Depending on whom you ask, this tiny company is either the next big thing in automobiles, or a maker of glorified golf carts.
What’s indisputable is that as the whole automotive world seems to be racing suddenly toward the age of electricity, the Reva Electric Car Co. is in the lead, ahead of better-known local competitors such as Tata Motors Ltd and global giants such as General Motors Co. (GM) and Toyota Corp.
Daimler and Toyota are supposed to start trials of electric versions of the Smart Car and the Prius, respectively, by the end of the year. The Nissan Leaf will come out next year, as will the Chevy Volt. And the Obama administration is committing billions of taxpayer dollars to loans to help companies produce alternative vehicles, including hybrids and all-electric cars.
US vice-president Joe Biden was in Wilmington, Delaware, on Tuesday at a defunct GM plant that Fisker Automotive, backed by a $528.7 million government loan, will refurbish and use to make hybrids. More.
