Electric Avenue in Motown

For the first time, the North American International Auto Show will display a range of electric vehicles in a separate area at the Cobo Hall, set aside as Electric Avenue.

Expected to appear on the Electric Avenue will be the Nissan LEAF and Mitsubishi iMiEV, which is due for sale in Australia later this year.

The show will also again offer an 'EcoXperience' to visitors interested in low- and zero-emission cars.

Last year, the EcoXperience display starred the Mitsubishi iMiEV, Ford Escape petrol-electric hybrid, and the Chevy Equinox fuel cell car on the Michigan Hall's lower floor where space is available for a quarter-mile track "through a Michigan-designed landscape".

To set the green scene, organisers say the display will feature "more than 200 evergreen and deciduous trees; over 600 evergreen and flowering shrubs; over 5000 flowering tulips, daffodils and hyacinths; approximately 650,000 pounds of stone and over 130,000 gallons of water flowing through two water features with waterfalls."

It is anticipated around 20 electric cars from a variety of manufacturers will be on display at this year's show.

Manufacturers making model debuts at the 22nd NAIAS include Toyota with a sub-Prius concept and Volvo with an example of the C30 EV model set for test fleet purposes. According to the company, approximately 50 Volvo C30 EV models will be factory-built in 2010 and are scheduled for road use by 2011.

"Our test fleet data will be valuable in Volvo Cars' development of electric cars. It will also provide crucial input for the infrastructure planners and help define which services are needed to make rechargeable cars the most attractive choice in the future," says Lennart Stegland, Director of Volvo Cars Special Vehicles.

Also readying an EV fleet is BMW, based on its 1 Series coupe. The car will be on display at the Detroit show, known as the Concept ActiveE model.

Visit the Carsales Network again for our coverage of the 22nd NAIAS. The show starts with exclusive media days on January 11-12.

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