A Bumpy Ride for Electric Cars

In July 2017 Nicolas Hulot, the French Minister of Ecological and Inclusive Transition, presented a climate plan featuring an end to electricity generation from coal by 2022, a reduction in the nuclear component of electricity supply by one third, a total ban on the sale of petrol or diesel cars by 2040 and an incentive scheme designed gradually to remove polluting vehicles from the roads. Other European partners are following suit and promoting the spread of electric vehicles (Norway, Germany, Netherlands etc.). Yet is this the panacea that will meet the targets for greenhouse gas reduction in the battle against climate change? Futuribles examines the question in this issue, first through this article by Pierre Bonnaure that assesses the forces driving the spread of electric cars and the impediments to that process, and then with an article by Véronique Lamblin offering a general overview of electric road vehicles.