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This year’s Tokyo motorshow was as low-key an affair as motor shows can be, and was all but deserted by foreign carmakers. But while the industry is reeling from the economic downturn, Japanese manufacturers appear to be looking to the future. Harry Fawcett reports from the Tokyo show where electric cars are sparking hopes for the future.

Sep 2006 Did General Motors deliberately sabotage the marketing of electric cars because they threatened the motor industry? That’s the allegation made in a controversial new documentary. Ten years ago, GM unveiled the EV1 — the first electric car for the mass market. “The EV1 was really special because it was cool and fast and fun to drive,” states former GM marketer Chelsea Sexton. “These cars were so good, they would challenge the status quo of the oil industry.” But despite their popularity among owners, GM quickly pulled the plug on its new product. It claims there was simply no mass market. “You could only go 100 miles before you had to recharge it so had to adapt your lifestyle to meet the needs of the vehicle,” states spokesman Dave Barthmuss. But other workers believe GM never intended the EV1s to work and were more interested in promoting Hummers. “We got indications along the way that they weren’t as sincere as they would have people believe,” states Sexton. All the EV1s had been leased, instead of sold, to their owners. When the leases expired, GM refused to renew them and sent the cars to be crushed. But demand for electric cars keeps on growing. Some enthusiasts have converted their own cars to run on electricity and claim they have invented a battery that will last for 500km. Produced by SBS/Dateline Distributed by Journeyman Pictures

Smart-charging electric cars. Video made avaiable via The News Market.

Complete video at: fora.tv Better Place CEO Shai Agassi discusses his ideas for mass public adoption of electric cars. Agassi’s plan calls for charging outlets at parking spots for city driving, and battery switching stations for traveling extended distances. —– Shai Agassi deliveres the 2009 Alfred Deakin Eco-Innovation Lecture, outlining how through smart business, improving technology and changing public policy, the electric car revolution can commence. - Australian Broadcasting Corporation Shai Agassi is the founder and chief executive of Better Place, the leading electric vehicle services provider. He is focused on one of this century’s biggest challenges, moving the world from oil-based to sustainable transportation. Agassi works with government leaders, auto manufacturers, energy companies and others to make his vision “zero-emission vehicles powered by electricity from renewable sources” a reality in countries around the globe. Agassi’s visionary leadership with the Better Place model has been recognized widely. TIME Magazine named him to the 2009 TIME 100, the world’s 100 most influential people, and one of TIME’s “Heroes of the Environment 2008.” Fast Company placed him third on its “100 Most Creative People in Business” list. Most recently, Scientific American Magazine named him to the 2009 Scientific American 10, a select group of 10 people who have demonstrated outstanding commitment to assuring the benefits of new technologies and knowledge will accrue to …

ISRAEL21c.org sees the future of transportation in Israel, and it’s all green. Through Shai Agassi’s innovative “Project Better Place,” Israel will become the first country to mass produce electric cars.

In China, we meet a modern-day Thomas Edison who helped give birth to the country’s “knockoff” electric car industry. Chinese consumers in second-tier cities can’t get enough of these small, cheap electric cars that require 6 hours of charging to go 75 miles — at a maximum of 35 mph. Video journalist Jimmy Wang produced the video for TIME and the Asia Society. worldfocus.org

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