ABC.net.au: German car manufacturer BMW hopes its new fully electric vehicle will shake up the market.
BMW says the i3 is the first electric car from a major auto maker to be specifically designed and manufactured as an electric vehicle.
It has already launched in Europe and the United States, and sold more than 6,000 cars.
BMW's Helmut-Joseph Schramm says the plant cannot keep up with demand.
"There's a waiting list. Customers right now have to wait 4-5 months," he told The Business.
BMW is hoping to launch the car in Australia soon, but a challenge will be the small number of public charging stations.
"Infrastructure should improve. In Europe and America charging stations are more every day. Customers see advantages energy providers see advantages," Mr Schramm said.
"We expect and hope in Australia the infrastructure will improve."
The i3's biggest competitor is the Nissan Leaf - which has been available since 2010 and makes up around 45 per cent of the electric vehicle market.
Nissan's head of research Kazuhiro Doi told the ABC that his company aims to be the zero emission leader.
"Nissan started to produce the world's first mass production electric vehicle ... now we are on the way to deploy that vehicle, that technology, worldwide," he said.
Swedish auto maker Volvo is also working on a fully electric car. Next year it will introduce an electric bus service in Gothenburg, Sweden.
AB Volvo president Olof Persson says the buses will run on renewable energy, have no emissions, and even pick up passengers indoors.
"We are focusing on getting fully electrical plug-in and hybrid buses in cities around the world. It results in up to 80 per cent less fuel consumption," he explained.
Small market growing rapidly
While the electric vehicle market is growing, it is still small overall.
Only around 400,000 electric vehicles have been sold worldwide.
The United States is the biggest market, and this year sales have exploded.
Almost 11,000 electric vehicles were sold in May - up 90 per cent on the same time last year.
Norway is also a leader - 20 per cent of all cars sold are electric.
However, manufacturers are also looking to Japan and China for future growth.
Despite all this rapid growth, and increasing competition, most analysts expect electric cars to be a niche market for many years to come.
Most producers predict the sector will only make up around 3 per cent of the total auto market by 2020.
BMW says the i3 is the first electric car from a major auto maker to be specifically designed and manufactured as an electric vehicle.
It has already launched in Europe and the United States, and sold more than 6,000 cars.
BMW's Helmut-Joseph Schramm says the plant cannot keep up with demand.
"There's a waiting list. Customers right now have to wait 4-5 months," he told The Business.
BMW is hoping to launch the car in Australia soon, but a challenge will be the small number of public charging stations.
"Infrastructure should improve. In Europe and America charging stations are more every day. Customers see advantages energy providers see advantages," Mr Schramm said.
"We expect and hope in Australia the infrastructure will improve."
The i3's biggest competitor is the Nissan Leaf - which has been available since 2010 and makes up around 45 per cent of the electric vehicle market.
Nissan's head of research Kazuhiro Doi told the ABC that his company aims to be the zero emission leader.
"Nissan started to produce the world's first mass production electric vehicle ... now we are on the way to deploy that vehicle, that technology, worldwide," he said.
Swedish auto maker Volvo is also working on a fully electric car. Next year it will introduce an electric bus service in Gothenburg, Sweden.
AB Volvo president Olof Persson says the buses will run on renewable energy, have no emissions, and even pick up passengers indoors.
"We are focusing on getting fully electrical plug-in and hybrid buses in cities around the world. It results in up to 80 per cent less fuel consumption," he explained.
Small market growing rapidly
While the electric vehicle market is growing, it is still small overall.
Only around 400,000 electric vehicles have been sold worldwide.
The United States is the biggest market, and this year sales have exploded.
Almost 11,000 electric vehicles were sold in May - up 90 per cent on the same time last year.
Norway is also a leader - 20 per cent of all cars sold are electric.
However, manufacturers are also looking to Japan and China for future growth.
Despite all this rapid growth, and increasing competition, most analysts expect electric cars to be a niche market for many years to come.
Most producers predict the sector will only make up around 3 per cent of the total auto market by 2020.
