So far, German car giants Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW have been slow to introduce a "greener" product line. German compact cars are generally very fuel-efficient, but when it comes to hybrid or electric mobility, Asian automakers are leading the pack. Experts have long criticized German carmakers for having overslept the trend toward electricity-based vehicles.

This seems to be changing now.

Several German carmakers are planning pilot projects with green cars all over the world -- even in the United States. By early 2009 BMW will dispatch some 500 "Mini E" cars, the electric version of its popular Mini Cooper vehicle, to selected customers in Los Angeles and New York. For a lease of $850, drivers will be able to charge in just over two hours a 200-horsepower Mini (equipped with 5,088 AC Propulsion lithium-ion cells) through a 50 ampere charging socket wired into their homes. BMW says the range of the cars lies between 120 and 160 miles.

The company will extend the Mini E project to Berlin, where energy giant Vattenfall will erect several electricity stations, both companies said last week.

While BMW does not intend to produce the Mini E on a larger scale, the Bavaria-based carmaker intends to gather valuable experience for future models. Observers are optimistic that the Mini E is more than just a publicity stunt.

Daimler had already announced its plans for a similar project in the German capital. In early September Daimler said it would provide its electric Smart Fortwo vehicle to selected customers in Berlin, starting next year. German energy giant RWE will erect 500 charging stations all over the city, both firms said in a statement.

In June, German carmaker Volkswagen announced a test project that will see 20 hybrid versions of its popular Golf model take Germany's streets starting in 2010. VW wants to test the feasibility of the cars, which are equipped with an electric and a regular diesel engine, for two years. The Wolfsburg-based automaker also said it will produce hybrid versions of its Touareg and Jetta models.

The German government is strongly in favor of the industry's push toward greener cars.

Berlin has drafted an "electro mobility strategy" that foresees additional subsidies for electric and hybrid cars. By 2020 the government wants to have 1 million of these vehicles on Germany's roads.

"By 2050, the cars in our cities should drive predominantly without fossil fuels," the strategy paper reads, according to German daily Handelsblatt. Berlin will present its strategy Tuesday, but the daily obtained an example ahead of publication.

As the auto industry is battling slow sales because of the financial crisis, investors increasingly are eyeing the green potentials of established car brands.

A solar power leader raised eyebrows within the business world this past week because of his $1.25 billion offer to take over German car brand Opel, which is owned by General Motors.

Frank Asbeck, the head of Solarworld, a German photovoltaics company, said he wanted to buy Opel to make Europe's first "green" car company.

"I see a need to overhaul our manufacturing sector. Just like we have seen in the alternative energy area, the auto industry must be overhauled. That means we need to build cars of the future -- electric, hybrid engines, this can't be left to the Japanese," Asbeck told Deutschlandfunk radio station last week. "This is already in the heads of the developers at Opel, but they must be freed from the restraints of General Motors."

GM denied Opel was for sale, but the offer nevertheless underscores that business leaders see opportunity in an overhaul of the auto industry.

Critics say, however, that the German carmakers' push for greener models comes too late, and is too careful, to beat competitors in other European countries, Asia and the United States that are equally pushing to develop greener models.

In Europe, Renault Nissan has said it wants to launch an electric car by 2010 -- the same year Toyota plans to have a plug-in version of its hybrid Prius ready. GM plans to have its hybrid Chevy Volt on sale by the end of this decade -- so German auto manufacturers need to act quickly in order to win the race to go green.

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