France announces global competition to build a $7,500 electric car

With the whole world's attention focused on the Paris climate talks, France has announced a global competition to build an electric car to be sold for just $7,500, calling the potential vehicle "a car for the people."

French Minister of Ecology Madame Ségolène Royal set the €7,000 — currently about $7,500 — maximum sale price for the car, but said she hoped that the competition would provide some serious contenders in the $5,300 range. Royal said the winning entry “may not look like traditional electric cars” when all is said and done.

If all goes according to the best of plans here, the winning car could eventually be mass-produced at home in France, and provide a nationalistic incentive for French drivers to transition to the new vehicles. Innovation may even spur additional manufacturing in the country in the form of battery production or other car parts. Notably, French automaker Renault already produces one of the more popular electric battery vehicles in Europe, the Zoe. But with a price tag of nearly $28,000, the vehicle is considered out of reach for many who would otherwise choose to drive a car that doesn't rely on fossil fuels.

With an incoming wave of electric and solar-powered, and self-driving vehicles seemingly just around the corner, the transportation industry has suddenly become quite an exciting hub of innovation. Cheers to the contestants. We look forward to seeing what they come up with.