Electric Cars Gain Momentum

The 1960s produced a race to the Moon. Could this decade mark the start of a race for the best gas mileage?

There's been ample evidence over the last few days. And it all points to 2010 as a landmark year for the electric car.

General Motors celebrated its 100th anniversary yesterday by unveiling a production-ready version of its Chevrolet Volt. It can travel 40 miles on a four-hour recharge, and will come with an onboard generator for longer trips. Chevy will begin production in 2010.

Nissan will be coming out with its own electric car that same year, just as Tesla Motors will introduce a sedan that it says will be able to travel 240 miles on a single charge.

(Tesla announced this week that it is building a 600,000 square-foot plant in San Jose.)

Not to be outdone, market leader Toyota is reported to be planning a third generation of its bestselling Prius.

The flurry of activity reinforces buzz that electric cars will be where the fight for market share will be fought. General Motors has been the world's largest automaker for 77 years, but skyrocketing gas prices have killed sales of pickup trucks and S.U.V.'s, driving the company to seek "greener" pastures.

Part of that motivation is to take on Toyota's dominance of the fuel efficiency market. Toyota has sold more than one million Priuses since 1997; dealers still report long waiting lists.

And Toyota is said to be thinking of spinning off Prius as a separate brand, so consumers can have more diversity in their hybrids.

The competition is already heating up between the two biggest automakers.

Just yesterday, Toyota complained that a Senate proposal to offer $3,000 to $7,500 tax credits to people who buy plug-in cars was designed to favor the Chevy Volt. (Hybrids like the Prius wouldn't qualify for the credit, putting them at a cost disadvantage in the market.)

by Andrea Chalupa

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