Portugal and Spain want to create the first green car in Iberia,
hoping to generate 150 million euros worth of investment and 800
new jobs in the region's struggling motor industry.
Spanish Minister for Industry Joan Clos said during a bilateral
meeting that the goal was to build an alternative to the
high-polluting vehicles currently on the roads of Spain and
Portugal.
The green car, which could be powered by hydrogen fuel cells or
electricity, is expected to boost an industry that has lost
hundreds of jobs to countries with lower labour costs.
"We want to create the technology that will allow us to consume the
least amount of gasoline possible," said Clos.
"At this point there are high expectations (for the green
car)."
Experts say oil prices close to $100 a barrel make it more
attractive to invest in cars that can run on electricity or
hydrogen fuel cells.
The Mobi-green car, as the vehicle is named, is being developed by
two automotive research centres in Portugal and Spain using funds
from both the public and private sectors.
The head of Portugal's CEIIA research centre, Braz Costa, said he
hoped to produce a prototype by the end of the year.
He said the car's engine was likely to run on hydrogen fuel
cells but an electric engine remained an option.
"Our goal is to create an environmentally friendly car that can be
produced with technology from Portugal and Spain," Costa said.
He declined to say how much the new car would cost
consumers.
"We are involving the private sector to take on the challenge of
producing the car in the long-run and sell it to consumers," he
said.
Costa said demand for green cars would rise as pressure to cut
carbon dioxide emissions mounted on governments around the
world.
"There is a paradigm shift. There are drastic changes taking place
in the economy and the way we view transportation," said Braz
Costa.
"When governments decide to charge an environment tax on
high-polluting vehicles we are certain drivers will start looking
for alternative ways of transportation."
