A EUROPE-WIDE plan for an electric car will be launched as part of the Spanish presidency of the EU next month.
Spanish prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, whose country holds the EU presidency, said there was a need for a pan-European strategy to produce viable electric cars.
Mr Zapatero said he had met some of Europe’s biggest car manufacturers in recent months who impressed upon him that the EU should take a lead in developing electric vehicles.
The development of an electric car by Renault is seen as critical to the survival of its Spanish operations.
Late last year Renault agreed to build 20,000 electric cars at its plant in Valladolid which was due to close in 2012. The cars will come to market next year.
The Spanish hailed it as the first announcement of the mass production of an electric car in Europe.
Renault predicts that 10 per cent of all cars will be electric by 2020.
Mr Zapatero stressed that energy independence was a critical part of the EU’s 2020 economic development strategy.
The Spanish presidency of the EU is organising a meeting of EU industry ministers in San Sebastian on February 8th to launch the plan for an electric vehicle.
While the plan is likely to encourage competition among manufacturers, it is also expected to lead to a discussion about standards, the infrastructure needed and state support for electric car development. The European Commission is already working on its proposals for electric cars which the Commission President José Manuel Barroso described as a “very important” part of its green strategy.
Mr Zapatero told MEPS in the European Parliament that the car industry was already going through huge change and there was a need for a co-ordinated response and a common strategy. He said competitors such as China and Japan would have the advantage unless EU car manufacturers had the right incentives to invest in electric vehicles.
“It was felt to be fundamental that there should be co-operation of efforts in developing the electric vehicles among all EU countries with the commission taking a lead in developing electric cars,” Mr Zapatero said.
He added that there was a need for a regulatory framework to provide financial support for electric vehicle manufacturers, common standards and technologies without which it will be difficult for Europe to take a lead in this area.