Ford Motor Co.'s expansion of hybrid and plug-in models and demand for Tesla Motors Inc.'s luxury battery sedans helped electric-drive cars and trucks grow faster in the United States in the first half than even surging pickup trucks.
U.S. sales of hybrid, plug-in hybrid and battery-only autos rose at least 23% to more than 287,000, based on data compiled by Bloomberg. Deliveries of full-size pickups climbed 22%.
"The number of entries in the segment continues to grow, so as a buyer you don't have to make a compromise to get what you want," said Alan Baum, principal of Baum & Associates. "Ford is obviously increasing sales, but what's more important is they're now a serious player in this space."
Environmental rules in the United States, Europe and Japan have pushed carmakers to offer more vehicles that don't emit climate-warming gases and consume less fuel.
Pressure on Toyota's Prius, the world's top-selling electric-drive vehicle, is growing as competitors work to replicate the hybrid hatchback's mass-market success.
Ford's hybrid and plug-in versions of the Fusion sedan and C-Max wagon boosted its electric-drive deliveries to 46,197, more than five times its year-earlier volume. Toyota Motor Corp. led with 176,506 such sales, up 4.4 percent.
Pickup profit
Full-sized pickup deliveries exceeded 928,000 in the first half, more than triple sales of electric-drive vehicles.
Such trucks also are the top source of earnings for Ford, General Motors and Chrysler Group. Automakers make an $8,000 to $10,000 profit per pickup they sell, versus $3,000 per mid-size car, John Casesa, senior managing director at Guggenheim Partners LLC, said this week on Bloomberg Radio.
While first-half sales of the four-model Prius line fell 5% to 120,214, Toyota still plans to sell as many as 250,000 this year, Bill Fay, Toyota's group vice president for U.S. sales, said this week.
A revived advertising push, no-interest loans and discount leases are in place to help meet that goal, Fay said.
Tesla, which led North American rechargeable auto sales in the first quarter, topping GM's Volt plug-in and Nissan Motor Co.'s battery-electric Leaf, may have relinquished its volume lead in the first half.
The electric-car maker led by billionaire Elon Musk may have sold 8,931 units of Model S, priced from $69,900, this year through June, according to an estimate by Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey-based Autodata.
Volt, Leaf
Tesla doesn't currently report sales on a monthly basis. The company will provide delivery figures when it releases second-quarter results, said Shanna Hendriks, a Tesla spokeswoman, who declined to confirm Autodata's estimate.
Tesla sold few electric vehicles in last year's first half after concluding Roadster sports car deliveries and starting Model S output.
The Volt, a plug-in hybrid that goes about 38 miles (61 kilometers) on battery power before a gasoline engine engages, had a 12% increase to 9,855 units in the first half.
That kept Volt just ahead of Nissan's Tennessee-built Leaf with 9,839 sales, tripling its year-ago sales.
Baum, who analyzes developments in the alternative-powertrain vehicle segment, said he estimates that electric-drive sales may have grown as much as 27% in the first half to a record 299,000.
The figures compiled by Bloomberg include data released directly by most automakers, and Autodata estimates for companies including Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Motors Corp. and Tesla.
Source: Automotive News, by Alan Ohnsman, July 8, 2013
Dan Winslow's morning commute starts when he walks into his garage and unplugs his Chevrolet Volt. The mighty electric propulsion makes the 30 miles to the Statehouse whiz by for the Republican state representative from Norfolk. More importantly, Winslow said, the electric motor stays on until he reaches a downtown Boston garage for parking and a battery recharge -- a feature missing in conventional hybrid vehicles like the Toyota Prius -- that are designed to constantly switch between their electric motors and internal-combustion engines. This is why his Volt rarely needs gasoline, Winslow said: He gets 250 miles out of every gallon. "Had I known how much I use it, I would have bought it," said Winslow, who leases his Volt. "Every time I drive my car, somebody in OPEC cries, and that makes me happy." Electric and hybrid vehicles continue to gain loyal consumers. Tesla Motors recently paid off a $465 million federal loan nine years early. The industry saw 163,915 hybrid vehicles sold in the U.S. from Jan. 1 through April 30, up from 146,107 during the same period last year, and 31,948 plug-in hybrid cars, more than quadrupling the 7,942 sold during those months last year, according to the Electric Drive Transportation Association's website. Still, the numbers represent a mere fraction of the total passenger-vehicle sales in the country. All hybrid and plug-in vehicles, including batteries sold separately, made up 3.8% of the total car sales thus far this year, compared to 3.4% last year.
Experts say price is a factor.
In Brookline, for example, 1,048 cars, or 3.7% of all registered vehicles, are hybrid or electric, according to data from the state Registry of Motor Vehicles. The rate drops to 1.6 percent in neighboring Boston. In Greater Lowell, the hybrid/electric car ownership rate shifts outbound from 0.5 percent in Lowell to 1.2 percent in Chelmsford to 1.9 percent in Westford. But in Concord, 41 percent of passenger cars are hybrid or electric, compared to 21 percent in Bedford. Cosmin Laslau, analyst at Lux Research Inc. in Boston, said electric vehicles have had disappointing sales because of their prices, which are largely due to the cost of batteries. Those costs are not likely to drop soon, keeping the vehicles on the higher end of the price range, Laslau said. A new Chevrolet Volt typically costs about $39,000, compared to $35,000 to $37,000 for a Nissan Leaf. A Tesla Model S can cost up to $72,000. Toyota's Prius starts at $24,000. Gasoline savings will never pay for a $70,000 car purchase. But potential buyers consider it an alternative to conventional luxury vehicles like the Mercedes Benz and are willing to pay for cutting-edge technology, Laslau said. Chickery Kasouf, assistant professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute School of Business, said education level also influences consumer behavior. Kasouf's expertise includes marketing, although he has not studied the hybrid/electric auto market. People in certain communities are more concerned about the environment and carbon emissions, he said. "Because of their background and lifestyles, they are willing to pay for it," Kasouf said. Hybrid and electric cars have come a long way, experts say. A half-dozen years ago, the Toyota Prius was still the symbol of fuel economy. Many early adopters gravitated toward that model and made it part of the highway landscape. Now, prospective hybrid owners enjoy a wide range of choices and can make comparisons. Because of price, Laslau forecasts only about 200,000 new full-electric and "heavy plug-in" vehicles will make it onto the road each year globally by 2020. In the meantime, the market for mild- and micro-hybrid vehicles is growing fast, according to Laslau, who projects 39 million of such vehicles will be sold annually by 2017. Mild-hybrid refers to vehicles that come with both an internal combustion engine and an electric motor but cannot run solely on the latter. Micro-hybrid isn't really hybrid; it saves energy by shutting down the internal combustion engine when the car is on standby, such as during a stop at a traffic light.
The option to add on the micro-hybrid feature -- which typically saves 3 percent to 5 percent in fuel -- is available for many conventional cars. For a Ford Fusion, the add-on costs $400 to $500, Laslau said. Micro-hybrid has been popular in Europe for years, but is relatively new to the U.S.
Mauricio Cordero, creative projects director for Groton-based collaborative 3Rivers Arts, bought a Honda Insight hybrid because he thought a plug-in vehicle that requires frequent charging wouldn't be conducive to apartment living in Lowell. The Insight also cost $6,000 less than a Prius and allows him to drive to Washington, D.C., without refilling the 10-gallon tank, he said. Cathy Driscoll Clark, of Lunenburg, said her husband, who commutes to Chelmsford, and her daughter in college in Connecticut bought used Toyota Priuses for less than $10,000 each. They chose Priuses because they were more familiar with them and because charger stations for plug-in vehicles aren't numerous, she said. Winslow said he chose the Volt because it operates solely on the electric motor during the first 40 miles. It's also an American car, he said. It takes about 4.5 hours to fully charge the car battery using a regular household outlet, and outlets at charger stations speed things up. The monthly cost of leasing a Volt comes down to $150 when factoring in the $200 monthly savings on gasoline, he said.
Source : SentinelandEnterprise.com, by Hiroko Sato, June 17, 2013
Every single plug-in vehicle sold today represents about 15 by the end of the decade. That's essentially the calculation that Navigant Research (formerly Pike Research) has made, using all the prediction tools at its disposal. In short, Navigant says global annual plug-in vehicles will reach 3 million units by 2020 and will account for about 3% of all light-duty vehicle sales at that time.
Navigant is basing some of its lofty forecast on the fact that plug-in vehicle sales rose 150% last year as more folks got comfortable with the idea of driving on electrons. US plug-in sales, excluding undefined sales for the Tesla Model S and low-volume models like the Fisker Karma extended-range plug-in, reached about 50,000 units last year, or about one out of every 285 new vehicles sold domestically. Year-to-date, plug-in vehicle sales may have more than doubled (Tesla doesn't disclose monthly numbers) to more than 30,000 units.
Whether this forecast is a bump-up from Navigant/Pike's previous one is anyone's guess since there's not recent apples-to-apples comparison. Pike said in 2011 that cumulative plug-in vehicle sales would reach 5.2 million units by 2017, when annual sales would be at about 2 million units.
Source : AutoBlogGreen, by Danny King, June 20, 2013
Colorado’s alternative-fuel vehicle tax credit is one of the most lucrative in the nation. At up to $6,000, Colorado bets BIG on the changing automotive landscape.
Now, the Centennial State is readying a bill that takes that bet to the extremes.
A proposal to extend Colorado’s tax credit out to 2021 was approved last Friday by a 40-21 vote in the state’s House of Representatives.
The bill (HB 1247), which would keep in place the existing tax credits of up to $6,000 per vehicle, is now on its way to the Senate.
Plug-in hybrid vehicles, as well as pure electrics, are eligible for up to $6,000 in tax credits in Colorado. Both the Nissan LEAF and Chevy Volt qualify, but for different amounts.
Some vehicles qualify for unusual amounts and it’s rather tricky to make sense of Colorado’s eligibility requirements, but a full rundown of eligible vehicles and the credit they receive can be found by clicking here (PDF). Note: Link contains 2012 eligibility. 2013 figures will be adjusted, but are not yet available.
Prior to the introduction of HB 1247, Colorado’s tax credit for alternative-fuel vehicles would have expired at the end of 2015. It could still expire then if bill HB 1247 isn’t signed into law.
Source : InsideEVs, by Eric Loveday, May 12, 2013
Not all plug-in electric cars rely on battery power alone; some also have gasoline engines as backups, for longer range or more power.
Last year, we identified six plug-in hybrid vehicles on sale during 2013.
This year, the list gains three new entries (from BMW, Cadillac, and Mitsubishi) and loses one (the Fisker Karma).
Note that we're lumping into this category cars with two different types of drivetrains.
First are the plug-in versions of conventional hybrids, including the Ford's C-Max Energi and Fusion Energi models, the Honda Accord Plug-In Hybrid, and the Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid.
Then there are the range-extended electric vehicles, in which only electricity powers the wheels and the engine runs a generator that produces electricity for that purpose.
Those cars include the upcoming BMW i3 ReX, the Chevy Volt, its platform twin the Cadillac ELR, and the now-departed Fisker Karma.
Then there's the Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-In Hybrid, which can work either way. (The Accord Plug-In Hybrid can act either way too, but it's adapted from a conventional hybrid).
With that little bit of education out of the way, here's our list of plug-in hybrids that will be on sale in the U.S. for the 2014 model year.
2014 BMW i3 ReX
New to the market early next year will be BMW's first plug-in electric car, an all-new dedicated vehicle that comes as a battery-electric vehicle or with a small two-cylinder range-extending engine.
The car's 21- or 22-kWh lithium-ion battery pack sits in an aluminum chassis structure, with a carbon-fiber reinforced plastic body shell on top. The shell is so strong that BMW can dispense with center door pillars altogether: the rear doors are rear-hinged, meaning the entire side of the car opens up for unparalleled ease of access.
A 125-kW (168 -hp) electric motor powers the rear wheels, but the "ReX" range-extended version uses a small two-cylinder engine and generator that also tucks under the rear deck.
That engine, along with a 2- or 3-gallon gas tank up front, will give the BMW i3 ReX almost double the battery range of 80 to 100 miles (figures haven't yet been released).
But, unlike the Chevy Volt and Cadillac ELR, performance in range-extending mode may not match that delivered by the battery pack.
BMW points out that the range extender is not meant for everyday use, but more for occasional and emergency situations.
The first BMW i3s are likely to arrive at dealers shortly after January 1, at a price similar to that of a well-equipped 3-Series, or perhaps $42,000 to $46,000.
The ReX range extender, however, will likely cost a few thousand dollars more on top of that.
2014 Cadillac ELR
The striking Cadillac ELR range-extended electric coupe has had a checkered history, with production approved and then canceled during the days of GM's 2009 bankruptcy.
Widely lauded for its striking lines, the production version of the ELR goes on sale later this year in a form remarkably close to the concept car shown in 2009.
It shares the Voltec range-extended powertrain of the Chevy Volt, including a 16-kWh lithium-ion battery pack housed in the tunnel and under the rear seat, and a 1.4-liter range-extending four-cylinder engine up front.
But the ELR is expected to have quite different electronic control software, giving it a different feel and most likely more performance to offset the weight of its many luxury features.
GM hasn't released final power, performance, range, or fuel-efficiency ratings for the 2014 ELR, nor has it said anything about its price.
That information will likely arrive this fall.
2014 Chevrolet Volt
The Chevy Volt will continue in its fourth model year with just a handful of changes, though it will be joined on the assembly line by the Cadillac ELR range-extended electric coupe that shares its Voltec powertrain.
The five-door four-seat compact hatchback is rated at 38 miles of electric range, after which its 1.4-liter gasoline range extender kicks on to generate electricity to power the car another 300 or so miles.
Under certain limited circumstances, the engine can be mechanically clutched into the drive unit to supplement the electric power. The driver will never know when this happens, however, and the Volt driving experience remains electric in feel: smooth, quiet, and without any gear shifting.
For 2012, the Volt was the best-selling plug-in electric car in the U.S. For the first four months of 2013, it was likely slightly outsold by the Tesla Model S.
2014 Ford C-Max Energi
The Ford C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid enters its second year, which provides an electric range of 21 miles and then reverts to being a (slightly heavier) version of the conventional hybrid C-Max.
The C-Max Energi will hit 85 mph in all-electric mode, and it will hold in electric-only mode much longer than the plug-in Prius (below) which switches on its engine under anything more than light to medium load.
The plug-in C-Max is one of two Energi models from Ford, both using identical powertrains based on a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine and Ford's twin motor-generator hybrid system, along with a lithium-ion battery pack in the rear.
One drawback to the Energi version of the C-Max: the larger battery pack mounted under the load deck raises rear deck height significantly, both making for a higher liftover height and cutting into cargo volume.
Pricing starts at $33,745--cheaper than its plug-in Prius rival.
2014 Ford Fusion Energi
Like the C-Max Hybrid (above), the Ford Fusion Energi is a plug-in adaptation of the higher-volume Fusion Hybrid.
Both vehicles use a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine and Ford's hybrid transmission, but the plug-in Fusion sedan provides 21 miles of EPA-rated electric range and an efficiency rating of 100 MPGe. (MPGe stands for Miles Per Gallon equivalent, or the distance that a car can travel electrically on the amount of energy contained in 1 gallon of gasoline.)
The Fusion Energi has the advantage of looking just like a regular Fusion--if you disregard a few trim details and the charging-port door on the left-front fender--for those buyers who don't want their choice of a plug-in vehicle to make them stand out from the crowd.
While the C-Max competes against the Toyota Prius, the Fusion Energi is more likely aimed squarely at the Chevy Volt.
Like its sibling in Ford's plug-in lineup, it can run in all-electric mode at speeds as high as 85 mph under the right circumstances.
2014 Honda Accord Plug-In Hybrid
It will be joined later this year by a conventional Accord Hybrid model, but right now, the plug-in Honda Accord is the only car to offer the company's new, twin-motor hybrid system for larger vehicles.
Aimed at both the Ford Fusion Energi and the Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid, the Accord Plug-In Hybrid falls between them in electric range--at 13 miles--but offers a remarkable 115 MPGe efficiency rating, far higher than the Fusion Energi's 100 MPGe or the plug-in Prius, at 95 MPGe.
Our first drive of the car revealed a pleasant drive and several useful features, though we'll wait to make our final conclusions until we've driven one over longer distances and in more varied uses.
The 2.0-liter four cylinder drivetrain with two-motor electric assistance can work in all-electric mode, as a series hybrid, or as a parallel hybrid. Its total combined power output from both systems is 196 horsepower.
Honda is slowly ramping up plug-in hybrid sales in California, but the conventional 2014 Accord Hybrid will be sold nationwide when it launches this fall.
2014 Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-In Hybrid
The Outlander Plug-In Hybrid isn't the first electric car Mitsubishi has offered in the U.S., but it's aimed at a far larger market segment than its tiny all-electric i-MiEV minicar.
The plug-in family utility vehicle is an ambitious attempt to add 20 or more miles of electric range to a mid-size crossover, which then operates as a hybrid once the 12-kWh battery pack is depleted.
In that case, Parallel Hybrid Mode largely uses the gasoline engine for propulsion, with the electric motors assisting. This mode predominates at higher speeds, when the engine can be run at peak efficiency.
At lower speeds, the plug-in Outlander automatically chooses among two additional drive modes, depending on conditions. EV Drive Mode uses the front and rear electric motors alone, for silent, gas-free driving--including part-time all-wheel drive when needed.
Series Hybrid Mode uses the 2.0-liter gasoline engine to generate electricity that powers the motors. It is engaged when extra power is required--on steep hills, say--and when the battery charge falls below a set level. Drivers can also direct the car to operate in this mode to recharge the battery for more electric range in designated ares.
The Mitsubishi plug-in hybrid crossover will be a low-volume and more expensive version of the standard 2013 Mitsubishi Outlander, now starting to appear in dealerships. More than 4,000 have already been sold in Japan.
U.S. debut of the plug-in hybrid Outlander may possibly be delayed while Mitsubishi investigates a battery fire that occurred in late March.
2014 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid
The priciest Prius, and the only one that plugs in, enters its third model year--and perhaps the last year of the current generation of Prius, which is expected to be replaced in 2015.
With EPA-rated electric range of only 11 miles--and only 6 miles of that continuous, even on the gentle EPA test cycles--the Prius Plug-In Hybrid offers less all-electric running than any other car on the market.
That said, however, it maintains the 50-mpg combined rating of the standard hybrid Prius, meaning that it's more efficient than a Chevy Volt for trips of 100 miles or more.
Sales of the plug-in Prius were strong last year, second only to the Volt's, but it appears to have lost ground to Ford's pair of Energi plug-in hybrids.
Source : GreenCarReports, by John Voelcker, May 7, 2013
BYD’s follow-up to its “dual mode” F3DM plug-in hybrid is set to launch in China this June with an expected price tag of $29,000 US before incentives.
Its price is spectacular, as to are its specs. It’s called Qin and it’s the “next-generation dual-mode electric vehicle” flagship from BYD.
“Dual Mode II” improves upon the system featured in the F3DM in several ways and BYD is quick to point out the benefits. BYD says Qin boasts an electric-only rang of 31 miles, features a 10-kWh lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery pack, accelerates from 0 to 62 mph in just 5.9 seconds and has a top speed of 115 mph. Nearly all of these figures best the capabilities of the F3DM and BYD further says that Qin is some 3.3 seconds quicker from 0 to 62 mph than the Chevy Volt.
Qin relies on two 110-kW electric motors and a 1.5 liter turbo-charged direct-injected gasoline engine for motivation.
Qin is the first in a long line of future advanced vehicles scheduled to be released by BYD and its definitely price to sell in volume. At $29,000 U$D, before any applicable government subsidies or tax exemptions, Qin should fly off dealer lots in China. We say “should,” rather than “will,” because Chinese consumers have yet to show any real interest in purchasing plug-in vehicles, regardless of price.
Source : InsideEVs, by Eric Loveday, May 7, 2013
The troubles of electric-car-maker Fisker Automotive have fueled another round of debate about whether plug-ins can live up to their promises. The California start-up, which had already halted production and laid off most of its employees, missed a federal loan paymentMonday and told a congressional hearing on Wednesday that bankruptcy may be unavoidable. This is likely the end of the road for Fisker. But definitely not for electric cars. Let’s dispel some myths.
1. The electric car is dead.
This myth is partly my fault, perpetuated by the title of my 2006 documentary, “Who Killed the Electric Car?” The signs back then weren’t promising. Under pressure from car companies and other lobbyists, California rolled back its Zero-Emission Vehicle mandate, which had helped get nearly 5,000 electric cars on the road. The change in the regulation freed carmakers to round up the cars they had leased — and then surreptitiously crush them.
Thankfully, it takes more than a crusher to kill a technology. Today, almost all the major automakers, along with a cast of new players, are investing in and building plug-in cars. California’s mandate has also made a comeback, and other states are considering similar rules.
Fisker’s struggles can be attributed, in part, to the fact that start-ups in any industry have a high rate of failure, and launching a start-up in the automotive sector is especially expensive. That makes it all the more impressive that Fisker’s rival Tesla turned a quarterly profit this year.
A new report from IEE, part of the Edison Foundation, projects that between 5 million and 30 million electric cars will be on U.S. roads by 2035. “The electrification of the vehicle fleet is a foregone conclusion,” says former GM vice chairman (and former electric-car-basher) Bob Lutz.
Economics, politics and technology all played a role in the turnaround. Soaring gas prices in 2008 got everyone complaining. U.S. manufacturers, stuck with large inventories of low-mileage SUVs and facing bankruptcy, watched with envy as Toyota rode the buzz from its Prius hybrid to become the world’s No. 1 carmaker. The chief executives of Detroit’s Big Three further reassessed after being chastised for flying corporate jets to congressional bailout hearings in November 2008. When they returned to Washington two weeks later, they arrived in electric hybrids. Since then, partly with the help of government loans (some already repaid), electric-car technology has made big strides.
2. Electric cars can’t get people where they need to go.
I’ve been driving electric cars for 15 years and have yet to run out of power. But ask people what their biggest hesitation is about electric vehicles, and they’re most likely to say something about the cars leaving them stranded. This myth is so pervasive that General Motors applied to trademark the name for it: "Range anxiety". A controversial New York Times test drive in February of Tesla’s Model S, which ended up needing a tow to a charging station, seemed to confirm the fear.
But that test drive — covering more than 500 miles in temperatures as low as 10 degrees — was not your everyday trip. The average American drives fewer than 40 miles a day. That’s well within the 75-mile-plus range of most electric cars. And while batteries do run down faster in extreme cold, on a normal day Tesla’s Model S can go as far as 265 miles on a single charge.
The answer to range anxiety for many carmakers is the plug-in hybrid, an electric car with a backup gasoline engine. The Chevrolet Volt, the Toyota Prius Plug-In and the Ford C-Max Energi all use electric power for the first 20 to 50 miles (or most daily trips) and then switch to gasoline for longer drives.
3. Charging is a headache.
Charging an electric car can be as simple as plugging it into a wall outlet. But AC outlet charging is slow, taking between eight and 24 hours. So it’s not usually the method of first resort.
That’s why most plug-ins are sold with charging docks that work in a home garage and can charge a car in four to eight hours, allowing drivers to treat their cars like their cellphones: topping them off periodically or charging them up overnight.
I didn’t have my own garage when I first leased an electric car, so I often used a public charging station within walking distance of my home. There are now 5,734 public stations in the United States, many with multiple charging points. The newest generation will charge your car nearly 10 times faster than home stations and 50 times faster than an AC outlet. Tesla just installed several of these supercharger stations on the East and West coasts, and Nissan recently announced plans to install 500 in the coming months.
4. Electric cars aren’t any better for the environment.
Electric cars have clear environmental benefits: They don’t require gasoline, they don’t pollute from tailpipes, and they operate at 80% efficiency (vs. about 20% for internal-combustion engines).
Skeptics will cite a 2012 report from the Union of Concerned Scientists as evidence that electric cars aren’t as green as some people make them out to be. That study correctly notes that autos powered by coal-generated electricity are little better for the environment than small gas-powered cars. But the same report concludes that “consumers should feel confident that driving an electric vehicle yields lower global warming emissions than the average new compact gasoline-powered vehicle.” That’s because only 39% of U.S. electricity comes from coal. With the retirement of old power plants and the addition of cleaner energy sources, electric cars will have even greater advantages for the environment.
Another environmental concern is about batteries. Won’t they end up in landfills like billions of disposable batteries do? No. Even gasoline-car batteries avoid that fate when they are exchanged and recycled. And electric-car batteries are valuable as energy-storage devices after life on the road. Backup power systems for utilities, businesses and homes create a secondary market for these batteries before their elements are recycled.
5. Most people will never be able to afford an electric car.
At $102,000, the base price of a 2012 Fisker Karma was clearly beyond the reach of most drivers. Tesla, too, was critiqued for the assumptions built into its recent claim that a Model S could be leased for $500 a month. (The Washington Post calculated that the monthly cost would be closer to $1,000.)
But these two luxury cars have targeted the high-end market. By contrast, the cost of leasing a Nissan Leaf ($199 a month with $1,999 down) is equivalent to leasing a compact gasoline car such as the Mazda3 — except you don’t have to pay for gas.
Keeping electric car sticker prices from decreasing right now are low production volumes and the cost of batteries. But a 2012 McKinsey report estimates that the price of lithium-ion batteries could fall dramatically by 2020.
As the cost of electric-car technology trends downward and the price of oil trends upward, electric cars should prove the more affordable and, based on my experience, more enjoyable choice.
Source : The Washington Post, by Chris Paine, April 26, 2013 / Chris Paine is a filmmaker whose documentaries include "Who killed teh electric car?" ,“Charge” and "Revenge of the Electric Car"
