Portugal invests in electric cars

By Peter Wise in Lisbon
Published: July 8 2008 16:28

Portugal will unveil details Wednesday of a partnership with Renault and Nissan to create a national network for zero-emission electric cars produced by the Franco-Japanese alliance.
José Sócrates, Portugal’s socialist prime minister, who has urged the European Union to use more “political muscle” to combat rising fuel prices, said the plan would reduce the country’s high level of dependence on imported oil.

Mr Sócrates, who will be accompanied by Carlos Ghosn, president of Renault and Nissan, will set out plans to create a network of battery recharging and swap stations, tax incentives and a promotional programme to make electric cars a viable and attractive option.
Portugal follows Israel and Denmark in agreeing on similar plans to create a market for electric vehicles. But Renault-Nissan has named Portugal as its first partner in a “direct programme” to encourage the wide-spread commercialisation of zero-emission cars.
The car-making alliance said its electric vehicle would be available in Portugal in 2011. Basílio Horta, head of Portugal’s state investment agency, AICEP, said the car would “revolutionise” the automobile and fuel markets.
It would drive like a petrol-fuelled car and have a range of 200 km , he said.
Private-sector Portuguese companies will also participate in the project. Energias de Portugal, the country’s dominant power utility, is already working with other European groups to gauge the potential impact of electric vehicles on national power grids.
Portugal is also keen to involve its auto components industry in supplying seats, dashboards and other parts for the new electric car, which is expected to be manufactured in France.
The Lisbon government is expected to press the EU to lift restrictions on state aid to industry to allow governments to provide incentives for the manufacture of zero-emission vehicles and related infrastructures.
Mr Sócrates has been urging the EU to take more decisive action to promote alternatives to fossil fuels. “Europeans cannot go on accepting the additional tax on their economies of higher oil prices,” he said in Brussels recently.
“It is time to invest in electric cars by guaranteeing a market and by ensuring that European consumers will be able to buy them at a reasonable price without any negative consequences.”
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008