Hill+Knowlton Strategies

Happy New Year! It’s that time of year when everyone gets out their crystal balls and starts predicting what the big trends will be and what will have the biggest impact on our lives. My prediction (and I hate to admit this) is that electric vehicles will be a big talking point in 2011.

With hikes in fuel duty and VAT already pushing up petrol prices to record highs and bumper increases in buses, tubes and trains fares, people are going to seriously consider other options. Whilst some cities in the UK already offer eco-alternatives such as biking schemes, many commuters and families will be looking at their car and how they can save money by switching to a less gas-guzzling version.

Now I’ve never been a big fan of electric vehicles but I think if the car makers can get it right, I may be swayed and with support from the Government increasing, the day when electric vehicles become mainstream may be getting closer.

On 1^st January, the UK Government’s new scheme came into effect, offering grants – of up to £5,000 – for electric and ultra-low emission cars. Now that amount of money is not to be sniffed at! Will it work? Will 2011 be the year of the electric car?

I remain unconvinced for now until a car manufacture makes a stunning, long-distance electric car. I would prefer to see investment in high-speed rail links, improvements in road conditions and development of a more pleasant and affordable public transport system. Surely if public transport was more reliable, cheaper and efficient, people would use it more and that in turn would reduce the number of people driving and lower emissions. Sounds simple I know, but it could just work.

Now if this was April 1st, I would have sworn that the story about the Volkswagen Beetle powered by human waste was an April Fools’ Day joke. However, it’s not April and this is not a joke. As reviewed by The Telegraph’s Harry Wallop, the clever people at GENeco, a Wessex Water subsidiary have converted a good old VW Beetle and made it run on biogas.

How we get and use fuel is an ever increasing hot topic with fuel companies looking at how wind and solar power can power our homes and car manufacturers looking at hybrid and electric engines. It seems we have become a nation obsessed with finding new ways of powering our homes and cars.

Personally, I think what we flush down the toilet is called waste for a reason and shouldn’t end up powering my car to the supermarket or the beach but you have to admit with an ever growing population – projections suggest UK population will exceed 65million by 2018 – it seems there will be an endless supply of ‘suitable materials’ that could be turned into biogas for many years to come.

I never thought I would say this but I think I may have just found a hybrid car that I actually like thanks to the guys at Top Gear. Most of the hybrid cars built so far have done very little to excite me, the generally look very square, dull and not very sporty but the Bentley Continental Supersports has everything a dream car should have – looks, heritage and power and it comes in a hybrid version. OK, so I will probably never own one but it goes to show that car manufacturers are waking up to the fact that if they are going to get people driving greener cars, they need to give them more va va voom!

But, there is a little point having a biofuel-powered car if you can’t refuel it. In the UK, there only a small number of stations that sell E85 Bioethanol fuel so unless you happen to have one near you, it may be quite hard to top up your car on those long journeys. So will this change anytime soon?

The UK government’s plans to develop a network of electric charging points to encourage greener motoring, along with the gradual development of a high-speed rail network, means it could be sooner than we think. But with the G20 apparently dropping a pledge to invest in climate-friendly energy generation from their final summit statement last week, it seems we may have a long battle to change perception and get to a point where we’re all driving vehicles that are powered by greener means.

I guess only time will tell, but if investments in alternative fuels and access go ahead and if manufacturers continue to develop pioneering and attractive hybrids, then there may come a time when we abandon traditional fuel-powered cars and drive luxurious, sporty green vehicles.

But until then, I will stand by my beloved petrol engine and look at other ways I can do my bit for the planet…the Exhaust Burger (as featured on Top Gear) is looking like an interesting option.