Within the halls of the North American International Auto Show, the worlds automakers were jockeying yesterday to promote their electric cars. But outside in the ever-changing marketplace, automakers could face a number of obstacles to selling electric vehicles。
For one, gas prices have been falling. The auto industry has had similar experience before. In the 1970s gas crisis, Detroits automakers jumped to produce profitable trucks and SUVs while neglecting smaller car lines. When oil prices spiked again, the companies were unprepared for consumer purchases to swing back to fuel-efficient vehicles. Over this summer, as oil prices spiked at an all-time high, consumers cried for smaller, more energy-saving vehicles. Now that prices at the pump are under $2 a gallon, analysts say consumers are migrating back to trucks and sport-utility vehicles。
Also complicating the move toward electric cars is that individual states are pursuing different environmental agendas. Last month, Hawaii teamed up with Silicon Valley upstart Better Place to build electric-car recharging stations at parking spaces. But California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has thrown his weight behind an approach centered on hydrogen fuel cells, launching a program to ensure that every Californian has access to hydrogen fuel along the states major highways by 2010。
Moreover, the infrastructure for electric cars is missing. While plug-in vehicles are ideal for urban drivers, few will have access to a plug to charge the car overnight. Meanwhile, utilities arent about to invest in thousands of public plug-in stations until there are thousands of plug-in drivers on the road。
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