Electric vehicles are getting better, cheaper, longer lasting

Electric vehicles are getting better, cheaper, longer lasting    

I.D. is the first Volkswagen on the all-new electric-vehicle platform and the first prepared for automated driving.PHOTO BY VOLKSWAGEN

Second-wave EVs promise technology for us all

The billboard-size electric sign featured a big number -- both in the size of the lettering and in its import.

It touted the Renault Zoe electric vehicle, saying "Renault ZOE 400 km. 100% Electric. Now."

That's 400 kilometers, or 249 miles, of driving range per charge, although it's based on the extremely generous New European Driving Cycle testing. (A Nissan executive later said the Zoe would get about three-quarters of that in real-world driving.)

Nevertheless, it represented a striking trend at the auto show here: Call it the second wave of electric vehicles.

When the first wave of EVs hit the market a few years ago, automakers quickly learned that the pool of green consumers who would tolerate limited range and high prices was extremely limited. 

Now they're bringing out a batch of EVs with more consumer-friendly ranges and prices. 

Volkswagen, for instance, rolled out its I.D. concept car, an EV that brand chairman Herbert Diess said will sell for about the price of a Golf diesel -- think mid-$20,000s -- and have more than 250 miles of range. VW plans to have 30 EVs in its lineup by 2025, he said. 

Diess said VW must take aggressive steps to fend off competitors like Tesla, whose Model 3 is projected at a $35,000 base price and 215-mile range, and potentially Google and Apple. 

"You have to be more radical if you want to compete with those," Diess said. "As long as you carry along the combustion engine, I think you don't have a chance to compete with the new entries." 

It's not only Silicon Valley spurring automakers. Ian Robertson, BMW board member for sales and marketing, said that global emissions regulations are tightening. 

"We're all facing a legislative framework around the world which is going in one direction and almost converging on the same spot," Robertson said. "Within the mix of vehicles for the foreseeable future, you will need to have a good proportion of zero-emission vehicles."