More and more giant corporations are buying into printed electrics by acquiring companies partly or wholly in the field.

Old electric vehicle reports are useless: the subject is moving too fast. IDTechEx is the only analyst with 18 current reports forecasting sales of electric vehicles and their key components and they are kept up to date. Information is fed into these documents continuously as the PhD level IDTechEx analysts tour the world's companies, research institutes and conferences to spot the many changes in technology and business success and interpret them.

Toyota's established nationwide battery recycling system collects end-of-life Nickel metal hydride batteries safely from the market and makes sustainable use of limited resources possible.

The conference speakers were surprisingly blunt in their appraisal of batteries and motors for electric vehicles at last week's EV Japan conference. Batteries control the cost of pure electric vehicles by a big margin and they are the largest part of the cost of hybrids, though a lesser percentage.

You have to listen to the world leader in electric vehicles, Toyota, because it pulled even further ahead of number two in the last year. Its hybrid car sales nearly doubled to about 1.32 units in 2011, more than all other hybrid cars put together.

Sion Power Corporation, announced that BASF invested $50 million to acquire an equity ownership position in the company.

EV Japan is proceeding here in Tokyo with about 89 EV Japan stands in a massive set of co-located exhibitions of about 600 stands in all from lighting to home solar and mainly electronic and electric materials, components and systems. There are quite a few electric cars on display including the plug- in Prius, Tesla, Volt and many less known models and concepts. The one below promoted TORAY products.

We have entered 2012 with an electric vehicle scene that is very different from that which was envisaged not long ago. There are now six key enabling technologies not three and vehicle makers increasingly make some of them, so suppliers increasingly have to compete with their largest potential customers. Precious metals in EV components are being removed remarkably rapidly.

SK Innovation and Continental Corporation announced recently their intention to team up for powering electric vehicles worldwide: Both corporations sign a Heads of Agreement that describes the formation of a joint venture with which both companies want to develop, manufacture and market Lithium Ion battery systems for automotive applications.

A new federal grant aims to make the University of Utah home to first-in-the-nation transit buses of the future — electric shuttles that recharge without wires from underground pads while they wait for passengers.

Drayson Racing Technologies and Lola Group today unveil the much-anticipated electric-powered Le Mans prototype racing car, the Lola-Drayson B12/69EV.

Of course, as markets mature, one can make excellent enduring profits as a niche player, not just as volume leader such as those Chinese e-bikes and scooters on display at very affordable prices of around Euros 1000 upwards but are those cheaper batteries safe?

The 600,000 visitors to Brussels Motor Show this week will have some surprises if they look at the electric vehicles on display. World number one in electric vehicles, and specifically electric cars, Toyota, should be challenged by Honda, Ford and others in the pecking order but, on this evidence, it is pulling ahead.

The name "E-Bugster" is a combination of "E" for electric, "Bug," the American nickname for the Beetle, and "speedster," which typically describes an open-top two-seater. The E-Bugster concept sports the typical speedster profile of shallow windows and a dramatically cut-down windshield.

A123 Systems to supply advanced lithium ion battery packs for extended-range electric trucks

Pellion Technologies, an MIT spin-out company, will develop inexpensive high-energy-density rechargeable magnesium-ion batteries with the potential to disrupt current energy storage technologies for electric and hybrid-electric vehicles.

A century ago, more automobiles were powered by electricity than by gasoline. But the need for longer travel ranges, the availability of a more affordable fuel source and a reliable power infrastructure soon turned internal combustion engines into the predominant means of motor transportation.

McAllen project will demonstrate a zero emission green transportation solution, the effective use of enroute-charging technology to create an effective electronic roadway, as well as the cost-effective conversion of diesel buses to electric vehicles.

The city of Palo Alto is accelerating its green initiatives in a bid to cement its standing as a highly eco-friendly area according to a Palo Alto Online news report.