Posts Tagged ‘Electric Vehicle’

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Green Culture, Nissan, Green Daily

For years, Paul Scott has been promoting electric vehicles (EVs) as a co-founder of Plug-In America, but he’ll soon be promoting one EV a bit more than others in his new job as a Nissan Leaf salesman. Yes, after a private lunch with Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn in June and discussions with his local Nissan dealership (Santa Monica Nissan) through the summer, Paul will soon be the go-to guy for anyone who is interested in buying a Leaf in the area. It’s sort of poetic that, after years trying to convince legislators and the public to back EVs, Paul can now literally sell them one (he will also keep selling solar PV systems from SolarCity). On his blog, Paul wrote:

I came to the conclusion that I wanted to personally help Nissan get the car into driver’s hands. One by one, I want to replace those filthy internal combustion engines using 60% foreign oil, with clean, powerful motors using domestically-produced, renewable kWh generated from sunlight and wind. … I intend to be the number one Leaf salesman in the world. When you are ready for yours, look me up.

CalCars founder Felix Kramer offered his congratulations:

Kudos to you, Paul: You’re turning that oft-criticized occupation, ‘salesman” into a badge of honor. When you have great products, you can help people understand and buy them. My Leaf will come in Northern California, or I’d be at your desk tomorrow. I’ll send everyone I know around LA to you.

Everyone’s happy for Paul, and with good reason. But Nissan got a pretty good deal here, too, don’t you think? See what we mean in these stores about him in the ABG archives.

[Source: EVs and Energy]

Electric vehicle advocate Paul Scott “intends to be the number one Leaf salesman in the world” originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 17:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Autoblog Green

Incoming search terms:

• nissan leaf latest news

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Mitsubishi

For years now, some electric vehicle advocates have argued that despite the higher up-front cost of batteries, plug-in cars would be cheaper to own and operate in the long run. The problem was, until the Tesla Roadster came along a couple of years ago, there were no factory-built and sold electric vehicles (EVs) to gather any real evidence from. The real test will begin in the next few months when Nissan, General Motors, Mitsubishi, Ford and others start to sell EVs to the masses.

Two big factors really can’t be argued against right now. Even with government incentives, EVs will be more expensive to buy than an equivalent internal combustion vehicle and energizing them from the grid will cost less. However, one of the big arguments against buying most new cars, regardless of power plant, has been that they lose a good chunk of their value as soon as you drive them off the lot. The rate of depreciation varies widely and is often connected to how well they hold up after several years on the road. A typical car might be worth half or less of its original value after just five years.

How will this affect plug-in cars? With an EV, the battery pack often accounts for a much larger percentage of the car’s original value other types of vehicles. While an engine that has been maintained properly can easily exhibit most of its original performance after 100,000 miles – and many can often go 200,000 miles or more – the same cannot reliably be said (yet, as far as we know) of a battery in an EV. The reality is that no one really knows how much value a battery will retain after 50,000 or 100,000 miles. It’s a hard number to calculate. Nissan has said that the Leaf battery might only hold 80 or 70 percent of its original charge after ten years, for example, which will make it worth less. Speaking to the BBC, Mitsubishi has acknowledged that the i-MiEV’s depreciation over three years could turn out to be more than the original cost of an internal combustion car (a Fiat 500 Lounge 1.2 petrol, in the example given). That’s a tough bunch of numbers.

[Source: BBC]

Mitsubishi admits i-MiEV’s total cost of ownership might be higher than expected due to serious depreciation originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Sun, 29 Aug 2010 18:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
Autoblog Green

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Green Daily, China, USA

With the Chinese government recently announcing plans to invest a whopping 100 billion yuan (.7 billion U.S. at the current exchange rate) into the development and production of alternative energy vehicles, and with the bulk majority of the funds reportedly earmaked for electric vehicles (EVs), it now appears China will soon lead the world in EV sales. A recent study, conducted by Pike Research, predicts that China will have at least one million EVs on their roads by 2015. The same study suggests that the U.S. will lag behind slightly, with only 840,000 plug-ins scattered across our nation’s highways and byways by then. We may be in second place, but an average of 168,000 plug-in vehicles sold a year for the next five years is pretty remarkable.

China may be projected to reign EV supreme, but Pike says the U.S. will become the world’s hottest hybrid market. The study predicts that hybrid sales in China will only reach 850,000 units from now until 2015. Meanwhile, the U.S. is expected to tally an astounding 2.3 million hybrid sales within that time.

China’s .7 billion investment makes our government’s commitment of .5 billion look comparatively small. The study suggests that China’s substantial EV incentives, coupled with the fact that many first-time car buyers are entering its automotive market, will help to quickly push the nation’s EV sales right on past the U.S.

[Source: Hybrid Cars, Pike Research]

Study: China to gain top spot in electric vehicle sales by 2015; U.S. will remain hybrid haven originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Autoblog Green

Filed under: EV/Plug-in

As much as we talk about range anxiety here, the reality is the vast majority of drivers in America probably aren’t even really aware of the term in the automotive context. Yet. But that’s because only a tiny fraction of them have ever been in any kind of electric vehicle other than a golf cart.

When the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt hit the market this winter, though, followed by the Ford Focus and others next year, more drivers will become aware of the phenomenon. And, when dealers start selling these machines, they are going to have to change the practices ingrained by more than a century of internal combustion.

Marketers and retailers will no longer be able to just hand off the keys and send people on their way. First they will need to evaluate customers and determine if a plug-in vehicle is the choice for their needs. If so, then they have to get them used to doing what most of us now do with our cell phones: plug them in at every available opportunity. When your battery runs dry on the side of the interstate, roadside assistance will have to bring a flat-bed instead of a gallon of fuel, something drivers will want to avoid as much as possible.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

EV sellers will have to teach drivers to treat their car like their phone, plug it in! originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Sat, 21 Aug 2010 17:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
Autoblog Green

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, UK

A new British study by Glass’s Information Services Ltd. (GIS) is predicting that battery electric vehicles will overtake hybrids in UK market share and will reach a combined total of 21 percent by the end of the decade. That market share matches the expectations for France and Italy, but falls short of Germany’s potential – which is expected to hit 26 percent.

Until the last two years, European automakers have mostly been skeptical of electric vehicles because of the technological limitations of batteries. However, increasingly tough limits on carbon dioxide emissions mean that almost every manufacturer will have to incorporate some degree of plug-in vehicles into its lineup to average out their dirtier vehicles.

Making ten-year projections is a risky business, though, especially considering all the unknowns in the battery world. Right now, no one really knows what the residual value of the vehicles and batteries will be and no one is certain how advanced automotive batteries will be used at end of their motoring life. While there is interest in reusing batteries for stationary applications at utilities, the vast array of different battery types and formats may make that impractical. GIS is recommending that automakers consider a variety of means to shift the financial risk of batteries away customers if they want electric vehicle to gain widespread adoption they certainly see is possible.

[Source: Wards Auto]

Study: UK demand for electric vehicles to surpass hybrids by 2020, hit 21% market share originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Thu, 19 Aug 2010 20:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
Autoblog Green