Electric Cars Need 500km Minimum Range To Become Mainstream: Daimler Chief

The head of Mercedes-Benz's parent company Daimler says electric cars will need to have a single-charge range of at least 500km before the motoring public will consider them a viable alternative to petrol or diesel-powered vehicles.

Right now the Tesla Model S is the only EV available here with a range in excess of 500km, and only in high-dollar variants equipped with the 90kWh battery pack.

Lower-cost EVs like the Nissan Leaf (below) have a more modest range of 170km on a single charge, though an impending battery upgrade for the Leaf will see range jump to 250km - half of what Daimler chief Dieter Zetsche says is required for EVs to become widely adopted.

Mercedes-Benz Showroom - Prices, Specifications and Features