DETROIT (Reuters) — General Motors’ plug-in Chevy Volt and other electric vehicles have generated widespread consumer fervor for cleaner, less fuel-dependent cars, but the high battery cost means it will be years before those cars are affordable to most Americans.

Executives attending the Reuters Autos Summit this week agreed that low-emission electric cars are critical to the future of the U.S. auto market due to sky-high gasoline prices and increased concerns about global warming.

But at roughly $10,000 each, the light, long-lasting lithium-ion batteries key to powering electric cars will make those vehicles prohibitively expensive until production levels are ramped up to the hundreds of thousands.

“It will be more expensive than people expect,” Mike Jackson, chief executive of AutoNation Inc., the largest public auto dealership group, said of the electric cars that will hit the market in the next five years. “It will be more expensive to make than the manufacturers can really afford, meaning initially they’re going to have to limit the volumes.” Continued

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Mercedes — like a lot of other folks — believes oil is going to run out eventually. But instead of waiting until the “Low on Oil” light comes on, the brand behind the three-pointed-star has set a goal to convert its entire fleet to run on alternative fuels by 2015. That’s seven years to get off the drink we’ve all been addicted to for well over a century.

In the pipeline first are fuel-efficient technologies such as Stop/Start on the marque’s next A- and B-Class models sold in Europe. Then come the BlueEfficiency vehicles with Mercedes’ supremely parsimonious diesel engines, and eventually the Diesotto first shown in the F700.

And then come the real showstoppers: ethanol, electric, and fuel cell vehicles. There are electric smarts running trials in London right now, and the F600 Hygenius is expected to eventually spawn some sort of production variant. On the face of it, seven years to go diesel- and gas-optional for an entire fleet is somewhat hard to fathom — but the prediction is coming from a company not previously known for wild daring. Even if they just get close to success, in only seven years, they might prove a nearby rival wrong about what’s doable under the new CAFE laws.

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Previous G8 summits have seen talk about biofuels and GEM electric vehicles. This year, the EVs are getting a bit of an upgrade, with ten Mitsubishi i MiEV electric vehicles available for officials at the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit in Japan in early July. Media representatives covering the conference will also be able to ride in the zero-emission jellybeans. MItsubishi said in a statement (after the jump) that it hopes “attendees of the G8 Summit will find a new appreciation for the superior practicality and environmental viability of electric vehicles.”

The Summit will cover a wide variety of topic, from environmental concerns to African development to the world economy. The Prime Minister of Japan, Yasuo Fukuda (also the G8 Summit chair), said that, “Global warming is a huge challenge, and humanity has no time to lose. The international community must urgently strengthen efforts to resolve this issue.” He hopes that a Japanese proposal called the Cool Earth Promotion Programme will pick up support in Hokkaido.

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News comes from the Japan Post Service Co, which is the mail delivery unit of Japan Post Group, that the mail carrier plans a switch to completely electric vehicles as soon as possible. This announcement comes as record-high gasoline prices sweep the world. Major Japanese automakers have big plans regarding all-electric cars, with manufacturers such as Nissan, Subaru and Mitsubishi all readying introductions of their first models in 2010. Stocks of each of these companies soared with the news from the Post, along with battery makers which have relationships with those auto companies. Mitsubishi and its partner Yuasa appear to have benefited the most from the announcement, with shares of those companies jumping a surprisingly strong 3.7 percent and 7 percent, respectively.

In an effort to start saving money on gas right away, the Post also suggested that it will start testing hybrid vehicles, which could fill in until the fully electric vehicles and the associated necessary infrastructure are ready.

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Renault has already hinted at building electric cars in Israel towards the end of the decade in a deal with Shai Agassi’s Project Better Place – an initiative designed to make electric vehicles a practical reality. However, according to new reports Renault will also build its own range of electric vehicles for sale in international markets.

Renault’s alliance partner Nissan is also working on an electric vehicle for sale in 2010 and it’s likely the two carmakers are sharing technology and investment to help speed up development and minimize risk. Like the new Nissan electric vehicle, which is expected to be based on the next-generation Cube minicar, Renault’s new model will also fill the sub-compact segment and will be targeted at customers in congested cities.

Speaking with AutoExpress, Renault’s director of product planning, Patrick Pelata, revealed the car could be launched in time for the 2012 London Olympics. He also hinted that it would be about the same size as the Twingo and could be available with two different batteries – a lighter unit for short distances and a larger one for weekend trips. Designers are also considering implementing a battery rental scheme to help absorb the costs of the powertrain.

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BMW is full of gas – literally. It has unveiled a new concept vehicle that can run solely on lightweight hydrogen. A previous version of its Hydrogen 7 concept car was a bi-fuel design, taking both gasoline and what many experts believe is the fuel of the future.

“The mono-fuel Hydrogen 7 is the (result) of more than 25 years of hydrogen development by BMW,” noted Tom Baloga, Vice-president of Engineering for BMW in the US. “It demonstrates BMW’s support for a hydrogen infrastructure by producing an internal combustion engine that produces truly near-zero emissions and simultaneously cleans the air of certain pollutants.”

The previous version of the BMW Hydrogen 7 did have one key advantage: if the lightweight gas wasn’t available, a motorist could switch to gasoline and keep running. But the downside is that the car’s big V12 powertrain had to be compromised to handle both fuels. And that impacted performance, mileage and emissions, according to BMW officials.

The tiniest amount of NOx does come out of the tailpipe, the natural result of the compression-ignition cycle in an internal combustion engine. But, “The BMW Hydrogen 7’s emissions were only a fraction of SULEV level, making it one of the lowest emitting combustion engine vehicles that have been manufactured,” contended Thomas Wallner, a mechanical engineer who leads Argonne’s hydrogen vehicle testing activities. “Moreover, the car’s engine actively cleans the air. Argonne’s testing shows that the Hydrogen 7’s 12-cylinder engine actually shows emissions levels that, for certain components, such as Non Methane Organic Gases (NMOG’s) and Carbon Monoxides (CO’s), are cleaner than the ambient air that comes into the car’s engine.”

BMW’s approach to hydrogen is unusual, though not entirely unique. Most manufacturers working with this “green” fuel are using it to run fuel cell stacks. At their most basic, fuel cells combine hydrogen with oxygen from the atmosphere, producing water vapor and electricity. That current can be used to run a vehicle’s electric motors.

Burning hydrogen in an IC engine is generally considered less efficient, but it also makes it easier to switch to the fuel without completely rebuilding the automotive infrastructure. Other makers, including Ford and Mazda, have also been experimenting with this approach, the Japanese maker, for example, field-testing hydrogen-powered versions of the rotary-powered RX-8 sports cars.

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From next year onwards the Tesla Roadster will no longer be a U.S. only model as the company has confirmed it will start selling its all-electric car in Europe in just over 12 months. Tesla had always planned to make its Roadster a global model but with the U.S. dollar falling sharply against the euro over the last two years and Europe’s strong concerns about global warming and its eagerness for sustainable motoring company bosses sped up the export program.

Furthermore, rules for homologating a new car for sale across Europe will be simplified in April next year and will allow Tesla to introduce a special limited edition model ahead of its original scheduled launch planned for later in the year. This special limited edition will sell for €99,000 for a fully loaded car, to be delivered in 2009 shortly after the rule change takes effect. Tesla’s first planned event in Europe will be at the Top Marques Monaco on the 24th of this month and will be followed up later in the year with the establishment of sales and service facilities.

Original: Last week we reported that Tesla was speeding up its export program to take advantage of the weak U.S. dollar, and now the electric car company’s CEO has confirmed the roadster will be sold in Europe by the third quarter of next year. Although the Tesla’s chassis is manufactured in the UK by Lotus, most of its hardware, including the expensive batteries, is put together in California. This makes exporting the car to Europe very lucrative for Tesla.

Speaking with the Financial Times, Tesla boss Ze’ev Drori revealed final pricing for the roadster in Europe would stand at €100,000 ($156,000). By comparison the car sells for just under $100,000 in the U.S., but Drori is confident Europe’s higher fuel prices and shorter average driving distances makes the car much more appealing for Europeans than it is for Americans.

Key markets include Germany, France and the Netherlands, as well as countries such as Norway and Denmark, which offer generous tax incentives for low-emission cars. The UK will miss out initially as there are no plans for a RHD version in the short term.

Tesla has already racked up 1,000 firm orders for its electric roadster but with production limited to just 250 units per month there will be significant delays for the car unless capacity is increased. To cope with the extra demand, Drori revealed Tesla will establish another factory for finishing cars in Europe

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