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| Chief planning officer for Japan's auto giant Nissan, Andy Palmer (R),
speaking about the company's new commercial electric vehicle "e-NV200"
at the company's headquarters in Yokohama, suburban Tokyo. Photo:AFP |
Global automakers are locked in a showdown evoking the video format wars
of the 1980s, as they bet on what eco-friendly vehicles will prevail in
the battle for dominance of the burgeoning low-emissions sector.
In a contest reminiscent of the scrap for pre-eminence in the home video
market, which pitched Betamax against VHS, huge
auto firms are going all out for very different technologies.
Toyota, which is ending a battery deal with US electric car leader
Tesla, is concentrating on mass-producing a fuel-cell vehicle, along
with smaller rival Honda.
Nissan, by contrast, has bet the farm on all-electrics, unveiling its
second model this month -- despite weak sales of its flagship Leaf --
and is pushing the technology in China, where officials are scrambling
to contain an air pollution crisis.
Japan's number-two automaker is also reportedly in talks with
Germany's BMW and Tesla about standardising re-charging systems, after
the US company took the rare step of agreeing to share its patents with
competitors to boost lacklustre electric vehicle production.
"Nissan and Tesla... came out with very ambitious goals for the
technology but had to backtrack, partly because demand... wasn't strong
enough," said Stefan Bratzel, director of Germany's Center of Automotive
Management.
"Daimler, Toyota and General Motors are the most advanced in fuel
cells, but the problem is the high cost of the technology and necessary
infrastructure."
- Limited range, high prices
Analysts say very low or zero-emission vehicles will dominate the
next phase of independent travel, with governments everywhere rolling
out stricter emissions standards.
This near-certainty is sparking massive investment, with Japan's
seven major car manufacturers expected to spend a record $24 billion on
green car research and development this year, according to the Nikkei
business daily.
Detractors says electric vehicles simply shift emissions to the
fossil-fuel burning power plants that provide the energy to recharge
their batteries. They are also hampered by a short driving range.
Fuel cell cars, on the other hand, are seen as the Holy Grail of
green cars as they're powered by a chemical reaction of hydrogen and
oxygen, which produces nothing more harmful than water.
Still largely experimental, fuel-cell vehicles could get a boost as
various jurisdictions, including the US state of California, launch new
hydrogen refuelling stations.
Toyota is eyeing a 500-kilometre (300-mile) range for its fuel-cell
car -- more than twice the Leaf's current range -- and much faster
re-juicing.
The company, while not abandoning electric altogether, sees the fuel
cell as the next logical step after its big early success with the Prius
gas-electric hybrid, which has sold about 3.7 million units since its
launch in the late 1990s.
"Electric vehicles are still so limited by the cruising range,"
Nobuyori Kodaira, Toyota's executive vice president said in a recent
interview.
"Hydrogen can be recharged in three minutes... Quick-charging an electric vehicle still takes about half an hour."
- Different paths, same goals -
Cleaner power generation, however, may boost the appeal of electric
cars, said Jos Dings, director of Brussels-based NGO Transport &
Environment.
"If... we manage to make electricity in a much cleaner way -- there
is a lot of investment in renewable energy -- then it can definitely be a
sustainable way forward," he said.
Still, Nissan's Leaf has shifted about 120,000 units since its launch nearly four years ago, way below expectations.
But its chief executive Carlos Ghosn -- a steadfast cheerleader of
electric cars who has scoffed at rivals' ambitious plans for a
commercialised fuel-cell vehicle -- said new re-charging stations will
be crucial to demand.
"All of it is very closely linked to the development of
infrastructure, but we are seeing more and more competitors coming onto
the scene which is always a tell-tale sign," he told AFP earlier this
year.
Ghosn was speaking in Bhutan, where Nissan sealed a deal to supply
the tiny Himalayan kingdom's government with a fleet of its green
vehicles as it eyes an all-electric transport policy.
Governments throwing their weight behind strict roadside pollution
standards and other environmentally-minded policies is crucial, analysts
said.
"I don't think GM, Ford and Chrysler look at green cars as a profit
opportunity or big growth opportunity in which they are sensing a lot of
consumer demand or growth -- their goal is to meet what the government
requires from them," said US-based auto analyst Jack Nerad.
Whether one technology ultimately reigns supreme, or they co-exist
with a patchwork of refuelling stations, may not matter much, added the
environment group's Dings.
"All carmakers are now seriously investing in developing these
technologies, seeing how customers react to them, seeing how they work
on the road and how much they cost," he said.
"They all chose different paths and that's fine, as long as the solutions deliver."
Source;
http://www.hindustantimes.com/autos/htauto-topstories/global-automakers-split-on-green-car-strategy/article1-1231077.aspx
