AP TELEVISION - AP CLIENTS ONLY
Geneva - 1 March 2016
1. Tilt from BMW logo to BMW740Le xDrive
2. "e drive" logo on car over fuel compartment
3. BMW740Le xDrive
4. BMW board member responsible for marketing and sales, Ian Robertson, getting into car
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Ian Robertson, BMW board member responsible for marketing and sales:
"Low oil prices are, I think, a short-term phenomenon. Over time the oil price has gone up, it's come down. At the end of the day, we're looking to the longer term. And the longer term really does have this zero emissions element to it. And the legislation is clear. It's going in one direction, and it's going in one direction for the first time right across the world. So from that perspective, we see zero emissions as an important element within the overall fleet."
6. Volvo S90
7. Electric plug-in
8. Electric charging station
9. Person opening bonnet of car to show engine
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Jim Holder, Editorial Director of automotive magazine 'Autocar':
"I think the main thing about low fuel prices is that it's another reason for people not to buy an electric car. I think it'll put people off rather than stop them in the long run, because I don't think fuel prices will stay low, but definitely it's a disincentive. One of the main reasons for buying an electric car at the moment is to save money and you won't be saving as much money as perhaps you would have done a year ago."
11. Toyota "Auris Hybrid"
12. Pan left from Yaris Hybrid to another Yaris Hybrid
13. Toyota Prius hybrid
14. Badge on rear of car reading (English): "Hybrid"
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Johan Van Zyl, President and CEO for Toyota Motor Europe:
"The fact that hybrid gains popularity despite falling fuel prices shows that customers prefer them not only for their fuel economy, they appreciate the low cost of ownership, and the benefits of electric drive train without any range anxiety."
16. Holder at charging station
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Jim Holder, Editorial Director of automotive magazine 'Autocar':
"Electric works for some drivers, but it's a small niche of drivers, so some of the plug-in hybrids they have a range as small as 20 or 30 miles on electric power. Now obviously if you're commuting into a big city, that could be incredibly useful and it might be enough for a lot of people to do their daily journey. But for a lot it won't be enough. Even fully electric cars, some of them, their range in cold weather can be as low as 60 miles. So there is a real issue around range anxiety still, but I think the car makers are now seeing there could be a quantum leap forward there in the next 12 months and ranges could double as quickly as that. So electric cars are going to appeal to more people as some of those problems are taken away."
18. Various of 'Car of the Year' winner Opel/Vauxhall Astra
19. OPEL Group chairman Karl-Thomas Neumann speaking to journalist
20. SOUNDBITE (English) Karl-Thomas Neumann, OPEL Group chairman:
"All the cars you see here have new engines and we have designed them and built them and invested into them because we want to meet the CO2 requirements, so we reduced the consumption, and we also want to meet and exceed the emission requirements. And so the traditional combustion engines are very important because they are affordable. In the future, though, electric mobility is also very important, that's why we are investing into a new car which will be launched next year which is the Ampera-e,, which I think will be groundbreaking. It has 300 kilometres reach, more than, and it will also be affordable."
21. Rear of Opel/Vauxhall Astra
22. Various of Ford vehicles
Car manufacturers at the Geneva Motor Show remain confident buyers will continue purchasing fuel efficient electric and hybrid vehicles despite falling global oil prices.
BMW board member Ian Robertson called the low oil prices a "short-term phenomenon" and said the long-term will include a zero-emissions element internationally.
BMW's commitment comes despite selling less than 30,000 electric vehicles last year, out of record 2.2 million.
Despite the German carmaker's optimism, editorial director of the automotive magazine 'Autocar', Jim Holder, said the low fuel prices could temporarily deter cost-conscious consumers from opting for electric cars.
He said 'range anxiety' as well as cheap fuel prices, could deter some buyers.
But Toyota's Motor Europe President and CEO Johan Van Zyl disagrees.
He said his company's hybrid model's popularity - despite the falling fuel prices - shows a consumer preference.
Electric and hybrid vehicles accounted for only 119,600 of the 13.7 million vehicles sold in the European Union last year, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA).
But the numbers are growing rapidly and carmakers say they need to develop alternative technologies to position themselves for the future.
Holder said car makers are saying there could be a "quantum leap forward in the next 12 months and ranges could double as quickly as that."
OPEL Group chairman Karl-Thomas Neumann said his company, which won Car of the Year this year with its Astra model, is planning an electric car release next year that will have a 300 kilometre range.
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