Driving in and around Paris is a nightmare. There are never any parking spaces available anyway, and on the Peripherique inner ring road it's possible to wait for over an hour in traffic without having moved a hundred yards forward. Motor journalists, press officers and board members will once again be waiting for hours on end this week, sitting irritated in their shuttle limousines in a continuous traffic jam, on the way to the next car presentation.

Some people might consider that situation amusing. But one person who doesn't find the congestion funny is Paris's mayor, Bertrand Delanoë. The outspoken fan of electric cars is currently toying with the idea of a public car-sharing scheme with battery-powered cars.