dagblog - Comments for "Auto execs stay positive about electrics"

It would make sense for

Donal — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 21:48:02 +0000

In reply to I suppose once a community

It would make sense for cities to mandate EVs or hybrids in EV mode within their limits. London has started something like that with their Low Emission Zone and Congestion Charging.

I suppose once a community

Peter Schwartz — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 21:27:36 +0000

In reply to There's little doubt in my

I suppose once a community reaches a critical mass of EVs, people will start to notice cleaner air and really like it. That could make folks really like the EVs.

Sort of like smoking. Folks started to really like walking into a bar or sit in an airplane and not having to inhale billows of smoke.

There's little doubt in my

Peter Schwartz — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 21:24:41 +0000

In reply to Auto execs stay positive about electrics

There's little doubt in my mind that gas prices will continue to rise--though not in a straight line--over time, unless China and India and other emerging nations implode.

I have equally little doubt that battery technology will continue to improve and continue to come down in price. Doesn't all technology?

Unless another fuel steals its thunder, this bodes well for electric cars.

I will say this, though, apart from cost of gas, I'm not sure most people see much value in electric cars. I guess they have greater torque, so there is that. But do they do anything better in an automotive sense than gas cars? Fewer moving parts; fewer repairs. But that doesn't really move the blood, does it?

So their growth, I think, will come from problems with the gas cars, rather than from the inherent superiority of electric cars as cars.

Note that Forcier is

Donal — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 12:53:34 +0000

In reply to Auto execs stay positive about electrics

Note that Forcier is including Stop-Starts, aka Microhybrids, in his 50% estimate of electrified vehicle sales.