 
GM’s troubled Adam Opel subsidiary has presented the lithium-ion
battery powered hatchback Ampera at the Geneva Motor Show, where
electric-powered vehicles emerged as one way to persuade environmentally
aware consumers to buy new cars during the global recession.
The Motor Show ends today. Other automakers - including Chrysler,
Mitsubishi and Ford - also touted their plans for cars equipped with
electric motors as the industry both seeks to overcome the current
crisis that has decimated sales and meet increasingly tough
environmental and carbon emission standards.
Drivers could be silently cruising around in the Ampera by the end of
2011 - the first 37 miles (60 kilometers) on pure electricity augmented
by another 500 kilometers of extended range from a gasoline engine,
which would generate less than 40 grams of C02 emissions per kilometer.
 The
Ampera presented in Geneva was a white four-door sedan with a hatchback
- and a set of front headlights that created a menacing, masculine
impression. An Opel official demonstrated how the car could easily be
plugged into any household electrical supply.
“This is the kind of game-changing technology that the auto industry
needs to respond to energy and environmental challenges,” President of
GM Europe Carl Peter Forster said.
 Mitsubishi
Motors Corp. said it has reached an understanding with Peugeot Citroen
PSA to sell its new electric car “i MiEV” to European customers as early
as late next year.
Mitsubishi’s president Osamu Masuko said the collaboration could help
pave the road to “tomorrow’s sunny days” for the automotive industry,
which is struggling amid the global economic downturn and a decline in
global sales.
Peugeot will sell the car under its own brand in Europe, while
Mitsubishi will launch the car in Japan this year.
The four-door electric-only hatchback produces no carbon dioxide
emissions and has a top speed of 80 miles per hour (130 kilometers per
hour).
It has a range of 90 miles (145 kilometers) once its 330-volt lithium
ion battery is charged for 14 hours.
By contrast, Ford, Toyota and Chrysler showed only concept cars that
illustrate the company’s thinking about electric cars.
Ford’s presented at its stand a five-seater passenger vehicle called
the Tourneo developed for European markets by Smith Electric Vehicles,
part of the Tanfield Group, which developed the Ford Connect van in the
United States.
 “The
plan is to go into production as soon as we feel the market is ready for
production,” Tanfield CEO Darren Kell said.
Chrysler showed its Dodge Circuit EV sports car, which was unveiled
in Detroit.
Toyota showed its FT-EV fully electric 4-seater concept car, also
previewed in Detroit as part of the Japanese automaker’s pledge to
produce a fully electric commuter vehicle by 2012.
The Indian carmaker Tata introduced its compact Indica Vista EV, an
all-electric commuter vehicle that it plans to test in Norway later this
year.
Tata claims it has a range of at least 160 kilometers and a top speed
of 128 kph. VW, by contrast, was moving more slowly before showing any
product. Chairman Martin Winterkorn said the German automaker would
launch its first electric vehicle “in the next decade.”
AP
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