The inside line

CAP (who provide resale values to the motor industry) are all too aware of this. They recently decided they cannot issue resale values until complex issues with regards to the leasing of batteries have been resolved.

This is because, to bring prices down, some manufacturers have decided to sell the car but lease the expensive batteries independently.

Our source, let's call him Mike, suggests a problem with this:

'If you take your EV to sell after a few years and you have to say to the auction house, 'I own the car but actually I don't own the battery', you're going to have a nightmare. The car is never going to pass the HPI check.

'And if you have an accident then you're going to have issues with the insurance. Does the manufacturer insure the battery separately?'

The nerves of this motor industry professional wear thin when discussing a subject he describes as boring. Boring and frustrating, and at times embarrassing for everybody involved.

Mike goes on to describe how, when driving a new EV from a major manufacturer at a flagship launch last week, the car ran out of battery after only one and a half hours.

And after meeting the Head of EU Development for another major manufacturer, our insider can only describe him as 'clueless'.

This will do nothing to allay the fears of consumers.

The EV has already lent the world a new term, with 'range anxiety' entering the lexicon as a way of describing that feeling drivers get as they edge up against the limits of their EV's battery capability.

Mike again:

'It's not until they've driven them for a while that EV drivers will get used to the peculiar, capricious nature of their vehicle. Under good conditions the car might have a decent range, but what if it's stormy and drivers have to have the lights and the wipers on, as well as suffering the draining affect of heat on the lithium-ion batteries? Range will decrease. Drivers might be in for a nasty surprise.'

There are also a number of political issues with regards to launching EVs worldwide.

Not the least of these is manufacturer's reliance on lithium-ion batteries and the precious metal which lies at the heart of these key design components. Unless an alternative or supplementary metal is discovered manufacturers will depend on the political cooperation and stability of China and Bolivia.

Should supplies be cut off or demand surge, manufacturers and consumers alike could be left as part of a stagnant industry.

This is an industry nervous as to how best to proceed in these unchartered waters, nervous of making overly grandiose claims for their new electric cars but seemingly helpless in the face of encouragement from consumers and governments alike.

When I ask about the influence of government and whether he thinks they have been investing correctly, Mike is vociferous:

'Subsidizing a £30K car to the tune of £5K is nonsense. This only benefits people who can afford to spend that sort of money on a car in the first place. And meanwhile today they're making cuts to the police and god knows what else. I know what ordinary people are going to say to that.'

If there is hope for consumers it probably lies away from the cars getting the publicity at the moment, the Nissan Leaf and the Mitsubishi iMiEV.

And despite the hype, environmental hopes may also depend upon something other than a purely EV vehicle.

After you have factored in the methods by which the electricity used to power EVs is produced, these cars will still generate CO2/km figures of around 80g/km despite having 0% exhaust emissions.

And just to put that into perspective a modern BMW 320d will do 120g/km and the Seat Leon under 100g/km.

It is away from the new electric vehicles from Peugeot and Citroen that the Chevrolet Volt appeals.

Sold in the UK as the Vauxhall Ampera, it's this semi-EV which draws the biggest complement from our insider.

The Ampera utilises both electric power and a conventional fuel engine - unlike a conventional hybrid however the Ampera will cover its first 40 miles entirely by way of electric power. Only if you want to 'extend your range' will the small petrol engine kick in.

Even with the likely petrol usage factored in the combined CO2/km figures will be down around 40, an impressive figure and one which goes some way to reassuring our industry insider that EVs have a future apart from the confusion and the hype.

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