Its interesting to see how they try to cover it up. Especially BMW has researched alternative fuels, mainly hydrogen, but stopped its test fleet in 2009 [0]. Only one super expensive image car, a BMW 7, remains [1]. Audi and VW also dabbled in alternative energies, but none of them really got into it. Hopefully, Tesla can breath some new live into this area. We live in the 21st century, I demand vehicles fueled by anything other than oil.
I am a fan of electric cars because electricity is a buffer against volatile (no pun intended) gas prices. A gallon of gas cost $1.20 just a decade ago, compared to $4 today, a jump of over 200%, compared to a maybe 20% increase in electricity costs. As various fuel sources experience price fluctuations, it will be easier to change the mix of power plants than to change which fuel cars use.
Why? (Of course there are many valid reasons, just want to get an idea of which ones people are interested in.)