Electric cars will become 'mainstream', according to expert

Date: 25/10/2011

Electric power will soon become mainstream for smaller vehicles, an expert has said.

Michael Boxwell, author of the 2011 Electric Car Guide and editor of theElectricCarGuide.com has said that electric power will become the most popular among the public, for any car up to the size of a Ford Focus.

Specifying their reduced running costs as the main reason for their growing popularity, he says that due to the rising cost of petrol there will be a point where leasing an electric car will cost less than filling a tank on a conventional vehicle.

He also names Lotus and the company's work with biomethanol as having a long term impact, saying: "Methanol can be created in an extremely environmentally-friendly way, it can be produced from algae, which is one of the fastest growing plants in the world."

He continues that it is also carbon neutral and generates more power than petrol.

This prediction is supported by the implementation of 4000 extra charging bays across the UK by the end of 2012, organised by Chargemaster.