Disappointment in electric cars is worst fear

Oct 13 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Brent Snavely Detroit Free Press

With both the Chevrolet Volt and the Nissan Leaf set to go on sale later this year, there is a clear consensus among all manufacturers: Nobody wants any automaker with an electric car to disappoint their customers.

"We really don't want to see anybody stumble out of the gate," Scott Becker, vice president of administration for Nissan, said today during the Business of Plugging In, an electric vehicle conference in Detroit.

Becker and others said it will take an immense communication and education effort on the part of automakers, utilities and governments to make sure consumers have accurate information and expectations of electric vehicles. Otherwise, they will be disappointed, adoption rates could be slowed.

"It's not life or death. It's not fatal," said Bill Reinert, national manager for Toyota's advanced technology group. "But you don't want to launch a technology that the customers really don't know about and then that technology fails early on."

Nissan's Leaf is scheduled to go on sale in five states in December while the Chevrolet Volt is scheduled to go on sale by mid-November.

Contact BRENT SNAVELY: 313-222-6512 or bsnavely@freepress.com.