Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in Ex-SVP of Tesla Darryl Siry is speaking out again, this time with his assessment of where he thinks the EV industry will be going in the next 12 months. 2009 will undoubtedly be an important year for manufacturers participating in the segment. With a new administration now ensconced in Washington, the atmosphere is likely to be far more biased towards environmentally-friendly rules and regulations. At the same time, the economic environment and political reality will also mean a bias toward preservation of existing jobs and creation of new ones. The first batch of loans from the $25 billion fund being administered by the Department of Energy will be awarded soon and Siry expects the bulk of the cash to go to established automakers to help preserve both jobs and their viability. Another trend that Siry expects to accelerate this year is equity investments by automakers into battery makers. Companies like Ford that don’t have such partnerships have already seen their existing hybrid capacity constrained by limited battery supplies. Check out the rest of Siry’s predictions at his own blog [Source: Darryl Siry ] Darryl Siry prognosticates on the coming year in EVs originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 23 Jan 2009 12:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green

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Darryl Siry prognosticates on the coming year in EVs