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Ecotality in talks with Big Auto, CEO says

Ecotality is in talks with leading automakers--not only Nissan--concerning its electric charging stations for highway-legal electric cars, according to CEO Jonathan Read.

"We have been contacted by every major automaker about electric vehicle systems relating to charging and infrastructure. We expect to convert these discussions into firm contracts," Read told investors Wednesday at a shareholders' conference that was open to the press.

The Arizona-based company recently announced a partnership with Nissan and the local governments in the Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz., areas to build charging stations for electric cars that would cover the regions and the 116-mile stretch … Read more

San Francisco: Electric car city?

Who's bringing the electric car back to life? Mayor Gavin Newsom hopes he can help in San Francisco by partnering with Project Better Place, according to Earth2Tech.

The venture, founded by the mayor's friend Shai Agassi, aims for all passenger vehicles in Israel to run on batteries rather than gasoline. Drivers would subscribe to cars much like they subscribe to cellular phone plans. The biggest challenge is to create the electric car infrastructure, a network of stations for charging vehicles and replacing batteries.

In Israel last week, Newsom met with CEO Moshe Kaplinsky and volunteered to make the … Read more

GM's electric car returns: part II (not the Sequel)

Following yesterday's Los Angeles Times article on GM's development of a new kind of gasoline-electric hybrid, Reuters is reporting this morning that the plug-in hybrid electric (PHEV) car is likely to make its first appearance at the 2007 North American International Auto Show in Detroit next January. The unveiling will come exactly 10 years after the launch of the ill-fated EV1 electric car (pictured), which GM discontinued in 2002 citing lack of public interest. Since then, GM has taken a hammering at the hands of overseas automakers who have been early adopters of hybrid technology.

Recent initiatives such … Read more