Electric Vehicles in Germany - Present and Future

As long as economic considerations keep electric transport vehicles in the limelight of interest, the arguments raised in favor of the electric vehicle in general will prove unconvincing. In the drive system the separately excited shunt-wound D.C. motor is becoming widely acknowledged as traction motor; current developments deal with the replacement of electric power control units by mechanical components. Hybrid drive units are mainly employed in buses; so far no uniform solution has evolved. List prices of electric transport vehicles reveal the financial burden caused by energy storage units and their maintenance.