Comments on: Plug-in Cars in Frankfurt: Revolution or False Dawn?

By: Robert01

Robert01 — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:45:13 +0000

The Audi etron is very, very sexy! Not sure about that weird futuristic looking golf cart in the picture above, though.

By: Dan L

Dan L — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:54:39 +0000

Perhaps we are seeing the results of a shift in lithium ion battery prices. Before, auto manufacturers didn't offer any EVs because they couldn't obtain batteries at prices that made them economically feasible. Now, perhaps, battery makers are promising to sell batteries at much lower costs.

I prefer to think that over the other possibility: EVs are in fashion right now, and everyone's marketing team is jumping on the bandwagon.

By: Samie

Samie — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 21:26:34 +0000

In terms of plug-in gas/electric vehicles they are only a skip over technology. Plug-in's could play a big role in the short-term this gives automakers a conservative approach in that it may mean less pressure to create or use batteries that could be charged for more than 100 or 150mi for EV's. As discussed before it is unclear what short-term advantage a car manufacture would get out of reducing the limited range of pure EV's due to losing some revenue from car repairs and the possibility of a EV owner holding onto the vehicle past 3-4 years if limitations were drastically reduced by means of competition.

Maybe a engineer would disagree with me but it seems logical that at some point a EV should cost less to produce than a ICE again at some future point with production and battery issues controlled. Price on Plug-ins should not change as much as a Pure EV assuming the same hybrid of traditional and electric components are always going to be produced leading to added costs.

Even with a limited range of say a Nissan Leaf consumers may elect to have a second ICE vehicle like a Versa for long trips. I also raise the question of if production problems do not play a role in distributing EV's could it be said w/i a few years that this market could reach the same 2-3% share of traditional hybrids?

By: ex-EV1 driver

ex-EV1 driver — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:22:07 +0000

Shines,
I, personally don't see charging infrastructure to be much of a problem. It doesn't cost any more to put in an EV charger than it does to put in a streetlight. The only reason we don't have chargers everywhere is there is no reason to do so since there are very few EVs.
The problem is there are no Electric Vehicles. Once the Electric Vehicles are there, there will be motivation to install the much cheaper chargers.
The exception to this, of course, is California where there are thousands of chargers and only hundreds of EVs.

By: Shines

Shines — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:08:44 +0000

Thanks Eric – I’m glad you’re starting out positive. I think the long list indicates that it is relatively easy to design and engineer an electric car. I am skeptical first of all how many of these concepts will become production and how soon. And also how many drivers will actually buy electrics when they become available.
I think a critical aspect of the adoption will be a recharging infrastructure. I need to be able to travel more than 100 miles and get my electric vehicle recharged quickly to continue my journey. A Volt style ER-EV may be an answer but I’m not sure about $40K for a small sedan…
Clearly the long list hints that many manufacturers believe the battery technology is nearly mature enough to consider production EVs. That’s pretty exciting!

By: Eric

Eric — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:48:30 +0000

Quite a list of EVs! We are so close to a new chapter in automotive history that I can almost smell the cleaner air! I thought I would say something positive before the haters and skeptics pile on.