PEOPLE USED TO BE AFRAID OF ELECTRICITY ITSELF TOO:

Electric dreams: the charge ahead: A future free of petrol is just around the corner and the race is on to capture the market (Stephen Ottley, 4/23/11, SMH)

The race to find an alternative to fossil fuels has been intensifying and is set to reach a critical moment over the next 18 months.

Electric cars are ready to hit the mass market with Mitsubishi, Nissan and Holden all poised to begin offering Australians the option of ditching the internal combustion engine by the end of next year.

But electric cars are just one part of the alternative, because there will not be a single like-for-like replacement for petrol. Instead, fully electric, range-extended electric, hybrids, hydrogen fuel cells, ethanol as well as unleaded and diesel will all compete for our attention.

Electric cars have the early advantage and look set to become the most serious competition to petrol. But a number of obstacles stand between today and the scenario played out above.

Infrastructure needs to be built; vehicle costs need to come down; Australia needs to get more energy from green power; governments need to be more supportive; and, most important of all, consumer attitudes need to change.

While electric cars are ready, perhaps the real question is: are we ready for them?

Electric cars are nothing new. They've been around almost as long as cars powered by the internal combustion engine. But it wasn't until recently that car makers worked out how to build one that offered a useful driving range between recharging, was reliable and was relatively affordable.

Mitsubishi became the first major car maker to offer an electric car in Australia late last year. The tiny i-MiEV city car was offered on a lease arrangement to governments, councils and fleet operators as a would-be teaser of what's to come.

The real breakthrough for electric cars is expected next year when Nissan becomes the first manufacturer to offer a full-size electric hatchback: the Leaf. Later next year Holden is expected to join the electric revolution with its Chevrolet-inspired Volt range-extended electric small sedan.

By producing cars in the most popular segment of the market Nissan and Holden will entice more buyers to make the switch to electric. But even so, both cars are expected to sell in limited numbers for the first couple of years.

That's because while small in size, they won't be small in price. Neither Nissan nor Holden have revealed pricing for their electric cars but they are expected to cost more than $50,000. Nissan Australia's EV [electric vehicle] regional director, Michael Hayes, is confident there will be enough early adopters looking for the next step willing to pay the premium.

''We see [initial Leaf buyers] as the same people that adopted hybrid technology seven, eight years ago,'' Hayes says. ''People who understood the benefits of hybrid technology, they 'got it', and it was in line with their own social conscience and their own agendas. Those people are looking for the next step in personal motoring.''

Extending sales beyond those environmentally conscious early adopters will be the biggest challenges the car makers will face. There are a number of hurdles the industry has to clear, notably implementing charging infrastructure and overcome consumer's ''range-anxiety''; the fear of running out of charge.

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