Finlo Rohrer of BBC News Magazine writes about the movie documentary, "Who Killed the Electric Car?" playing in U.S. theaters. He compares the story told in the film to a similar situation that happened in Europe when Ford of Europe launched the Ford Think (pictured), a simple version of General Motor's EV1. Unfortunately, Ford pulled the plug (pardon the pun) on the vehicle, too, again citing lack of public interest. States Adrian Schmitz, environmental communications manager for Ford of Europe, "We got into the electric vehicle business. We got out of it again. We are a volume manufacturer. For the time being it is a very niche market. We are not saying there is absolutely no future for electric vehicles but we were disappointed about the very limited customer acceptance."
The "limited customer acceptance" of EVs by UK drivers is the same reason by Americans: image, short range, and power. The government, again like the U.S., has had to resort to tax incentives for motorists to even consider alternative fuel and hybrid vehicles. We just hope the new Tesla EV may lead a change of heart in naysayers.
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[Source: BBC News]
The "limited customer acceptance" of EVs by UK drivers is the same reason by Americans: image, short range, and power. The government, again like the U.S., has had to resort to tax incentives for motorists to even consider alternative fuel and hybrid vehicles. We just hope the new Tesla EV may lead a change of heart in naysayers.
Related:
- "Who Killed The Electric Car?" movie review
- Counterpoint: Who Killed The Electric Car?
- Exclusive Q&A with Chelsea Sexton about the EV1, why the Prius gets a 'C', and who really killed the electric car
- Electric Vehicles in Depth, Part I: The History of EVs
[Source: BBC News]
