Over in Coventry City, England, Smart is also leasing 100 electric versions of the much-slower Fortwo. These have a 41-horsepower motor and a range of just 70 miles. You’ll reach the heady speed of 30 mph in 6.5 seconds.

 

These new EV developments are fascinating in light of Germany’s recent ambitious announcement that it wants to have a million electric and plug-in cars on the country’s roads by 2020. That’s hugely ambitious. Nobody is talking about that level of EV production in the next few years. Considering how broken the international auto industry is today, it’s hard to imagine it quickly retooling for such a huge effort. The Smart and Mini efforts are typical—tiny test programs, leases to a lucky few instead of mass marketing.

 

The German effort deserves all the support in the world. "Germany shall become a lead mart for electric mobility," says German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel, and maybe so. But c'mon, a million EVs and plug-ins by 2020? When Volkswagen announces it plans to mass market $20,000 electric Beetles with 200-mile range, then this plan will start to sound serious.