Electric car makers have some major hurdles to clear before their products gain wide acceptance, but it's only a matter of time before consumers won't need gasoline-powered vehicles, said Bob Lutz, former vice chairman of General Motors.
"For the generalization of electric vehicles you really need three things," Lutz said. "You need cars that can go at least 300 miles on a charge. You need rapid recharging capability. And you need affordable pricing. So far, Elon Musk's Tesla has achieved two out of the three. They are a long way away from mass-market pricing.
"I always say that the electric car future is definitely coming, because batteries will accept more charge, the cost of batteries will come down, fast charging will happen," he said. "But the whole thing is five to 10 years away."
When customers can charge a car overnight to travel 400 miles and be in and out of a fast-charge station in 15 or 20 minutes, "at that point, who needs a gasoline engine?" Lutz asked.
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