These 5 things need to happen before electric cars really go mainstream

These 5 things need to happen before electric cars really go mainstream

1. Batteries need to get cheaper.
2. Drivers need to believe they won't be stranded.
3. Policy supports need to expand, and not disappear unpredictably.
4. Gas prices need to get high and stay high.
5. More people need to try electric cars.

In 1997, the world's first real consumer-oriented electric car -- the Prius -- debuted in Japan. Sixteen years and many new models later, electric cars have stayed stubbornly at about 2 percent of global sales for light vehicles, which Navigant Research projects will only grow to 3 percent by 2020. Tesla may be doing well, but their $70,000 car won't reach the masses anytime soon. Chevrolet's Volt has had a rough ride, sales of Nissan's Leaf have disappointed, several battery companies have failed, and Israel's battery-swapping BetterPlace went under. Just this week, a car charging company that had received a $99 million federal grant went bankrupt.
But the sector is far from dead. The past few weeks have seen something of a boom in rollouts of new electric cars: General Motors is developing a $30,000 vehicle that can go 200 miles on a single charge, BMW is plans to launch the i3 this fall, and Volkswagen says it will bring an electric compact to the United States within two years. The all-electric Fiat just went on sale. Cadillac, Audi and Mercedes have prototypes as well. And overall sales have recently bumped:


read more
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/09/19/these-5-things-need-to-happen-before-electric-cars-really-go-mainstream/

cmack 4,136

These 5 things need to happen before electric cars really go mainstream

1. Batteries need to get cheaper.
2. Drivers need to believe they won't be stranded.
3. Policy supports need to expand, and not disappear unpredictably.
4. Gas prices need to get high and stay high.
5. More people need to try electric cars.

In 1997, the world's first real consumer-oriented electric car -- the Prius -- debuted in Japan. Sixteen years and many new models later, electric cars have stayed stubbornly at about 2 percent of global sales for light vehicles, which Navigant Research projects will only grow to 3 percent by 2020. Tesla may be doing well, but their $70,000 car won't reach the masses anytime soon. Chevrolet's Volt has had a rough ride, sales of Nissan's Leaf have disappointed, several battery companies have failed, and Israel's battery-swapping BetterPlace went under. Just this week, a car charging company that had received a $99 million federal grant went bankrupt.
But the sector is far from dead. The past few weeks have seen something of a boom in rollouts of new electric cars: General Motors is developing a $30,000 vehicle that can go 200 miles on a single charge, BMW is plans to launch the i3 this fall, and Volkswagen says it will bring an electric compact to the United States within two years. The all-electric Fiat just went on sale. Cadillac, Audi and Mercedes have prototypes as well. And overall sales have recently bumped:


read more
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/09/19/these-5-things-need-to-happen-before-electric-cars-really-go-mainstream/

cmack 4,136