The Car Hub

The month of February 2010 may go down as the start of the new electric car revolution.
Quite appropriately it has started in Japan in the East with giant car makers Nissan and Renault joining forces with the All Japan Ryokan Association (AJRA) who will promote and install electric car charging facilities in their 18,000 hotels.
Let us pause for a moment and consider this developement, Nissan and Renault have now signed a deal to have their electric cars and electric car charging facilities in 18,000 hotels within Japan alone.
With the AJRA also jointly promoting the development of travel packages within their member hotels and raising the profile of eco-friendly transport linked with accommodation and selected tours involving sales promotions and test drive events this is a huge advancement in one country only.
The hotel industry in any country could participate in similar schemes to have their guests move from one hotel to another within their group so assisting hotel occupation promotion and the local tourist industry while all the time advancing the cause of eco-friendly transport without damage to the environment.
Each large organisation involved would be able to publicise its own chain of charging facilities and have these locations integrated into local or area maps for further promotion. 
This venture involving Nissan-Renault is the only one publicised to date but doubtless the parties will have been moving ahead elsewhere with others.
Magnified to a world wide scale this could prove to be the turning point for the electric car industry and full credit should be paid to Nissan-Renault, there is opportunity worldwide for similar partnerships.
A likely example could be the giant supermarkets having their own fleets of eco-friendly vehicles for local deliveries by their own drivers, or similarly for non-car owners to engage in short term hire from supermarkets; in all cases there could be advertising revenue to be earned through vehicles continually being on the road.
The spread of large numbers of eco-friendly vehicles countrywide could also lead to changes in the law for in-town traffic.
The Park-and-Ride traffic system could be changed to allow those drivers who have an urgent need to have vehicle access to town/city centres to park their own cars and continue their journey in electric vehicles. With most people using eco-friendly public transport to access town centres it would result in a huge drop in in-town traffic numbers and a much improved climate with carbon gas emissions minimised.
To celebrate their success I would now expect Nissan and Renault execs to be charging their glasses in addition to their cars!
Bill Williams
www.thecarhub.net
12/Feb/ 10, 1120GMT