Electric car race still a bumpy ride

FRITZ Henderson, the new chief executive of General Motors (GM), says his company has to reinvent itself very quickly. US President Barack Obama exhorts American carmakers to regain the lead and make fuel-efficient vehicles. Washington provides US$2.4 billion to develop advanced electric-powered vehicles and a better battery. And Michigan gives tax incentives of half a billion dollars, including US$200 million for advanced batteries, to invigorate the auto capital.

Will all this spark an auto revolution in the United States? For GM, the situation has to be bittersweet, after stopping production of its famous electric sports car EV1 in 2000. It is now betting on its hybrid Chevy Volt, due in showrooms late next year, with fuel economy matching 100 miles per gallon (42 kilometre per litre) of gasoline to refurbish its image.
AsiaOne