The Morning Briefing: The future of electric vehicles

"The Morning Briefing" is SmartPlanet's daily roundup of must-reads from the web. This morning we're reading about electric vehicles (EVs) and their future.

1.) Ford thinks hybrids will beat electric cars. Electric cars are clean and high-tech and seem like they should be the future, many say. But while visionaries and gadget-geeks alike clamor for more automotive electrification, the big global auto manufacturers continue to hedge their bets, with Ford the latest to join the chorus of concern.

2.) As battery prices drop, will electric cars finally catch on? At the moment, Americans aren't exactly dashing out to dealerships to buy electric cars. The plug-in Nissan Leaf, which runs 75 miles on a single charge, has seen sales plummet since June 2011.

3.) Group aims to develop electric cars for Singapore. A Singapore-based investment holding firm led by a Chinese entrepreneur announced an ambitious plan on Saturday to develop and market electric vehicles from the city state.

4.) 10 electric cars you can buy this year. [Gallery]

5.) The extra mile: Solar car charger panel tracks sun. The summer of 2012 has been scorching hot. The heat at times has been practically unbearable. There is one advantage to the rays emitting from the sun these days: free energy for electric vehicles.

Image credit: Coda

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com