German government: 1M electric cars by 2020

Germany launched a campaign to put 1M electric cars on the road by 2020, making battery research a priority as it tries to position the country as a market leader. The program, which draws on $705M set aside in an economic stimulus package earlier this year but leaves many financing details up to the next gov't, drew criticism for being too vague. "It is our aim to make Germany in the market leader for electric mobility," Economy Minister zu Guttenberg said after the Cabinet approved it. He said the 1M target by 20 is an ambitious aim, but one we believe can be realized. Germany had over 41M cars on the road at the start of this year -- only 1,452 of them electric cars. The gov't plans to spend $162M examining in 8 test regions how the cars can best be introduced. It also plans to put $240M in research on the batteries that power electric cars, making domestic production a priority & ensuring German experts are trained in the tech. "It is important we couple a hopefully decreasing dependency on oil imports with not suddenly becoming dependent on battery imports," he said. The plan calls for electric cars to be put on the market starting in 2012, but does not specify what if any incentives might be offered to would-be buyers. He said a market introduction plan would be examined, & financing will be a question for the next gov