With Toyota (TM) having sold 1 million hybrids worldwide (half in the US alone); California Governor Arnold Shwarzenegger converting his Hummers to run on biodiesel and hydrodgen; the muscle-car design chief at General Motors (GM) inspired to create a post-peak-oil vehicle; and Tesla’s sold-out 2006 model year, electric cars are lighting up the showroom.
Leading the pack for mainstream, major car manufacturers, GM is aggressively moving forward with its production of the VOLT - a true consumer electric car that is projected to be able to run at least 80 miles on battery power alone AND to have an alternate fuel source. The press, attention and enthusiasm for the vehicle, showcased at recent auto shows and highlighted on GM’s FastLane Blog is promising. However, the company is still in early phases - focusing on the critical need for a Lithium battery. But, they just awarded two contracts to potential companies for it - and it seems to have become a corporate priority. Since the takeoff of the Toyota Prius and the wave of environmentalism sweeping our country, GM seems to recognize the tremendous consumer appeal environmental cars have - and the money to be made from them.
At the same time, other manufacturers are reaping the awards today. The 2008 Tesla Roadster, a luxury, electric sportscar (0 to 60 in four seconds) was built to rival the leading cars in the market like the Dodge Viper - but gets an average of 135 miles per gallon versus the average 20 miles per gallon on most sportscars!
What Else is Out There?
Although the major carmakers largely abandoned the idea of battery electric cars in the 1990’s, Mitsubishi (MMTOF) and Subaru announced in 2005 that they would be manufacturing lithium ion-powered cars before 2010, to be made available first in Japan and then potentially sold elsewhere.
Today, in the US, the only true electric car available for purchase is the $98,000 Tesla EV sports car. The Tesla is advertised to get 200 miles per charge and produce 1/3 less emissions than the leading hybrid, the Toyota Prius. While the Tesla has taken great steps, it’s high price, limited availability (it is only being sold in California, New York and Chicago) and small production capacity are limiting its potential for growth outside its target market of wealthy environmentalists who like their fast cars.
That said, hybrids in the form of the Toyota Prius and Honda Civic Hybrid have taken off in recent years. These cars use both batteries and gasoline (batteries are recharged using an internal combustion engine so no external plug-in is needed) and get an average of 50-plus miles per gallon. While they are certainly more environmentally sound, for the moment, they both still require gasoline.
However, in a recent New York Times Magazine article (From 0 to 60 To World Domination, February 2007), Bill Reinert, Toyota’s U.S. engineer says that Toyota created the hybrid model because it is “practical and energy-efficient” and can be used with any fuel (ethanol and hydrogen included!). Reinert also says that once larger batteries exist, the hybrid is easily converted to a “plug-in” model that could operate similar to many of the electric cars being developed today. Toyota’s commitment to efficiency is clear, and while their support of the environment has sometimes been called into question (they are spending money in California to oppose greenhouse gas limits), every Toyota engineer designing a new car has an environmental-impact budget and is required to measure and consider the amount of carbon dioxide at all stages of production and lifetime operation of new vehicles.
How HIP are Electric Cars?
The GM VOLT endeavor promises to take a huge leap forward in environmental technology - and, judging from the response in NPR’s audience to Robert Lutz’s (GM executive known for owning fighter jets and luxury cars) comment that the VOLT was replacing the Dodge Viper as his dream car, on blogs around the country, and the number of requests GM is receiving with people wanting to put down deposits - even though it isn’t projected to be ready until 2010 - GM is tapping into the right market.
Health
Pollution has been linked to consistent health concerns - any efforts to reduce emissions of fossil fuels and CO2 into the environment is naturally contributing to the long-term health of our country. And, if GM successfully develops the new battery technology necessary for its vision, it could be the catalyst to begin the move towards the long-term vision of eco-friendly transportation. That said, GM (and other companies!) also need to begin make more modest changes to its more popular vehicles. As John DeCicco, an automotive specialist at Environmental Defense, a New York-based advocacy group, says, “When you make a small change in efficiency (lighter weight or improved fuel-efficiency) in a high-volume product (like the Chevy Impala),” DeCicco told me, ”it can have a bigger net effect in your carbon than a major change in a small(er)-volume seller.”
Wealth
At the reduced cost of 40 cents (versus $3 plus dollars) per 25 miles, the investment in an electric car is a strong one for consumers. And, current plans show services would only be required on a 25,000 mile basis, versus the more typical 5-10,000 miles required in traditional cars today. Additionally, outside of consumers, this is presenting an incredible new market opportunity - tapping into an emerging market with a product designed to be available to average Americans. GM is already capitalizing on the research and development of the vehicle with a more positive public image, more excited and engaged employees and presumably, investors are starting to take note of what’s to come (instead of focusing on the struggles of the past few years).
Earth
Electric cars can be recharged by all sorts of energy sources - including fossil fuels, nuclear, solar and wind power and the car itself produces no local pollution or carbon dioxide. The result - even at its “worst” (complete recharging by a coal-powered electric grid), it is still only responsible for 7 pounds of CO2 emissions every 25 miles, over 300% less than an average gasoline-powered vehicle and over 200% less than the popular hybrid brands. And, once new battery technology is developed, hybrid models such as the Toyota Prius can easily be converted to recharge from external sources. The result - significantly reduced greenhouse gas emissions and new, expanded markets for alternative sources of power (to be used in private homes for recharging). A HIP result all around!
Equality
While the electric cars on the market to date have been marked by a number of limitations, the most obvious have been that they are only accessible for a few individuals in key markets (such as Northern California or France) and have an incredibly high cost. By creating an electric car designed for the masses, GM is tapping into an up and coming demand stream and, as a major car manufacturer, is creating a new way of doing things that will likely open up options for consumers across the board.
Our Conclusion
HIP is excited that electric cars are beginning to gain in popularity and be produced for the masses - BUT battery technology still needs to be developed and more car manufacturers need to begin adapting their lines to take advantage of this technology in the future now. And, while we wait for electric cars to hit the mainstream market (predicted around 2010), car manufacturers need to begin making critical adjustments to their current lines of gas-guzzling vehicles. While pushing electric technology forward is critical and an important piece, it is not a solution in and of itself; consumers and investors should be excited about the new market - and its potential for Human Impact + Profit, but also must evaluate a company’s total impact on the environment.
What do you think? Will electric cars be as popular as all this suggests? Will car companies be able to continue the buzz until technology catches up? Is investing in electric technology enough? What else can/should we expect car manufacturers to be doing?
Read/Hear More:
Read EV Worlds’ analysis of cost savings and see an overview of the global market for electric cars
Hear Robert Lutz on the NPR Gameshow and declaring his dream car the VOLT
7 Comments
As a follow up you should Google Aston Martin’s Lightning Car.
Don’t forget about electric two wheelers / scooters
Electric is definately the way to go! Cleaner, faster, quieter. I love when my hybrid goes into all-electric mode!
Don’t forget about the Mullen electric car too!
I agree with most all of what you say, except for the part at the ened where you conclude that batteries still need more development before they are ready. This just isn’t true.
I drive a Toyota RAV4 EV with Nickel Metal Hydride batteries much like the ones in all the hybrids in the world. My car was designed in the mid-90s, built in 2002 and is the only car that I drive.
Toyota, GM and the other OEMs could easily be building and selling pure battery EVs with sufficient range and power for over 80% of American’s daily driving. Yet they refuse. We suspect it is because of the lack of need to repair and maintain the EV and therefore its lack of profitability that makes the auto companies shy away from them. 40% of the auto industry’s profits are from parts and service.
I don’t understand how you can say that Tesla makes the only electric car. I have attempted to purchase a Tesla and it seems virtually impossible and as if they are just dreaming of production and far away from being actually available. I did, however, purchase a ZAP electric vehicle from ZAP (www.zapworld.com). I also hear they have sold over 500 EVs recently. I bought their stock, too. (symbol ZAAP). Certainly, this is a great alternative to the Tesla vehicle.
If you look at how electric golf carts took off and replaced gasoline powered golf carts as the cart of choice you can see how it could effect electric street cars. The Trojan battery company manufactured and slowly reduced the cost of their batteries as the economy of scale grew and new research developed a more affordable battery. I think the same will happen with the street car.
Why hasn’t GM started back up production of the EV-1??? (who killed the electric car??)
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