Betting big – and small – on electric cars

Nissan, GM and Ford are wagering in the high-stakes game of electric driving, but it’s too soon to tell whose hand will be a winner.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The cars of the future will run on electricity, most major automakers agree on that. What they don’t agree on is how soon drivers will be ready to fully embrace electric power and how aggressively to push electric cars.

Nissan, General Motors and Ford’s electric car strategies show just how differently they view America’s readiness to get behind the wheel of purely electric cars.

Nissan is planning to introduce a purely electric car next year, not bothering with plug-in hybrids or other technologies that merely minimize the use of gasoline.

“We’re going to the end of the spectrum, believing that is the way to go,” said Eric Noziere, Nissan North America’s vice-president for product planning.

Nissan is promising a five seat car that can drive 100 miles on a single charge. Noziere doesn’t think fears about the relatively short driving range of electric cars, known as “range anxiety,” will be a big problem.

CNN