When looking to purchase an electric vehicle, its battery remains a prime source of concern, explains Avem : how long does the charge last? What is the battery's life span? Well aware of the problem, General Motors will be providing an 8-year guarantee (or 100,000 miles) on its Chevrolet Volt batteries and charging systems. Hence, the firm is following in the footsteps of Toyota and Honda, who already provide the same guarantee timeframe on their hybrid vehicle engines.

According to Car Tech, Nissan is planning to do likewise with its eco-friendly Leaf. Indeed, the firm recently launched a survey among 16,000 individuals having reserved the model in the United States, in order to determine whether an extended guarantee, from 5 to 8 years, would impact their final decision to buy.

According to the CNPC (French National Council of Cycling Professions), some 3.132 million cycles were sold in France in 2009, i.e. around 50% more than the number of new cars sold for the same period, highlights Ludovic Bu's blog. Indeed, according to the Ministry for Industry, vehicle sales reached 2.27 million in 2009 (a figure that has since followed a downward trend due to the decrease in scrapping premiums).

To encourage the use of cycles, the town of London has just launched New Blue, a "network of cycle superhighways" aimed at offering cyclists direct and safe access to the city centre. According to Worldchanging,  London is following the example of Montreal, Portland and New York, three cities which have set to massively developing bicycle lanes over recent years. Furthermore, London will be seeking inspiration from the BIXI bike-sharing system in place in Montreal.

Finally, the Environmental Transport Association presents Blacktrail, the electrically assisted bicycle that is more costly than a Porsche. Indeed, the model, which weighs in at 19kg (42lbs) and offers a maximum speed of 60mph, will be sold for around £50,000, i.e. more than Porsche's bottom-of -the-range sports model. However, there are explanations behind the price, in particular the materials used: lithium-ion for the battery, carbon fibre and magnesium and titanium composites for the frame.

And in the electric moped market, manufacturers are also getting rolling. For example, in the autumn Yamaha plans to market its EC-03, offering a maximum speed of 19mph for a 27-mile autonomy. According to Auto News, although the vehicle offers optimal cost-effectiveness at only 13 pence for 60 miles, the gap between autonomy and charging time (total charge in six hours on a mains supply) remains nevertheless extremely high. Designed for use on short journeys, the EC-03 should prove to be particularly well suited to Japan's overpopulated urban zones.

Faster and more furious: The motorcycle manufacturer Brammo recently unveiled its Empulse prototype, a model designed to reach a maximum speed of 100mph and to offer an average autonomy of 60 miles per charge (Earth2Tech).

Finally, Green Launches is paying tribute to the audacious design of the SunRed, inspired, as they would have it, by Batman's BatMobile. For the vehicle is literally "armoured" with solar panels that recharge the moped while it is parked. According to the site, the vehicle's performance is perfectly respectable, with a maximum speed of 30 mph.

In the quest for new ideas for tomorrow's motor vehicles, manufacturers are not only betting on research but also on the creativeness of their future consumers.

Hence, La Tribune Auto informs us that Volkswagen has developed an international research organisation on electric mobility reuniting some 23,000 collaborators across the globe. Within its electronics research laboratory, boasting a staff of around 100, researchers study a number of energy storage concepts and, more specifically, lithium-ion battery technologies.

As for BMW, the firm has decided to seek inspiration from its internauts via an Idea contest on tomorrow's urban mobility services. Voiture du Futur details the three projects selected among a number of proposals.  Firstly, PMUP (pick me up please), a service enabling pedestrians to locate motorists travelling in the same direction, based on information exchange between the pedestrian's mobile phone and the car's onboard GPS system. The next project involves a shared parking space system. Finally, a programme to identify available spaces via GPS signals.

Another innovative firm, Muses, recently announced its project to manufacture a dual-purpose 100% electric urban vehicle : for use in town-centre parcel delivery and for car sharing. According to Voiture Electrique.net, tomorrow's cars will be compact, manoeuvrable and equipped with a series of sensors to easily locate them. The company's Managing Director affirms that the aim of the Moov'Eco project is not to simply "produce another electric car", but rather to "provide a genuine response to the problem of vehicle integration in urban areas." To be continued…