Category: Electric Vehicles
Purveyors of Electric Vehicles Need To Offer a Reasonable Business Proposition
| May 15, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Electric Vehicles |
Here’s a press release (dressed as a news article) from Aerovironment, a company with a division that makes electric vehicle chargers. And here’s a line from it that reminds me of the adage: “If the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail”:
The consumer is just looking for something that works and allows them to charge fast.
Wrong.
The consumer is looking for a reasonable business proposition in terms of price and range. He won’t pay twice as much for a car, only to be limited, inconvenienced, and fearful that he’s investing in a dead-end technology.
Prospective Electric Vehicle Owners Analyze Break-Even Point on Fuel Costs
| May 10, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Electric Vehicles |
Cameron Atwood writes:
I recall seeing figures indicating the $45k Volt pays off the difference in savings on gas over electric cost over its ICE (internal combustion engine) brethren in six years. That’s not especially dismal.
It depends on how far you drive, and, in the case of a plug-in hybrid like the Volt, how you drive, i.e., how seldom you exceed the battery-only range (about 35 miles) and start to use gasoline. The analysis is easier with a battery electric like the LEAF. Let’s say: Read More
Hoopla Aside, Auto Manufacturers Not Anxious To Roll Out EVs
| May 8, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Electric Vehicles |
A quick note from the electric vehicle show in Los Angeles this week:
It’s true that most of the credible car-makers have EV products scheduled for delivery in the not-too-distant future. But they’re obviously hedging their bets, delaying their market entrance as long as possible, so as to maximize the penetration of their pipeline of gasoline powered vehicles.
It’s pretty clear that their hearts are not in this. And why should this be otherwise? If you’re an auto OEM, you see nothing but an ocean of downside: billions of dollars of R&D, tons of a dozen different kinds of risk including exposure to tort attorneys from hell, diminution of sales revenues, huge costs of customer support and education (that will STILL wind them up with upset customers), the expense of supporting multiple platforms, shotgun weddings with charger suppliers and standards, etc. Read More
Good To Chat with Dan Sturges, Transportation Visionary
| May 7, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Electric Vehicles |
On my way to the electric vehicle show in downtown Los Angeles this morning I dropped in to see 2GreenEnergy associate Dan Sturges. I picked him up at his place in nearby Culver City, and chatted with him about the future of transportation while I had my 17-year-old BMW washed. As I explained to Dan, “I hope you’re not shocked that I would drive a car with 247K miles on it, but, as I’ve said many times, I’m never buying another car that burns gas — and the cost/benefit equation of EVs are just starting to come into line.”
Btw, that statement was borne out by what’s on display here at the show. Lots of new models, improving range, prices high, but, I believe, poised to come down. Toyota unveiled their RAV4 Electric. Nice looking SUV, but it’s bigger than I need, 100 mile range, and MSRP just under $50,000. This stuff needs to be less expensive, and I believe will be one day soon.
2GreenEnergy at the Electric Vehicle Symposium in Los Angeles
| May 4, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Electric Vehicles |
I tend to make up my mind about travel at the last minute, leaving all options open until the very end. For example, the Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS-26) happens to be in Los Angeles this year, and runs from Sunday to Wednesday. I want to attend precisely one day — but which one? It’s a function of several things: Read More
Clean Car Calculator
| April 30, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Electric Vehicles |
Here’s a “clean car calculator” in which users can plug in certain values and receive an instant assessment of the eco-impact of their vehicle. I’ll point out (before skeptics like reader Glenn Doty have the chance) that the methodology is subject to question; it uses the average cleanliness of the electric power in the user’s state, which differs from the overall impact of adding load anywhere on the grid in most of the US.
Enterprise Is Shopping for Electric Vehicles
| April 19, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Electric Vehicles |
At yesterday’s Plug-In Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Conference I had a wonderful conversation with a senior player at Enterprise Holdings, the parent company of Enterprise Rent-A-Car. I began by validating him for coming to a show like this; to me it shows, at a minimum, a kind of progressive, forward-thinking approach to the business.
When I asked him about the pros and cons of adding electric vehicles to the line-up, I got some very interesting and thought-provoking answers that I thought I’d share: Read More
IBM’s Vice President of Energy and Utilities — Making a Difference in Electric Transportation
| April 18, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Electric Vehicles |
Here’s another quick note from San Diego, where I’m spending the day at the Plug-In Electric Vehicle Infrastructure USA 2012.
I just had a great conversation with Allan Schurr, IBM’s Vice President of Energy and Utilities. I performed quite a few projects for IBM over the 30 years that I functioned as a marketing consultant for the tech sector, and thus they’ll always occupy a warm spot in my heart — even if they did achieve their dominance in the late 20th century with the borderline abusive business tactics for which they were well known at the time.
Nowadays, we have a kinder, gentler — and I would say smarter IBM, a company dedicated to adding true value with its level of innovation, business strategy, and industry expertise. I’m delighted to see that IBM embraces electric transportation, and focuses on integrating its many information-related pieces, e.g., smart-grid. IBM’s done a great deal of work in early-adopter Denmark, where, for instance, an EV comes home at the end of a workday, gets plugged in, and waits patiently for the wind speed to cross a certain threshold, at which its charger switches on, thus minimizing the use of fossil fuels and maximizing the penetration of wind into the Danish grid-mix.
Great stuff, guys. Keep up the good work.
EV Charging Standards as Discussed at the Plug-In Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Conference
| April 18, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Electric Vehicles |
I’m spending the day in San Diego at the Plug-In Electric Vehicle Infrastructure USA 2012, meeting people, listening to talks, and doing an on-camera interview with industry guru Jon LeSage at Green Car Digest.
I just had an interesting conversation with the Qualcomm’s Senior Director of marketing, Joe Barrett, who told me about his company’s acquisition of the wireless (inductive) charging technology that they’re taking to market under the name “Halo.” I have to admit, Qualcomm really is in a good position to take this forward, given their size, and their success in establishing standards in a large and (vaguely) related industry: cellular telephony. Read More
Why Is the EV Adoption Curve So Flat? Check Out the Ford Focus Electric
| April 17, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Electric Vehicles |
A couple of times a year, I order up a free “press pass” and head out to a conference on electric vehicles. Tonight, I’ll be driving south, staying with a friend in Los Angeles, then getting up early and continuing down to San Diego for the first day of the Plug-In Electric Vehicle Infrastructure USA 2012.
I don’t think I’ll be the only one asking tough questions of the panelists, insofar as anyone can see that the EV adoption curve isn’t what most people (including me) had predicted a few years ago. What really happening here?
By my wits, it’s summed up in the new Ford Focus Electric ad, featuring photographs of the gasoline-powered car and its new battery-powered brother side by side. They look identical, but the electric version is $40,000 — about two-and-a-half times the sticker price of the other ($16,500). So the customer now can have a who-cares car, worry about running out of charge, and pay an extra $23,500 for the privilege. That’s something to get excited about, isn’t it?
If I were trying to show customers the folly of electric vehicles, and get them to stick with the good ol’ gas-burners for as long as possible, this is exactly the way I’d do it. Sure makes you wonder who composed that ad, and why.
I notice that the head of market strategy at Coda has been asked to make a presentation. Seriously? Isn’t this like learning about sobriety from Charlie Sheen or Lindsay Lohan? And in the case of Coda, the consumer value proposition contains all the nonsensical elements of the Ford Focus Electric — but wait, there’s more! Not only is the car even far less attractive than the Ford, but the customer is expected to buy the car (and its warranty) from a company whose continued existence is incredibly unlikely. Sounds like the deal of the century.
Sorry for the sarcasm; regular readers will recognize that I actually support electric transportation. But I’m also a big fan of sanity and reason, ingredients that, for some reason, are distinctly lacking here.
