Cars that run on hydrogen and exhaust only water vapor are emerging to challenge electric vehicles as the world's transportation of the future.

At the Los Angeles Auto Show Wednesday, Honda and Hyundai automakers unveiled hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to be delivered to the general public as early as next spring.

Toyota promised a mass-produced fuel cell car by 2015 at the Tokyo car show earlier.

Hyundai Motor Co. will be the first to the mass market in the U.S. It unveiled a hydrogen-powered Tucson small SUV that will be leased to consumers for $499 per month for three years with $3,000 down.

Hydrogen cars are appealing because unlike electric vehicles, they have the range of a typical gasoline car and can be refueled quickly. Experts say the industry also has overcome safety and reliability concerns that have hindered distribution in the past.

But hydrogen cars still have a glaring downside � refueling stations are scarce, and costly to build.

Consumers can expect costs in line with some luxury models.

Hyundai is offering to pay the hydrogen and maintenance costs. The company will start leasing in the Los Angeles area, where most of the state's nine fueling stations are located. California lawmakers have allocated $100 million to build 100 more. Honda wouldn't reveal any pricing details.

Hydrogen cars, experts say, have an advantage over battery-powered electric cars because drivers don't have to worry about running out of electricity and having to wait hours for recharging.

Hydrogen fuel cells use a complex chemical process to separate electrons and protons in hydrogen gas molecules. The electrons power a car's electric motor, which turns the wheels.

Since the hydrogen isn't burned, there's no pollution. Instead, oxygen also is pumped into the system, and when it meets the hydrogen ions and electrons, that creates water and heat. The only byproduct is water.

A fuel cell produces only about one volt of electricity, so many are stacked to generate enough juice.

Toyota said its new fuel cell vehicle will go on sale in Japan in 2015 and within a year later in Europe and U.S.

Toyota's fuel cell car is a "concept" model called FCV that looks like a sleeker Prius gas-electric hybrid.

Honda, which has leased about two-dozen fuel cell cars since 2005, took the wraps off a futuristic-looking FCEV concept vehicle in Los Angeles.

Honda executives predict that it will take five years for the hydrogen refueling stations to reach significant numbers outside California, and up to 25 years to go nationwide.

But skeptics say hydrogen fueling stations are more expensive than electric car charging stations, partly because electricity is almost everywhere and new and safe ways for producing, storing and transferring

hydrogen will be needed.

AP TELEVISION

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Los Angeles, California

1. Wide, convention floor at Los Angeles Auto Show

2. Wide, pan across cars covered with fabric waiting to be revealed

3. Wide, Chevrolet logo advertising new "Colorado" mid-size pickup truck

4. Medium, smoke and colored lights around new Subaru WRX, silky fabric slides off to unveil new car model in cherry red

5. Medium low, man peers in driver's side door of Subaru WRX

6. Wide, Honda stage with water and lights and concept car under wraps

7. Medium, screen above stage reads reads "Honda FCEV Concept"

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Tetsuo Iwamura, President and CEO, American Honda Motor Co.

"Today we want to focus on what we believe has the potential to become the ultimate solution to realizing ultra-low carbon mobility. And that is the fuel cell electric vehicle."

9. Wide, Iwamura speaks on stage in front of veiled concept car

10. Tight, rear bumper of concept car as Iwarmura walks in front

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Tetsuo Iwamura, President and CEO, American Honda Motor Co."The Honda FCEV concept!" (wide, fabric is whisked off car and music swells)

12. Wide, Honda sign on convention floor

13. Medium, woman tries to open door on concept car

14. Medium, man takes photo of car with cell phone

15. Tight, rear license plate pan up to Honda logo on rear bumper

16. SOUNDBITE (English) John O'Dell, Edmunds.com green vehicle analyst "Hydrogen fuel cells basically mix hydrogen and oxygen together, separate out the electrons and produce the electricity on board. In actuality, a hydrogen fuel cell car is an electric vehicle."

17. Tight, front of Honda concept car, zoom out to entire car

18. Tight, Honda insignia on front of car

19. Medium, photographer takes photo of car 20. SOUNDBITE (English) John O'Dell, Edmunds.com green vehicle analyst "The way Hyundai for instance tests its fuel cell tank? They light the car on fire. They've burnt up entire fuel cell vehicles to see what happens.

The pressure vent on the tank releases, the hydrogen goes up in a fan shape, it burns like a butane lighter, straight up in the air. And it dissipates in a couple of minutes."

21. Tight, curves on concept car, zoom out to entire car

22. Tight, Iwamura speaks to Japanese reporters

23. Medium pan, concept car

24. SOUNDBITE (English) John O'Dell, Edmunds.com green vehicle analyst "It's a more compact package and it's lighter than a big battery pack that you need for a plug-in electric vehicle."

25. Wide, audience waiting for Hyundai press conference

26. Medium, people at Hyundai presser

27. Wide, Hyundai Tucson ix35 hydrogen fuel cell compact SUV spinning slowly

28. Tight, Hyundai fuel cell vehicle spinning 29. Wide, Hyundai stage

30. SOUNDBITE (English) John Krafcik, President and CEO, Hyundai Motor America "You've got driving range of up to 300 miles. You can refuel them in just a few minutes. And there's endless choice in size and configuration.

That's because it's more space- and weight-efficient to multiply the number of fuel cells than it is to multiply the number of batteries."

31. Wide, Krafcik on stage

32. Medium, Hyundai Tucson compact SUV

33. Wide, Toyota display at convention

34. Tight, Toyota sign

35. Tight zoom out to medium, worker polishing Dodge Challenger anniversary edition

36. Medium, model in white dress and boots with Dodge Challenger

AP Television

Anting, Shanghai, China - February 14, 2012

1. Wide shot of electric vehicle parking

2. Mid of Zhu Xiao, Project Manager of Shanghai International Automobile City, plugging car to charging station

3. Close shot of charging plug on car

4. Tilt up from car to charging station

5. Close shot of charging station screen

6. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Zhu Xiao, project manager, Shanghai International Automobile City

"As we can all see, the current situation of traffic in the city is really bad. We have many traditional vehicles, and we have met with high carbon emissions. So the pollution is very serious. I am sure that the future is in the development of the electric vehicles."

7. Wide pan right of Shanghai EV City

8. Close shot of Shanghai EV City banner

9. Close shot of Zhu driving

10. Close shot of dashboard

11. Mid shot of charging station with charging poles

12. Wide shot of electric charging station

13. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Zhu Xiao, Project Manager, Shanghai International Automobile City

"The main concern is that people don''t know much about electric vehicles. And second, once they are interested in EV, they will also ask the question: ''How can I get an EV running on the road?'' ''Where can I charge my car?'' This is the key question."

14. Wide shot of electric car driving away

15. Wide shot of EV showroom and customer

16. Detail shot of EV number plate

17. Tilt up of customer

18. Wide pan right of empty electric car dealership

AP Television News

Shanghai, China - March 9, 2012

19. Wide shot of traffic

20. Mid shot of heavy traffic

AP Television News

Shanghai, China - March 8, 2012

21. Wide of Yale Zhang, managing director, Automotive Foresight Shanghai, working on his desk

22. Close of Zhang

23. SOUNDBITE: (English) Yale Zhang, Managing Director, Automotive Foresight Shangha

"If you think about it, investing in some kind of charging facility is quite easy, it doesn''t require a lot of investment. Once the battery technology can have the breakthrough, the others will just follow."

AP Television News

Shanghai, China - March 9, 2012

24. Wide shot of electric bus approaching

25. Close shot of electric bus charging device lifting towards charging rails

26. Close shot of electric bus charging device

27. Wide shot of bus unplugging from charge

28. Pull of electric coach leaving bus stop

29. Wide shot of electric scooters on street

28. Mid of electric scooters

AP Television News

Shanghai (China), March 8, 2012

30. SOUNDBITE (English) Yale Zhang, managing director, Automotive Foresight Shanghai

"The government already subsidises maximum 100,000 RMB (15,780 USD) but still, due to the immature of this industry, the price is still so high and those consumers still do not want to buy those EVs."

AP Television News

Shanghai (China), March 9, 2012

31. Wide shot of electric vehicle

32. Wide shot of several electric vehicles

33. SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin) Zhang Hong, car buyer, vox pop

"Only if there are some subsidies to cover the price of the number plates and the purchasing price, then more people will buy these electric cars. The price of the number plate in Shanghai is very expensive now; I am wondering if there will be some policies rolled out to subsidise them in EVs. And I wonder if there is equipment for charging the cars in the gasoline stations. I think that will make it more convenient."

34. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Zhu Rui, car buyer, vox pop

"I don''t care a lot about the cost, but I do care if I can charge my car in the underground garage at my home. Also, if there are support points to help me to charge the battery along the roads. This is a very important requirement. If the supporting points are not very convenient for me, I will still stick to buying hybrid cars."

AP Television News

Anting (Shanghai, China), February 14, 2012

35. Mid shot of Zhu plugging her car to a charging station

UPSOUND (Mandarin) Zhu Xiao: "You open here, and you plug it in here."

36. Mid shot of Zhu plugging cable to charging station

UPSOUND (Mandarin) Zhu Xiao: "Then, you need to use the IC card."

37. Close tilt up of charging pole and card being introduced

38. Tilt down of charging pole

39. Close shot of charging device

LEADIN

Shanghai has been earmarked as China''s first ''Electric Vehicle'' - or ''EV'' City.

But manufacturers are facing an uphill battle to convince a sceptical public.

STORYLINE:

China''s home-grown brand of electric vehicles could one day be recharging at a filling station like this prototype.

Many people believe the new crop of EV vehicles like this, provide answers to growing environmental concerns in the world''s most populous country.

But in the world''s largest car market they also make good business sense.

"As we can all see, the current situation of traffic in the city is really bad. We have many traditional vehicles, and we have met with high carbon emissions. So the pollution is very serious," says Zhu Xiao, one of the managers at the Shanghai International Automobile City. "I am sure that the future is in the development of the electric vehicles."

Shanghai was selected last year as the test ground for an EV-friendly pilot programme on a large scale, now known as the ''EV City''.

Currently, around 290 square miles of the city''s Jiading district is reportedly ready for the use of green vehicles.

Jiading was chosen as an important base for the domestic and foreign auto industry: there are several car assembly plants in the area, as well as many component manufacturers.

The Shanghai International Automobile City is also home to the country''s main research and development cluster for new energy vehicles.

The original aim was to deploy 10,000 EVs on the roads while building the necessary supporting infrastructure.

That would mean 13,000 charging points spread across the district and 15 larger stations for either charging or battery swapping. There would also be two hydrogen-refuelling stations.

Although the project managers recognise there have been delays in implementation, they claim that 21,000 people visited Shanghai''s ''EV City'' since last November (2011).

"The main concern is that people don''t know much about electric vehicles. And second, once they are interested in EVs, they will also ask the question: ''How can I get an EV running on the road?'' ''Where can I charge my car?'' This is the key question," says Zhu, the spokesperson for the project.

Technology, price and infrastructure are the main concerns for consumers.

To overcome them, the country''s first solely EV and hybrid car dealership, offers trials of all the models available in the market.

Among them, there are hybrid cars that run on a combination of electric and conventional engines.

But most of the cars here are powered by batteries alone, so-called full EVs.

The government''s target aims at half a million vehicles with some form of electric power on the streets by 2015.

Five years later, sales should leapfrog and total five million green cars.

But of the 18.5 million vehicles sold in China last year, there were only 8,159 hybrid and electric cars according to a survey by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Technology-wise, ion-lithium batteries on full electric cars are still far from the expectations and needs of drivers.

Experts like Yale Zhang, a local analyst with private consultancy firm Automotive Foresight, believe that it could take up to 20 years for automakers to produce a really competitive battery.

Once the technological issue is solved, both infrastructure and price problems will follow suit, says Zhang.

"Technology bottleneck I think is still the main issue. And considering it can be solved, then the other two negative factors (infrastructure and price) can be solved in the future. Because if you think about it, investing in charging facilities is quite easy, it doesn''t require a lot of investment," says Zhang. "Once the battery technology can have the breakthrough the others will follow."

Local and foreign carmakers are stepping up research since Beijing has declared electric vehicles a key emerging industry in its current Five Year Development Plan.

In order to transform the country into a leading producer of clean vehicles, China will reportedly invest 100 billion yuan (15,78 billion USD) in the industry during the next decade.

The starting point for these ambitious goals are pilot projects in 25 major cities to encourage the use of new energy vehicles by government departments and public transportation operators.

The cities are also required to reduce parking and electricity costs for new energy vehicles and to plan infrastructure projects with charging posts.

In Shanghai, 300 out of 18,000 buses in service have already replaced diesel-powered vehicles as part of efforts to reduce air pollution.

The vehicles charge for a few seconds every time they hit a stop on their way.

Other cities like Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Hefei or Beijing have unrolled electric taxi fleets.

Electric bicycles and scooters, now a common sight in Chinese mega-cities, have been regarded as a signal of consumers'' readiness to accept new technologies.

But e-bikes run with old-fashioned lead batteries.

Although easily transportable and convenient to charge, they are an earlier technology than the ion-lithium used for e-cars.

Most car buyers are held back by the high price of EVs, despite subsidies offered by the central government that range from 5,000 yuan ($790) for hybrid cars, to a rebate up to 60,000 yuan on the purchase price of a full battery car.

In six major cities chosen as pilot grounds, the local governments could even double the subsidies.

"All of this kind of forecasting relies on the government subsidies. If the government really pushes, the government will subsidise a lot, and then this industry will take off in China," argues Zhang, the analyst. "But the problem is that the government is already doing that much. It''s already subsidising 100,000 RMB per car (15,780 USD) , but still, because of the immature of this industry the price is still so high and the consumers still don''t want to buy these vehicles."

"Only if there are some subsidies to cover the price of the number plates and the purchasing price, then more people will buy these electric cars," says Zhang Hong, another car buyer in Shanghai.

She echoes the plans mulled by some municipal governments to offer free license plates for EVs, a significant step that would mean an additional subsidy of close to 50,000 yuan ($8,000) in the case of Shanghai.

"The price of the number plate in Shanghai is very expensive now, I am wondering if there will be some policies rolled out to subsidise them in EVs. And I wonder if there is equipment for charging the cars in the gasoline stations. I think that will make it more convenient," she says.

One car buyer, Zhu Rui, who already owns a Toyota plug-in hybrid model, is planning to buy another car now.

"I don''t care a lot about the cost, but I do care if I can charge my car in the underground garage at my home. Also, if there are support points to help me to charge the battery along the roads," says Zhu.

His concern, when thinking about vehicles fully powered by lithium-ion batteries, is infrastructure.

"This is a very important requirement. If the supporting points are not very convenient for me, I will still stick to buying hybrid cars," he says.

Shanghai''s EV City aims to address some of these concerns, building charging stations but also bringing visitors closer to the technology.

At the city''s test-drive centre, marketing manager Zhu shows how her EV can be charged in an easy way.

"You need to pull this out and then the car''s deck for charging in the rear end of the car will open. And then, have a look here. The connector and wire for charging are kept in the back of the car. You can see it here," she explains.

For payment, she introduces an electronic card that will register the amount of electricity charged in her vehicle.

Zhu usually plugs in her car for around six hours for a full battery charge that will allow her driving for around 100 kilometres (62 miles).

So she''s convinced... But will the rest of Shanghai, let alone China, follow suit?