MAJOR car makers are falling over each other with announcements of plans to produce zero-emission hybrid vehicles.
Experts agree that demand for such vehicles is so high that the industry will probably not be able to meet it fully in the coming years.
All the big car makers had an electric-drive vehicle on show including the French, Japanese, German and US manufacturers, at the recent Paris Motor Show. After spending decades in the backyards of hobby mechanics the electric car is becoming a realistic alternative, triggered by a leap in lithium-ion battery technology that is lighter and more compact than the heavy nickel-cadmium version. Electric cars, that can be recharged from a socket in your home or at a loading station at work, will be available from several car makers in the next two to three years.
The electric Smart from Daimler, the e-drive MINI from BMW or Toyota's electric IQ - all cars in the mini subcompact class - are especially suitable for urban commuters who drive less than 100 kilometres per day.
But German car parts supplier Bosch is refining the lithium-ion technology in a joint venture with Japan's Samsung concern in a bid to boost the range to more than 200 kilometres on one electric charge which would also make it suitable for light delivery vehicles.
Japanese car makers are at the forefront of the next generation of electric drive technology.
Mitsubishi has announced plans for a car fitted with two engines. The car uses electric drive for short distances and switches to petrol drive on longer trips.
Mitsubishi is planning a car with a range of 100 kilometres on a single charge of half an hour for the Japanese market in the coming months, throwing the gauntlet to competitors Toyota and Daimler.
Two major problems have to be solved before such cars can reach a mass market.
The lithium-ion batteries still make the cars too expensive for most people. General Motors once dreamt of selling its Chevy Volt for under $US30,000 ($A44,300) but the price now seems highly unrealistic when it hits the US showrooms by late 2010.
Electric cars also need a network of recharging stations. Car makers are currently seeking co-operation with electric power suppliers. Renault has just announced an ambitious plan for the mass-production of electric cars, signing a memorandum of understanding with power supplier EDF to develop a supporting recharging infra-structure in France.
Renault's CEO Carlos Ghosn said at the Paris show that it was not a question of whether demand will be sufficient.
``It is whether supply will be able to follow the demand that is already out there,'' he said.
Daimler is co-operating with power supplier RWE which is installing 500 charging stations in Berlin by late 2009. Some 100 electric Smarts will be delivered to selected customers as part of the project with an electric drive Mercedes planned for 2010, according to CEO Dieter Zetsche.
While electric drive appears a realistic alternative for small cars built with new lightweight materials, the car makers are concentrating on hybrid drive and fuel-saving technology for bigger cars.
Citroen lead the way in Paris with its Hypnos hybrid crossover concept.
The vehicle has a diesel motor in the front with an electric motor positioned on the rear axle. It can be driven on zero-emission electric drive for about 3.2 kilometres before the diesel takes over, giving it a consumption of 6.5 litres per 100 kilometres.
This puts it on par with the X5 diesel concept SUV BMW presented in Geneva earlier this year.
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