BMW and Daimler ask for common EV standards

Have you ever traveled around with a plug adapter for different wall sockets? The need for a car version of these adapters, albeit in a much larger scale, is what BMW's Klaus Draeger and Daimler's Thomas Weber discussed at the 2008 World Automotive Congress of FISITA, the international association of automotive engineers. Both said that the EV technology, vital if we want to curb CO₂ emissions, could be so expensive that single automakers might not be able to cope with its cost. They also called for industry-wide component standards for suppliers early in the research and development phases to prevent duplication of effort for major components such as electrical vehicle batteries. FISITA itself, like the IEEE for the electronic industry, could be an ideal framework for the harmonization of pollution regulations and technical standards.
[Source: Automotive News Europe (subs. req'd)]