Ford looks set to sell solar panels alongside its electric Focus model when the car goes on sale in the US later this year.
The photovoltaic panels will be provided by SunPower, allowing electric car owners to generate electricity for their car and home.
SunPower said that an 11-panel system producing about 3,000 kilowatt hours of electricity a year could offset around 1,000 miles of driving in the electric version of the popular sedan.
"In effect, you are driving a solar-powered car," SunPower chief executive Tom Werner told USA Today, adding that customers have said they want to power the car themselves and break the link with fossil fuel-derived grid electricity.
However, the panels will cost $10,000 on top of the as yet unannounced price of the electric Focus, which will be sold in California and New York initially, before being rolled out to other key markets in the spring next year. European customers will have to wait until later in 2012 to purchase the electric Ford.
In related news, the provincial government in Ontario, Canada has announced an $80m investment in its recharging infrastructure for electric cars.
Premier Dalton McGuinty said yesterday that the province wants the private and public sectors to come up with ways to build and test new facilities. The province will then provide seed money to selected projects.
The administration has yet to outline any details about the programme, but has said that it will support wider efforts to promote electric cars. Ontario already offers up to $8,500 in incentives for electric car buyers, and drivers are also given a green plate that allows them to use special lanes.
However, the move has been treated with scepticism by political opponents who say that the Liberal government is simply backing green issues to gain support in the forthcoming elections.
Meanwhile, Audi has become the latest manufacturer to release an electric concept car. The quadricycle design, similar to a Renault Twizy, has staggered seats for two people and uses a lithium-ion battery to power two e-tron electric motors.
The company has yet to announce whether it will manufacture a commercial electric vehicle, but has said that it is planning to spend €11bn by 2015 on new products as it seeks to increase its portfolio to 42 models.
source: APEC-VC Korea
