BMW Leading the Way towards the Electric Car

As the world economy suffers and our national automakers stumble, foreign companies like BMW are looking to take advantage.  For years, the electric/hybrid car has been a goal of many automakers.  In the movie, "Who Killed the Electric Car?" we see that GM had developed an electric car a few years ago, that they eventually pulled from market.  Since that time, the focus shifted from electric vehicles to hybrid vehicles.  This means the car would be able to run on both gasoline and electricity.  

Gas prices are unstable, as is the US economy.  World markets have also felt the pinch, but many were regulated better than our stock market.  As a result, BMW has chosen to take the lead in electric vehicles.  BMW has already perfected its diesel engine, making it extremely efficient, and has also developed an engine that runs on Hydrogen and emits only water (they have tested this engine in the 7-series).  And, according to an article from Business Week, they are trying a test run of 500 Mini Coopers that are made to be purely electric.

Available in New York and Los Angeles, the cars have been in high demand.  In fact, BMW states they have had no problem finding people to lease the vehicles at $850 a month.  For comparison, this amount is higher than it would cost to lease a gasoline-powered BMW 5-series.  

Many fear that the technology is not going to be cheap enough to put into mass produced vehicles.  However, these steps show that the recent problems with the world economy have caused a possible shift in business-as-usual.  For years, the oil companies had control over automakers, but it appears as if they are finally ready to break free.