Day Two: Hybrids vs. Electrics - why is the alternative to petrol petrol?

Part of the Greenpeace Motor Show blog

As promised, the fruits of my research on why the major manufacturers are jumping on the hybrid bandwagon and ignoring electric vehicles (EVs). I asked representatives of some of the big players producing hybrids, and received some fairly vague and not altogether useful answers. For example, the charming spokesmodel from Toyota, makers of the Prius, told me that EVs were too limited in their performance and so a petrol motor was needed for that extra bit of oomph. She hadn't heard of the EVs which are capable of over 200mph and can out-accelerate anything petrol driven (there are several in production and more in the design stages) but surmised that they may be too expensive. This is the truth, but not the whole truth.