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Electric Cars to Hit City Streets The world’s densely populated and pollution-conscious cities will likely be the testing ground for electric cars as the first small commercial runs hit the market.
Journalists were invited to Stuttgart last month to try out some of Daimler’s new electric, hybrid and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, including their e-Smarts, which are being leased to customers in London for $660 a month.
While the figure isn’t cheap for consumers, it covers production costs. Moreover, Daimler told Business Week, owners are exempt from the city’s congestion fees and save enough money on fuel to bring the price closer to that of a conventional vehicle.
The company hopes its first run of at least 10,000 e-Smarts will be available commercially in 2012.
All-electric cars will require plenty of infrastructure before they can be widely adopted, but hybrids are becoming increasingly advanced, not to mention larger and more powerful. Showcased along the e-Smarts were a seven-rear-seat hybrid Sprinter minibus and a hydrogen-powered B-class sedan that emits only water.
A car that paired a battery with a fuel cell could have a range up to 360 miles, according to Daimler. However, where to fuel up with hydrogen is a logistical issue in itself. While the 60-mile range of the current generation of electric cars might seem inconvenient at first blush, Daimler says that for most urban customers that’s more than adequate. They’re hoping that initially, the e-Smarts could be a second vehicle for most families, used for in-town errands and charged at night when the load on the grid is low. |
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