Electric Car Technology

The Prime Minister appears to be emitting signals about government support for electric vehicles and shall demonstrate this support in the forthcoming budget, it is believed.

Electric car technology fascinates me. I understand that many electric cars are already in the pipeline, in a technological sense; though the battery size in relation to the durability - in terms of how long they will last until re-charging becomes necessary - has been a tough nut to crack.

Smart Cars, a division of Mercedes-Benz, are introducing an electric version of their little car soon. The snag, for many, will be that the car is a two-seater; and that the battery range will be a mere eighty miles.

The scientists and motor manufacturers are getting there, though. The Mini E sounds promising, with a potential range of up to 150 miles. It's necessarily a two-seater, also, due to the bulky batteries which take up the space where the back seats would have been. Mini is a BMW brand, as if you didn't know.

The Prime Minister wishes to encourage local councils to submit bids to become our first "green cities". Whilst I do not exhort the City of Belfast to rush into a decision about this, I believe it ought to be seriously considered. Why not?

I'd also like Northern Ireland Electricity to begin a dialogue with Government about the roadside power-points alluded to in the article.