THE RISE OF THE EV

Paying at the Pump and EV Adoption Collide
July 2011 (Zpryme Research & Consulting)

"2011 has been touted as “the year of the plug-in electric vehicle”. With domestic fuel prices up 30 percent since last year…Automakers have heard the cries of American wallets and have delivered a fleet of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs). The Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt are the first in a new generation…

"…The Leaf, a full PEV, runs entirely on a battery…The Volt is a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) that runs on a grid powered battery but also has a conventional engine fueled by gasoline…The Volt can travel between 20-50 miles on a single charge while the Leaf can travel over 100 miles…[T]he charging costs of both vehicles are less per mile than gasoline or diesel…approximately three cents per mile for EVs versus 12 cents per mile for conventional engines…"

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"The future of the EV looks promising; as the price of gasoline continues to rise, Americans will vote with their wallets and select vehicles that save them money at the pump. Demand for EVs will increase as the price of gasoline continues to climb…Zpryme predicts a 36.2 percent annual growth rate of PEVs from 2011-2016…

"…By 2016, Zpryme estimates that 730,700 PEVs will be on the road, just shy of President Obama’s goal of 1,000,000 vehicles…[T]here is much work to be done in the EV market. The road to an all-electric fleet is long and not necessarily a smooth ride…[T]he development of the PEV market will begin with an understanding of consumer preferences…"