Infographic - The Future of Electric Vehicles

US Automotive Industry: Efficient Vehicles and Sustainability Initiatives (GM, Ford & Tesla)

U.S. automakers are producing an ever increasing line-up of more efficient vehicles. However, efficiency measures in the auto industry extend beyond the vehicles they produce. American car companies must compete with more than 36 new hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs) that have been or will be launched in 2013. Growing demand for highly efficient vehicles has compelled almost every brand to get into the EV market, which gives consumers an ever expanding list of vehicles to choose from.

In addition to expanded product lines, innovative sustainability measures are being adopted by automakers.  As explained by Green Car Reports, the major automakers are doing more on the sustainability front when it comes to their EV production lines. They are reducing their waste, increasing their use of solar power while reducing their energy usage.

Automotive brands are increasingly seeing value in greening their operations and products as evidenced by Interbrand’s 2013 Best Global Green Brands ranking, which counted four automotive brands in the top five spots. The ranking evaluates companies based on their environmental performance and the public’s perception of their green credentials.

Infographic - Fastest Electric Vehicles on Earth

Volkswagen's Efficient Cars and Other Sustainability Efforts

According to Interbrand’s 2013 Best Global Green Brands ranking, Volkswagen came in seventh. Volkswagen has an efficiency leading concept car known as the XL1. It boasts an ultra-light structure (1,750 pounds) that makes extensive use of composites, and a hybrid power train.

The 0.8-liter diesel twin produces 48 horsepower and comes with a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox (DSG). The diesel engine is assisted by a 27-hp electric motor system powered by a 5.5-kWh lithium-ion battery. All together, the power train produces 68 hp and 103 lb-ft in its 'boosting mode.'The XL1 can go 310 miles on a single charge.

BMW's Efficient Cars and Other Sustainability Efforts

The 2014 BMW i3 electric city car is part of the BMW iSeries. This series of electric cars has zero emissions and an affordable price tag. What sets the BMW iSeries apart from all other electric cars is their luxury and modernity as well as their technological sophistication thanks to a novel partnership with Apple.

The i3 is a four-door made out of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP). About 25 percent of the plastics used inside the car are recycled, and the eucalyptus wood veneers used on the trim are "responsibly harvested." The door trims and instrument-panel surround also use fibers from the kenaf plant, an increasingly popular sustainable element in car interiors.

Nissan's Efficient Cars and Other Sustainability Efforts

According to Interbrand’s 2013 Best Global Green Brands, Nissan ranked fifth. The Leaf is the most widely sold electric passenger car of all time. In February, 2013, the company announced that it had produced 50,000 LEAFs. The Leaf boasts a fuel efficiency rating of 115 MPGe and the EPA rated 2013 Leaf's range at 75 miles on a single charge.

The Nissan Leaf, is by far the volume leader, part of what makes the Leaf so successful is the fact that it is efficient, affordable and it offers better range than most electric vehicles.

Honda's Efficient Cars and Other Sustainability Initiatives

According to Interbrand’s 2013 Best Global Green Brands, Honda ranked third. The 2013 Honda Fit EV gets 118 MPGe combined (132 city and 105 highway), with a range of 82 miles. Although at present it is only available by lease, according to the EPA, it is the second most efficient electric car in the world today. However, the company is producing only 1,100 Fit EVs.

The EPA rates the 2014 Accord Plug-In Hybrid's electric range at 13 miles, during which its efficiency rating is 115 MPGe. After the battery is depleted, it behaves like a conventional hybrid and is rated at 46 MPG combined. It is the only mid-size sedan to boast such numbers. This plug-in uses Honda's new two-motor hybrid system, with powerful electric motors and multiple modes of operation. The plug-in hybrid Accord will be followed by the 2014 Accord Hybrid that will be launched later this fall.

Toyota's Efficient Cars and Sustainability Leadership

Toyota retained the top spot on Interbrand’s 2013 Best Global Green Brands ranking for the third year running. Toyota’s 2013 Prius line is dominating the greener car market. The Toyota Prius C, a compact version of the Prius that boasts fuel economy of 53 mpg city and 46 mpg highway. The Prius is one of the best vehicles on the market in terms of tailpipe emissions.

Combined the four model variations of the Prius sold 236,659 units last year, making the vehicle the Toyota Prius the most popular hybrid car in the US. In total more than 2.9 million Prius models were sold worldwide in 2012.

Five EV/Hybrid Product Marketing Strategies

Demand for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (EVs) is growing at an ever increasing rate. A Mintel study indicated that sales of hybrids and EVs were up 73 percent in 2012. They forecasted that the number of hybrid and Evs will reach 535,000 units by the end of 2013, which represents a 14 percent increase in sales over 2012. By 2017, Mintel predicts that sales of hybrid and EVs will reach 850,000 units, representing five percent of the total US car market.

Automotive companies are now vying for attention in an increasingly competitive space. Here are five EV product offerings and the associated marketing strategies of the five different automakers.

NextGen Auto International Summit China – Innovating technologies: Sustaining the Future (Event)

This event will take place on December 11 to December 13, 2012 in Shanghai, China. Inspira Event Limited is the conference advisor of the “NextGen Auto International Summit China – Innovating technologies; sustaining the future” organized by Messe Frankfurt which is launched alongside Automechanika Shanghai, one of the leading global automotive trade fairs supported by the Shanghai government.

The NextGen Auto conference is expected to bring together over 500 senior executive decision makers from throughout the industry.

The conference will explore and evaluate a number of important issues including how to:

WWF Canada's Goal of 600,000 EVs by 2020

WWF-Canada has launched an initiative designed to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). Their campaign is called Transportation rEVolution, this program aimed at reducing Canada’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transportation by encouraging the use of electric vehicles (EVs). To achieve this objective, WWF aims to have 600,000 electric vehicles in Canada by 2020.

According to a recent Environics study commissioned by WWF-Canada, almost three quarters (73 percent) of Canadians support government actions to promote electric cars, however, many do not understand the environmental value of driving EVs.

Toronto Greenhouse - Green Cars Event

On July 24, 2012,Toronto Greenhouse will present a Green Cars event in Toronto, Ontario. This event will answer questions like: How sustainable is your vehicle? Should everyone drive electric? Is fuel efficiency the answer? The discussion will be focused on green cars and will include representatives from General Motors, smart Canada (Mercedes-Benz) and Plug'nDrive Ontario.

Video: Lightening Electric Motorcycle Goes Over 200 mph for 18 Cents

Here is a motorcycle that proves you can have radical efficiency and extraordinary performance. In this video you will see just how fast the Lightening electric motorcyle can go (apparently the previous run was even faster at 218.6 mph). This is the first electric motorcycle to go over 200 mph. The black and orange markers on the sides of the track fly by even though they are 1/4 mile apart.

Ford's Solar Powered Charging Stations

Ford Motor Company is using SunPower Corp.’s panels for its solar electric vehicle charging system. The charging stations will fuel Ford's new EVs (Focus Electric and C-Max Energi). The system employs rooftop solar panels which feeds power to an electric vehicle charger. Under Ford’s “Drive Green for Life” program customers can get the 2.5-kilowatt solar-powered charging station for under $10,000. The price includes federal tax credits but not state or local rebates. Loans and leases to offset the cost of the solar roof are also available.

Recycling Waste Tires

With hundreds of millions of vehicles in the US, scrap tires are a major source of waste. The Environmental Protection Agency reports 290 million scrap tires were generated in 2003, 45 million of these scrap tires were used to make automotive and truck tire re-treads.

New Partnerships Manufacturing Greener Cars

Auto companies are pooling their resources to try to gain access to the growing market for hybrid and fully electric vehicles. Research and development partnerships already exist between Renault and Nissan and more recently Toyota and Tesla have agreed to work together.

Now BMW and PSA Peugeot-Citroën are forming a new partnership for the development of electric vehicle components.The partnership has been formed in order to create a standard for electric vehicle technology across the brands to ensure more efficient production and higher quality. Once such a standard is established it is believed that it will allow the electric vehicle market to grow much faster. They will also work together to develop hybrid technology and the software needed to allow a hybrid system to work efficiently.

Daimler AG, bought 10% of Tesla, and is working on a partnership agreement with Renault Nissan to develop small electric cars. Renault Nissan has partnered with Mitsubishi which promises electric versions of all new car models.

These are just a few examples of companies teaming up to share the formidable costs of developing hybrid and fully electric powertrains.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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US DOE Supporting EVs and Creating Jobs

The Department of Energy (DOE) is working to increase the adoption rate of EVs. In April, 2011, US Energy Secretary Steven Chu indicated that he believes it will be possible for vehicles to travel up to 500 miles on a single charge by the end of the decade. He further indicated that batteries, will be “one-third the cost of today’s batteries but have at least three times the range.”

With funding from the DOE, the ChargePoint America network have installed over 500 electric-vehicle charging stations. These stations are being installed by Coulomb Technologies, a company based in Campbell, California. In 2010 Coulomb received $15 million from the Department of Energy, and $22 million in private funds, to install 4,600 chargers across the country by the end of 2011.

"The Department of Energy is happy to be a part of this, but more importantly we're very happy to be really trying to push for the electrification of vehicles," Chu said. "The reason is very simple. We have to diversify our transportation energy."

Chu sited increasing oil demand from developing countries like China. This burgeoning demand will also put pressure on the world's limited oil supplies, which will in turn push gas prices higher. China sold 16.7 million vehicles in 2010 and will sell 20 million cars annually within the next couple of years. By comparison, the US sold 12 million cars in 2010.

The DOE is also funding research that will drop the cost of electric-vehicle batteries 50% in the next three or four years and double or triple their energy density within six years. According to Chu, the goal is "a car that will cost $20,000 to $25,000 without a subsidy where you can go 350 miles."

Chu is working to change the $7,500 federal tax credit for electric vehicle purchases to a $7,500 rebate, so EV buyers can get an immediate discount on an EV purchase. Currently, they have to wait until they file their tax returns.

Investments in battery research through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will help build 30 new US battery manufacturing plants that create jobs.

"Every time we ship one of these [charging stations], three people go to work for a day: one to build it and two people to install it," said Coulomb Technologies President Richard Lowenthal. "It's a great job creation benefit to all of us.... Not just jobs, but creating an industry."

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Factors Determining Adoption Rate of EVs

There are three key factors that will influence demand for EVs. Price, the cost of gas and range will determine the rate at which EVs are adopted. EVs with price points that are comparable to combustion engine vehicles will sell better than at current price points for EVs (in some cases they are more than twice as expensive). If gas hits $5 a gallon EVs will sell faster than if it gas were to drop below $3 a gallon. Vehicles that have a range greater than 300 miles will sell better than those with a range of 100 miles or less.

Excluding the $7,500 federal tax credit, the Volt and the Leaf, currently cost $41,000 and $32,780, respectively (both vehicles lease for $349 a month). A 2010 Deloitte report, found that more than half of the US consumers surveyed said they would not be willing to pay more for an electric vehicle than for a conventional vehicle.

The sales of EVs and hybrids have grown alongside rising gas prices. One year ago gas was $2.75 a gallon, now gas is hovering around $3.79 a gallon.

The Deloitte report found that consumers have range anxiety, (the concern that EVs have insufficient range). Almost 75 percent of those surveyed said they would need an electric vehicle to travel 300 miles on a single charge before they would consider purchasing it. However, 78 percent of those surveyed said they would buy an electric vehicle if gas hit $5 a gallon.

The Deloitte report also indicated that : “At $3 per gallon for gas, internal combustion engines are more economical to operate; the EV will not be comparable until battery costs are $600 or less per kWh, which could occur by 2014, at which time electric vehicle adoption will pick-up (assuming fuel costs remain stable).”

In April 2011, US Energy Secretary Steven Chu talked about the future of electric cars and indicated that he believes that before the end of the decade EVs will be “one-third the cost of today’s batteries but have at least three times the range.” He also said it will be possible for vehicles to travel up to 500 miles on a single charge.

In the absence of government legislation that will force significantly improved fuel efficiency, consumers will embrace EVs to the extent that they have better ranges and cost less. Climbing gas prices will also drive demand for EVs. Despite the urgency of finding alternatives to fossil fuel powered vehicles, market forces will ultimately determine the strength of demand.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Obama's National Goal of One Million EVs by 2015

In his 2011 State of the Union address, President Obama put forward his goal of putting one million EVs on American roads by 2015. This will help in the transition away from fossil fuel powered vehicles which are the second largest source of global warming causing pollutants. Although a far cry from the national green initiative that Obama has compared to the Apollo program, it is an important first step on the road away from fossil fuels.

Unlike the Apollo program, we already possess the technology and one million EVs is a modest goal given that this represents one third of one percent of the quarter of a billion vehicles in the US. One million electric cars represent less than 10 percent of the current annual automotive sales.

One of the challenges associated with goal of one million EVs was exposed in a February 2011 report out of Indiana University, titled “Plug-in Electric Vehicles: A Practical Plan for Progress.” (pdf). The study indicates that automakers currently have no plans to meet the President's 2015 goal.

This contridicts a Department of Energy report that said: "The production capacity of EV models announced to enter the U.S. market through 2015 should be sufficient to achieve the goal of one million EVs by 2015." The report also notes that 1.6 million hybrids have been sold over the past six years.

Obama's goal is of crucial importance because it will help to grow EV production as well as test the technologies and the supporting infrastructures. It will also help EVs benefit from cost and price reductions associated with mass production.

Moving towards EVs is of paramount importance to the environment and America's competitive positioning. Unlike the Apollo program, the government's support of EVs provides tangible benefits like reducing dependence on foreign oil and curbing greenhouse gases. All things considered, one million EVs by 2015 is a modest and attainable goal. Whether or not we have one million EVs on the road in the US by 2015 does not matter as much as the building momentum for an America free of fossil fuel powered vehicles.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Growing Demand for Greener Vehicles

Demand for electric and hybrid cars has risen dramatically in recent years. The steady growth in this market is driven by a wave of new technologies, shifts in global competition and changes in public policy.

We have come to expect green vehicle development from nations like Japan, South Korea, China, Germany and France, but even lesser automotive powers are responding to this growing international demand. Public opinion is getting behind greener vehicles.

Governments and private enterprise are responding to this growing demand. Consistent with public policy initiatives all around the world, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is joining the chorus of countries that see electric and hybrid vehicles as a fundamental part of the move to a low carbon economy. Russian car maker YAROVIT Motors and financial company Onexim Group are making an electric hybrid vehicle called the E-Mobile (or Yo).

Demand for greener vehicles is growing almost everywhere. Even in America, where the public has been brainwashed by Republicans and corporations that are beholden to the old energy economy, acceptance of the new environmental and economic realities is growing. According to a 2010 survey from Ernst & Young, nearly 30 million Americans would consider buying a hybrid or fully electric vehicle. The commercial transportation industry is also getting serious about greener vehicles.

A late-2009 report from Pike Research forecast that hybrid fleet sales would increase from 300,000 in 2009 to nearly 4 million hybrid vehicles by 2015. "Manufacturers are beginning to turn their attention beyond light duty vehicles to the efficiency opportunities for hybrid drive in heavy trucks," Clint Wheelock, a managing director at Pike, said in the report. "For example, in North America nearly 10 percent of buses sold in 2015 will be hybrids."

A new study by California-based J.D. Power and Associates indicates that battery-based vehicles are likely to capture 7.3 percent of the global automotive market. However, J.D. Power researchers say that several factors could radically increase that number. These factors include battery cost reductions, increases in petroleum prices and new government mandates.

In a speech at the Fortune Brainstorm Green 2010 conference, Ford Motor Co. Chairman William Ford outlined some of the key forces influencing the demand for green cars in the US.
Federal subsidies are critical because, as Ford explained, it is "really important that we are competitive as a nation in this really critical technology." Removing subsidies would be a mistake because "that's not what other countries are doing."

China's funding of green automotive tech makes China a competitive threat. "They all have plans to come over, and we would be absolutely crazy" to underestimate China's affect on the US auto market, Ford said.

To make it easier to adapt to changing demand, Ford is developing common platforms using existing car models.

Due to increasing global urbanization automotive companies may consider alternatives to traditional ownership and leasing arrangements and provide "mobility as service," such as car sharing programs.

However, there are limits to the number of battery powered electric vehicles that can be manufactured. Lithium is a key ingredient in advanced batteries. The future demand for lithium is expected to outpace supply. Companies like BYD are already looking for new sources of lithium. According to a European Commission study of raw materials for high technology goods, if drivers continue opting for battery powered electric cars, by 2050 the supply will not be able to keep up with the demand.

To achieve real market penetration greener vehicles must appeal to consumers through features, functionality and price. Creative innovation in both business models and technology, will drive demand in the greener car market.


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