More on the future of cars

A few people have kindly read the blog and sent me content related to the post below about the Future of Cars.

Firstly, this article from The Guardian (The Guardian) about Mitshubishi launching a compact electric production car this year in the UK.

This car sounds like a great initiative however, I still think it's largely a token gesture. In the test drive the car ran down 50% of the battery after 22 miles (36 km) and 50 minutes of driving. It takes 6 hours on to charge thru a normal plug in, so it's really only going to be suitable as a car to get you to work or the train station and back again at night before parking in a covered garage with electricity supply for overnight recharge. With only 200 cars available this year at an estimated cost of GBP 750 (US$1250 / RMB 7,500) per month, my prediction is that they will be bought and driven very visibly by companies wanting the public to think how wonderful and green they are.

With much larger sales volume of 180,000 vehicles in 2008, BYD Co. (Build Your Dreams) seems a more interesting prospect to watch. This is ca ompany whose core business is battery technology but have diversified into electric cars - very much the prediction of the Economist analyst in the video in my earlier post. They got a big boost when Warren Buffet invested in them and the Chinese government is apparently considering offering subsidies to help offest the 150,000 RMB (GBP 15,000 / US$ 23,000) retail price.

They're not the prettiest of cars, using the old Toyota Corolla body, but with a back up petrol engine and a reasonable price, they look like a realistic in market option. They've secured distribution in Europe and recently participated in the Detroit auto show, so it will be very interesting to watch how they progress in 2009.

Here's a link to the aritcle about BYD and also thier website.

Finally, here's an interesting picture I took recently outside a mall in Shanghai. I guess you could call this a hybrid vehicle - it's a Roewe 75 (the olde Rover 75) with a Jaguar leaper glued onto the hood. I'd love to know what the owner wanted people to think when they did this.