Electric cars finally took over

At the 2018 Geneva Motor Show, electric cars finally took over

Meander around the expansive halls of the Geneva Motor Show, collar one of the many engineers busy explaining their latest innovation and ask them a simple question: what powertrain will you be using in five years' time?

The answers are always a mixed bag. Some will defiantly state that pure battery electric vehicles are the way forward, others will remind you of their commitment to hydrogen fuel cell, others will pledge allegiance to the internal combustion engine and some will glaze over and slowly back away.

Battery electric vehicles were flavour of the month at this year's Geneva Motor Show but some of the most interesting concepts didn't come from the major manufacturers

Nissan, a brand that has long spearheaded electric propulsion and is the proud owner of the best-selling EV of all time, flouted its second generation Leaf, which can manage 168 miles of range and a 150hp output.

Second generation Nissan Leaf :168 miles of range and a 150hp output.

The fact is, electric propulsion is inevitable - but on top of this, advances in autonomous driving will come much soon than we think. Ride sharing and EV uptake is already huge in China, and if the OEMs aren't quick to wake up, we'll most certainly all be driving Chinese cars very soon," he adds.

The notion of a virtual powerplant is nothing new, and Nissan is trialling schemes that allow Leaf owners to connect to the grid and share excess energy with service providers, but thus far it has chiefly involved operators of larger fleets rather than individual owners.

"Integration of EV charging into the electricity grid is one of the biggest challenges for the automotive industry today," he adds. To address this, Envision has incorporated its EnOS energy Internet of Things (IoT) platform into its concept vehicle, which allows it to plug into the surrounding energy infrastructure and sees the car become intelligently connected the grid

GFG Sibylla Concept is a partnership with smart energy company Envision

Envision is currently managing 100GW of energy assets globally (about the same as the UK's entire generating capacity) and plans to build a global energy IoT and smart-city ecosystem. Last year, it announced an open-platform Energy IoT and Smart City Technology Alliance with Microsoft, Accenture and ARM to help accelerate the clean energy transition through digitalisation.

China-based Iconiq Motors, which showcased its Model Seven all-electric MPV and a fully autonomous variant, is another upstart making the most of its abilities to react to rapid changes in the automotive world.
Iconiq Motors' Model Seven is an all-electric MPV concept with rear seats that can identify its passengers and set up multimedia profiles accordingly

China, the largest automotive market, has recently announced strict legislation regarding the creation of new-energy vehicles (NEVs), which will come into play next year and has seen massive investment in the rapid development of battery, electric motor, storage and other EV-related tech.

In an attempt to counter this, the UK government recently announced a newly launched Faraday Institution that will see Oxford university lead research into solid-state batteries.

Hyundai's new Nexo hydrogen fuel cell car has a range of nearly 500 miles

Even Porsche - a manufacturer best known for producing some of the best sports cars around - took the wraps off an all-electric Mission E Cross Turismo concept, which it claims has been created to test customer reaction to a battery-powered crossover while the Stuttgart-based brand readies itself for its first all-electric vehicle in the shape of the upcoming Mission E.

Porsche unveiled an all-electric Mission E Cross Turismo concept at the Geneva Motor Show 2018

What is your suggestion on future of power-train ?

• pure battery electric vehicles
• hydrogen fuel cell
• combustion engine
• hybrid