Shell CEO mocks electric cars, eyes biofuels

"My milkman used to drive around in electric cars a long time ago ... What's new?" Van der Veer said Thursday in a Shell sponsored "eco-marathon" in Germany, according to the Associated Press.

He added that electric vehicles require too much infrastructure, saying that wind and solar projects can't justify investments in future projects because their profits are not high enough.

Instead, Shell eyes growth in the market for alternative fuels.

"I want Shell to be really big in one renewable, and that will be biofuel," Van der Veer said. He however declined to say how much money Shell will invest in biofuels in the coming year, according to the report

Van der Veer's comments appear as several automakers around the world unveil plans to introduce electric vehicles in the next several years.

So far this week, Ford Motors announced Wednesday it was shifting a key SUV factory in Michigan into a small and electric cars production facility. A day earlier Renault unveiled its new prototype electric vehicle, the "Kangoo be bop Z.E" in France.

On Friday company and government officials are expected to attend a commissioning ceremony for the first U.S. commercial-scale production line for lithium-ion automotive battery packs operated by EnerDel near Indianapolis.