief Ulrich Hackenberg, who called the technology a “hype.”
ZED COMMENT: Following a detailed global technology search, NERAC advises that they are unable to find any engine technology like ZED. It is the only engine which can run on any fuel, but in particular zero carbon hydrogen. Using hydrogen fuel and patent protected Berk-cycle heat scavenging, the ZED engine can produce twice the horsepower and torque of a conventional gasoline engine of the same displacement. It is the only true zero emissions engine which can match or exceed conventional engine performance in all applications. As VW rightly assesses electric – e-cars as a zero emissions solution is “hype” and will never achieve broad market acceptance.VW is the world’s largest car manufacturer, overtaking Toyota in 2009.