Automakers show off electric cars at Paris show

PARIS (AP) — Global automakers are showing off new electric vehicles at the Paris auto show as they look ahead to a world of tighter environmental standards and brace for rapid changes in technology.

Volkswagen, trying to recover from revelations some of its diesel cars pollute far more than is allowed, displayed the I.D, a battery-powered compact it says will sell for about what a fully equipped Golf diesel does when a production version eventually goes on the market in 2020.

CEO Dieter Zetsche, dressed in faded jeans and sneakers more reminiscent of Silicon Valley executives than the more formal auto industry, said the company aimed to bring out 10 fully electric vehicles by 2025.

[...] the first thing one saw on entering the Volkswagen pavilion was a sleek, sky blue diesel-powered Porsche Panamera high-performance sedan.

[...] most people looking for modestly priced cars don't buy electrics because they're more expensive than the same car with a gasoline or diesel engine, and driving range is still limited, as is the number of places to recharge away from home.