Plug-in Hybrids: Vehicles of Tomorrow
We have published a research report briefly analyzing plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles that are currently in development or being produced. The report classifies various types of “clean” vehicles and reviews the strengths and weaknesses of some of the old and new players in the sector.
The battery capacity that is needed for an all-electric vehicle is currently very costly. A Deutsche Bank study cites an average of $11,000 of additional cost for an all electric vehicle compared to a comparable gasoline powered vehicle. Also due to limitations in current technology the range for most all-electric vehicles is limited to about 100 miles and to up to 250 miles for high-end electric vehicles.
Compared to a gasoline powered vehicle a hybrid uses less fuel, has a smaller carbon footprint, and has a comparable range and performance. Due to the unpredictability of gas prices and increasing consumer demand for more fuel efficient vehicles the report projects that the demand for hybrids shall increase dramatically in the coming years.
To read the full report, please go to: www.floyd-associates.com/phev2.pdf.
Showing posts with label electric vehicle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label electric vehicle. Show all posts
Monday, April 20, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
Advantages of Plug-in Hybrids
With a recent mandate that effectively requires major automakers to put at least 58,000 gas-electric vehicles on California roads by 2014, California has become a pioneer in new technology developments. After years of research and development the auto industry giants and startup companies are investing, researching and building prototype vehicles that can be fueled either with gas or electricity from a wall socket. General Motors and Toyota plan to launch PHEV versions by late 2010, while Honda and some smaller manufacturers are expected to follow.
"Plug-in hybrids are going to be the vehicle story of the next few years," said Joseph Romm, an energy policy expert with the Center for American Progress, a think tank in Washington, D.C. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) have the potential to revolutionize the auto industry over the next decade. This is because PHEVs could provide a cost-effective, practical solution to improving automotive fuel-economy and emissions. In short, Plug-in hybrids are vehicles that are powered by an on-board engine and a battery/electric motor that can be charged by plugging into the electric grid. This gives PHEVs an extended 20-40 mile all-electric driving range vs. current hybrids plus the ability to drive long-distances like a regular car.
To read the full report please go to http://www.floyd-associates.com/phev.pdf.
"Plug-in hybrids are going to be the vehicle story of the next few years," said Joseph Romm, an energy policy expert with the Center for American Progress, a think tank in Washington, D.C. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) have the potential to revolutionize the auto industry over the next decade. This is because PHEVs could provide a cost-effective, practical solution to improving automotive fuel-economy and emissions. In short, Plug-in hybrids are vehicles that are powered by an on-board engine and a battery/electric motor that can be charged by plugging into the electric grid. This gives PHEVs an extended 20-40 mile all-electric driving range vs. current hybrids plus the ability to drive long-distances like a regular car.
To read the full report please go to http://www.floyd-associates.com/phev.pdf.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
China Vies to Be World’s Leader in Electric Cars
I read this story by Keith Bradsher and thought it depicts an interesting picture of China's policies towards green vehicles.
The goal, which radiates from the very top of the Chinese government, suggests that Detroit’s Big Three, already struggling to stay alive, will face even stiffer foreign competition on the next field of automotive technology than they do today.
“China is well positioned to lead in this,” said David Tulauskas, director of China government policy at General Motors. To some extent, China is making a virtue of a liability. It is behind the United States, Japan and other countries when it comes to making gas-powered vehicles, but by skipping the current technology, China hopes to get a jump on the next.
Japan is the market leader in hybrids today, which run on both electricity and gasoline, with cars like the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight. The United States has been a laggard in alternative vehicles. GM's plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt is scheduled to go on sale next year, and will be assembled in Michigan using rechargeable batteries imported from LG in South Korea.
China’s intention, in addition to creating a world-leading industry that will produce jobs and exports, is to reduce urban pollution and decrease its dependence on oil, which comes from the Mideast and travels over sea routes controlled by the United States Navy.
But electric vehicles may do little to clear the country’s smog-darkened sky or curb its rapidly rising emissions of global warming gases. China gets three-fourths of its electricity from coal, which produces more soot and more greenhouse gases than other fuels.
A report by McKinsey & Company last autumn estimated that replacing a gasoline-powered car with a similar-size electric car in China would reduce greenhouse emissions by only 19 percent. It would reduce urban pollution, however, by shifting the source of smog from car exhaust pipes to power plants, which are often located outside cities.
Beyond manufacturing, subsidies of up to $8,800 are being offered to taxi fleets and local government agencies in 13 Chinese cities for each hybrid or all-electric vehicle they purchase. The state electricity grid has been ordered to set up electric car charging stations in Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin. Government research subsidies for electric car designs are increasing rapidly. And an interagency panel is planning tax credits for consumers who buy alternative energy vehicles.
China wants to raise its annual production capacity to 500,000 hybrid or all-electric cars and buses by the end of 2011, from 2,100 last year, government officials and Chinese auto executives said. By comparison, CSM Worldwide, a consulting firm that does forecasts for automakers, predicts that Japan and South Korea together will be producing 1.1 million hybrid or all-electric light vehicles by then and North America will be making 267,000.
The US DOE has its own $25 billion program to develop electric-powered cars and improve battery technology, and will receive another $2 billion for battery development as part of the economic stimulus program enacted by Congress.
And Premier Wen has his own connection to the electric car industry. He was born and grew up here in Tianjin, the longtime capital of China’s battery industry, 70 miles southeast of Beijing.
Tianjin has thrived in the six years since Mr. Wen became premier. It now has China’s first bullet train service (to Beijing), a new Airbus factory and an immaculate new airport. Tianjin has also received a surge of research subsidies for enterprises like the Tianjin-Qingyuan Electric Vehicle Company.
Electric cars have several practical advantages in China. Intercity driving is rare. Commutes are fairly short and frequently at low speeds because of traffic jams. So the limitations of all-electric cars — the latest models in China have a top speed of 60 miles an hour and a range of 120 miles between charges — are less of a problem.
The goal, which radiates from the very top of the Chinese government, suggests that Detroit’s Big Three, already struggling to stay alive, will face even stiffer foreign competition on the next field of automotive technology than they do today.
“China is well positioned to lead in this,” said David Tulauskas, director of China government policy at General Motors. To some extent, China is making a virtue of a liability. It is behind the United States, Japan and other countries when it comes to making gas-powered vehicles, but by skipping the current technology, China hopes to get a jump on the next.
Japan is the market leader in hybrids today, which run on both electricity and gasoline, with cars like the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight. The United States has been a laggard in alternative vehicles. GM's plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt is scheduled to go on sale next year, and will be assembled in Michigan using rechargeable batteries imported from LG in South Korea.
China’s intention, in addition to creating a world-leading industry that will produce jobs and exports, is to reduce urban pollution and decrease its dependence on oil, which comes from the Mideast and travels over sea routes controlled by the United States Navy.
But electric vehicles may do little to clear the country’s smog-darkened sky or curb its rapidly rising emissions of global warming gases. China gets three-fourths of its electricity from coal, which produces more soot and more greenhouse gases than other fuels.
A report by McKinsey & Company last autumn estimated that replacing a gasoline-powered car with a similar-size electric car in China would reduce greenhouse emissions by only 19 percent. It would reduce urban pollution, however, by shifting the source of smog from car exhaust pipes to power plants, which are often located outside cities.
Beyond manufacturing, subsidies of up to $8,800 are being offered to taxi fleets and local government agencies in 13 Chinese cities for each hybrid or all-electric vehicle they purchase. The state electricity grid has been ordered to set up electric car charging stations in Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin. Government research subsidies for electric car designs are increasing rapidly. And an interagency panel is planning tax credits for consumers who buy alternative energy vehicles.
China wants to raise its annual production capacity to 500,000 hybrid or all-electric cars and buses by the end of 2011, from 2,100 last year, government officials and Chinese auto executives said. By comparison, CSM Worldwide, a consulting firm that does forecasts for automakers, predicts that Japan and South Korea together will be producing 1.1 million hybrid or all-electric light vehicles by then and North America will be making 267,000.
The US DOE has its own $25 billion program to develop electric-powered cars and improve battery technology, and will receive another $2 billion for battery development as part of the economic stimulus program enacted by Congress.
And Premier Wen has his own connection to the electric car industry. He was born and grew up here in Tianjin, the longtime capital of China’s battery industry, 70 miles southeast of Beijing.
Tianjin has thrived in the six years since Mr. Wen became premier. It now has China’s first bullet train service (to Beijing), a new Airbus factory and an immaculate new airport. Tianjin has also received a surge of research subsidies for enterprises like the Tianjin-Qingyuan Electric Vehicle Company.
Electric cars have several practical advantages in China. Intercity driving is rare. Commutes are fairly short and frequently at low speeds because of traffic jams. So the limitations of all-electric cars — the latest models in China have a top speed of 60 miles an hour and a range of 120 miles between charges — are less of a problem.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Electric Vehicles and the Future of the Auto Industry
With the recent drop in the price of oil, new doubts have been cast over the future of hybrid and electric vehicles. Many manufacturers and designers of electric vehicles have faced technical and financial challenges in the past few months. Such challenges combined with large capital investments in research and development necessary for these cars, have prompted some analysts to predict a reversal of the trend towards green vehicles.
Climate change and environmental concerns, however, play a major role in policies and trends that shape the future of the automotive industry. Green tech vehicle programs are not only critical in shaping the future of our transportation but also vital for the long term survival of big global auto companies such as Detroit's big 3. Electrification is on its way and at the forefront of innovation in the auto industry.
Atmospheric and environmental scientists have shown us the effects of carbon emissions on the increase of average global temperatures. There is more to the cost of operating internal combustion engines than the price paid at the pump. It will be irresponsible if we do not spend resources on development and optimization of battery technologies, which can lead to less expensive and ultimately economically feasible generations of electric vehicles, vehicles that have zero carbon footprints and no harm to our mother nature and that will replace current gasoline engines responsible for significant part of the green house gasses released in the atmosphere.
For now, governments have realized that value of research on this topic. In many places policies have been implemented that encourage consumers to purchase electric vehicles. The next US administration has already indicated its will and desire to support electric vehicles and it is anticipated that subsidies and/or tax credits will make the price of electric vehicles competitive for a number of years. Our belief is that the revolution has already begun and that the signs are already visible on the road. Our prediction is that more community and government cooperation shall take place on a global scale to bring the best minds together and to create future cars that run on efficient electric motors fueled by durable and economically feasible batteries.
Climate change and environmental concerns, however, play a major role in policies and trends that shape the future of the automotive industry. Green tech vehicle programs are not only critical in shaping the future of our transportation but also vital for the long term survival of big global auto companies such as Detroit's big 3. Electrification is on its way and at the forefront of innovation in the auto industry.
Atmospheric and environmental scientists have shown us the effects of carbon emissions on the increase of average global temperatures. There is more to the cost of operating internal combustion engines than the price paid at the pump. It will be irresponsible if we do not spend resources on development and optimization of battery technologies, which can lead to less expensive and ultimately economically feasible generations of electric vehicles, vehicles that have zero carbon footprints and no harm to our mother nature and that will replace current gasoline engines responsible for significant part of the green house gasses released in the atmosphere.
For now, governments have realized that value of research on this topic. In many places policies have been implemented that encourage consumers to purchase electric vehicles. The next US administration has already indicated its will and desire to support electric vehicles and it is anticipated that subsidies and/or tax credits will make the price of electric vehicles competitive for a number of years. Our belief is that the revolution has already begun and that the signs are already visible on the road. Our prediction is that more community and government cooperation shall take place on a global scale to bring the best minds together and to create future cars that run on efficient electric motors fueled by durable and economically feasible batteries.
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