Since many governments are now taking it seriously to sustain the environment, they are promoting the manufacture of electric vehicles that have zero emissions. With every passing year, there are more and more alternatives coming up for the combustion engine. There are quite a few electric transportation models available in the market.
Countries in Europe and Asia have a wide variety of compact, electric vehicles. These are slowly and steadily gaining popularity in United States as well because people understand the importance of clean and green energy.
There are many prototypes coming up each year and several companies are gearing up for mass production of their prototypes.
Tesla Motors has come up with an all electric vehicle called Roadster. It will release another model by the name of S in the year 2012. Roadster is a high performance all electric car costing about $100,000. The car has a horsepower of 288 and it can reach a speed of 60 in just 3.7 seconds.
Japanese automaker Nissan is all set to release LEAF which is again an all electric vehicle. The launch will be done in the United States. LEAF does not require gas to run and it is perfect for city driving. The small car can even be driven at high speeds. The LEAF is reasonably priced at just $30,000.
Chevy is releasing an electric model as well called Volt in 2011. However this car is not fully electric. This is a plug in vehicle and it has an electrical range of 40 miles. There is a small internal combustion engine that can kick on once the power supply is depleted. Electricity is created by the gasoline powered generator. The Volt is priced at $40,000.
There are other automakers that are beginning to fall in line. They are now concentrating more on producing electric vehicles than the ones using combustion engine. With the advancement of technology, there will be better and more efficient models rolling off the assembly line. More models will be available and prices will come down considerably.