Current advances in electric car technology has fast tracked the progress of what was once an expensive and limited field in the automobile industry. Because of the trend, car manufacturers are now trying to take direct initiative in developing electric vehicles. Experts foresee that the demand for e-cars would dramatically increase in the near future.
Toyota Aims To Increase 15 Percent Of Lithium-Ion Battery Range To Future E-Cars
According to Forbes, Toyota announced a breakthrough in developing new ways of maximizing lithium-ion batteries for future electric cars. Dr. Hisao Yamashige of Toyota's advanced research and development division has recently told a group of reporters what seems to be the world's first lithium-Ion observation tool.
Once the new breakthrough is commercialized in a span of two to three years, the range for current lithium-ion battery would be increased to 15 percent. The development took three years of work and needed a giant synchrotron built around a hill in Japan's Hyogo Prefecture
The Japanese company has long led the market for electric vehicles when it first introduced the Toyota Prius in 2003. Now the company claims that it might have discovered another way of increasing the battery range for their current lithium-ion batteries.
Demand For E-Cars Spurs Global Competition
Daimler's recent announcement of investing $11 million for developing sustainable electric vehicles would suggest that automobile companies are looking to bank on the new emerging market. Another German automobile company, Volkswagen has announced that it is also developing prototypes for electric vehicles.
The automobile industry has recently been plagued by an emissions testing scandal involving Volkswagen and its diesel cars. According to Gamenguide, Volkswagen admitted that some of its diesel-based vehicles were rigged to outperform various emissions testing to allow entry into the American market. The scandal is one of the contributors for the push for greener and zero emission automobiles.
