The third-generation smart fortwo Electric Drive will be launched soon to the market following successful trials earlier this year in the UK, where 100 white fortwo Electric Drives were put to the roads.

Smart UK has not given a specific launch date or pricing yet, but we know the new smart fortwo electric drive is coming in 2012!

The new electric smart car will be available both as a coupe and convertible. Instead of a standard petrol or diesel engine, there is a 75bhp electric motor in the engine bay with 130Nm of torque, enabling this small city car reach 0-62 mph in 11.5 seconds, while the range from a fully charged 17.6 kWh lithium-ion battery pack is up to 87 miles, depending on driving conditions.

87 miles is not bad, but clearly if you are doing out of town driving it is not enough you need a second car or something with a better range.

There are companies such as Better Place, who have started building battery “switching stations” and plenty of companies who are working on more efficient batteries.

How about electric cars that never have to stop?

The answer could be recharging roads.

Dr Sasson from Stanford University and engineers in his lab are developing a way to wirelessly charge electric cars from magnetic coils embedded into the road.  In theory you would never have to make a charging stop again if this technology goes mainstream.