Europe faces challenges to electric car industry

SAN SEBASTIAN (Reuters) - The European Union faces challenges of safety, cost, competitiveness and technological harmonization in its plan to successfully develop its electric car industry, EU presidency holder Spain said on Tuesday.

"Obviously there are lots of questions ... issues of legal security, validation, the safety of the vehicles themselves ... and cost," Spain's industry minister Miguel Sebastian said at a news conference after a meeting with European counterparts.

EU industry ministers gathered in northern Spain ahead of an action plan for European electric vehicle industry expected in May, and saw an exhibition of 15 models of electric cars and prototypes which are being developed in Europe.

"What struck us first of all was the disorder in the charging systems ... it's all a little bit chaotic and that is something we will have to avert, in order to avoid what happened in the video industry," Sebastian said.

"But harmonization doesn't cost too much money at the moment, what will cost money is if we have to say (to car manufacturers) that they have to change your designs in five years time," he added.

Spain has made the electric car a cornerstone of its six month EU presidency and has much to gain from the development of an industry which could stem the huge loss of jobs from its own auto sector and use the large amounts of renewable energy it generates at off-peak hours.

(Reporting by Jonathan Gleave,)