Toyota to expand eco-friendly tie-up with BMW

Recent moves by Japan's two largest automakers suggest that the electric car, after more than 100 years of development and several brief revivals, still is not ready for prime time - and may never be. In the meantime, the attention of automotive executives in Asia, Europe and North America is beginning to swing toward an unusual but promising new alternate power source: hydrogen.

Are electric cars running out of juice again? Recent moves by Japan’s two largest automakers suggest that the electric car, after more than 100 years of development and several brief revivals, still is not ready for prime time – and may never be. In the meantime, the attention of automotive executives in Asia, Europe and North America is beginning to swing toward an unusual but promising new alternate power source: hydrogen.

Automakers Toyota and BMW on Thursday struck a partnership to share eco-friendly technologies, including in the joint development of lithium-ion batteries for next-generation electric cars, the companies said.Under the deal, the German automaker will also provide diesel engines for Toyota as the Japanese auto giant looks to boost sales in Europe, where more than half of passenger cars are diesel powered.Toyota has struggled to boost its European market share with its gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles, despite its leading position in the low-emission technology.

By Juan Carlos Zuleta:This contribution is about "Build your Dreams" - BYD (BYDDF.PK), Warren Buffett's most famous investment in China. It's aimed at analyzing this company's possibilities of success in the introduction of Li-ion starter batteries into the micro-hybrid car market.

John Petersen submits:Before moving to Switzerland in 1998 I lived and worked in Houston, Texas, a place that teaches you the importance of keeping an eye on long-term weather forecasts, particularly during hurricane season. Most of the time it turns out to be wasted effort because Mother Nature is fickle and highly unpredictable, but when it's important it's really important. The same logic holds for investments in energy storage and electric vehicle technologies.

Ford, Daimler AG (which owns Mercedes-Benz and Smart), and Renault-Nissan announced a partnership yesterday to speed up the development of zero-emission fuel cell electric vehicles by sharing the costs of investment.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp and BMW AG will jointly research a lithium-air battery expected to be more powerful than the lithium-ion batteries used in many hybrid and electric vehicles, the two firms said. The two companies will also work on a fuel cell vehicle system, which includes a hydrogen tank and motor, by 2020, they said on Thursday. The strengthening of the partnership between Toyota, the world's best-selling automaker, and BMW, the largest premium carmaker, will allow them to cut development costs as competition intensifies globally. ...

Gird yourself: It's possible we're about to see a new wave of attacks on electric cars that ignore battery science. This time the culprit is the troubled Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.