Why Electric Vehicles Aren't More Popular

An anonymous reader writes: Ars takes a look at a recent report from the National Academy of Sciences into the reasons why more people aren't driving electric vehicles. Of course infrastructure issues are a part of it — until charging stations are ubiquitous, the convenience factor for using a gas-powered car will weigh heavily on consumers's minds. (This despite the prevalence of outlets at home and work, where the vast majority of charging will be done even with better infrastructure.) But other reasons are much more tractable. Simply giving somebody experience with an EV tends to make the fog of mystery surrounding them dissipate, and the design of the car counts for a lot, too. It turns out car buyers don't want their EVs to look different from regular cars.

Comments

The reason is more simple

[ArcadeMan]

Electric vehicles are expensive and most people only buy a new vehicle every X years while electric vehicles have only been (easily) available for the last few years.

Re:The reason is more simple

[ArcadeMan]

A lof of things differ from country to country: subsidies, availability of electric cars, cost of fuel. And not everyone spends the same amount of cash on fuel per month because not everyone drives the same distance every month.

And not everyone buys new cars, so until there's a lot of used electric cars available, they're only going to be a fraction of percentage of all the cars on the road.

Re:The reason is more simple

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe cheap compared to new cars, but a lot of people can't afford to pay that much. Most people I know buy used, and there aren't very many used electrics (or hybrids) for sale that don't have expensive battery problems.

Re:The reason is more simple

[Grishnakh]

According to a responder here, the Leaf's price is closer to $30k. And the Leaf is butt-ugly, and looks and drives like an econobox. A comparable gas car is probably about $15k, if not less. Crappy suspension and handling, cheap interior materials, lack of features; you're not getting much for your money that way.

That's the problem with EVs now; they're much more expensive than comparable gas cars. I've driven a Tesla Model S, and it's a great car, but it also cost $108,000. I just picked up a Mazda3 that has most of the features (including things like blind-spot warnings, lane-departure warnings, collision warning and automatic emergency braking, navigation, etc.) for under $30k, less than your Leaf, plus it gets over 35mpg (39mpg EPA hwy rating) and it has great power and excellent handling, maybe not quite sports-car level, but far better than a typical econobox.

When (if) Tesla comes out with their Model 3 in the mid-$30k price range, and if it has similar range to the Model S and still has good appointments compared to gas cars in that range, then we're going to see some real changes in the auto market. Electric cars are coming, it's just taking a while because of the battery cost.

Re:The reason is more simple

[sphealey]

So until electric or combination electric-ICE vehicles meet 101% of the needs of 100.0% of the population of the US - including the very small minority who live in isolated rural areas - they should not be popular (or even sold!) anywhere in the US including the metro areas where 85% of the population lives and commutes. Got it.

sPh

Re:The reason is more simple

[FlyHelicopters]

I leased an egolf for $200/month

No, you didn't.

You leased an eGolf for $440 a month, the taxpayers are paying $220 a month of your payment, leaving you with $200 left.

Clearly that can't happen for anything but a very small fraction of the new car buyers or that tax incentive will go away in a big hurry.

The next question is, would you have leased it if you actually had to pay the real payment of $440 a month?

Re:The reason is more simple

[Ralph Spoilsport]

How about we also remove all those oil subsidies, and see how cheap that car really is? Oh, and also the cost to the environment from burning fossil fuels - let's see, how much will it cost to move everyone out of Florida? Anf how about all the carcinogenic bullshit that comes along with it - all those health costs need to be wrapped into it as well. Oh gee - look! It's actually more expensive to run fossil fuel vehicles than some flimsy govt subsidy for an electric car.

I'd call you a troll, but that would overstating the case, and it's possible you're something stupider, like a republican.

Re:The reason is more simple

[FlyHelicopters]

You keep pitching that, but the government is just handing you other people's money.

If you're comfortable taking it, then go ahead, but some of us consider that to be wrong when it is for something optional like a car.

I don't mind for education, because that benefits us all, but you don't need an eGolf. If you want it, go spend your own money on it.

Re:The reason is more simple

[Technician]

Battery life and cost are big factors only following range anxiety.

Often the 10 year + life is cited for many of the hybrids such as the Prius. The long life is only obtained through battery maintenance. The state of charge is kept between 50 and 80% most of the time.

In an electric, that would severely limit range to preserve battery life.

To get maximum range, EV's often top off the battery (100% charge) which shortens the life and deep cycles them, also shortening the life. Think about other devices you deep cycle on a regular basis with the same battery technology. How long does your cell phone, laptop, tablet, etc last on a charge the first year and after 3 years of use. Do you expect an EV to get the same distance after 3 years of daily commute? Give me an EV with a guarantee of >80% capacity after 8 years or 100,000 miles and I am so on it. Making it only 60% of the way to work after 3 years is not going to cut it.

Re:The reason is more simple

[FlyHelicopters]

Neither is spending your way out of trouble...

At some point you have to live within your means. We have not been doing that, our debt is growing faster than our economy.

You need only look at Greece to see where that story ends. For what it is worth, I'll be the first to say that the austerity forced on Greece was way too much, however they couldn't have continued their old ways either.

As always, people seem to have trouble with the concept of a middle ground. :)

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

HOME ownership is key

[faway]

Think about it: If a person doesn't have the security of a home to charge a vehicle at, why would they take a risk on the unlikely chance that they can charge a vehicle when they are out and about like at Whole Foods or IKEA. Furthermore homeowners don't have to relocate to find new jobs, and if you own electric car it's a hassle to move it across country or even across the state. Finally renters don't have the sense of security that allows them to take foolish risks like owning a vehicle that is severely limited in range.

But then consider homeowners: They are strapped with debts and many of them cannot afford luxuries because they bought homes at inflated prices due to speculation in the housing market.

Re:HOME ownership is key

[Dr. Evil]

In other words, perfect as a second car for upper-middle-class suburbanites who don't drive far.

That's a small population.

Re:HOME ownership is key

[Mr D from 63]

Your point is important. Many apartment residents basically are not even a candidate to buy one, so a good chunk of the market is not even in the mix. Even houses that don't have garages, requiring outdoor chargers, make ownership less attractive.

Re:HOME ownership is key

[WindBourne]

actually, that is the majority of America and Europe. And these are not for upper-middle class, but middle class.
A leaf goes for $20K. That is affordable by anybody in the middle class.

Design Counts

[Elias Israel]

"It turns out car buyers don't want their EVs to look different from regular cars." Of course. Who wants to roll around town looking like the "before" picture in a testosterone replacement ad? You want to sell EV's? Make them perform like sports sedans with equivalent range. That's why Tesla is working and the Volt is not. And don't even get me started on the Leaf.

Preening Progressive Prius Pricks

[smittyoneeach]

Preening Progressive Prius pricks
Verbally hurl stones & sticks
But my old diesel's paid & plucky
Does the job while economy sucky

Guess they'll have to pass a law
Prying key from cold, dead paw
Don't need green overlords smug
Bossing about as the fascist thug

Re:Preening Progressive Prius Pricks

[Anonymous Coward]

No law needed, once the government stop subsidizing oil diesel and gas vehicles will be as expensive to drive as they are in other countries and electric will start to look a lot more attractive.

Biofuels? Hmm

[Viol8]

The problem with biofuels is you need to grow them somewhere and if they're normal plants (as opposed to algae) then this is going to be either on farmland so reducing the amount of food that can be grown in whatever area it is, or by clearing some sort of virgin enviroment which will probably be rainforest.

They aren't economical.

[GoodNewsJimDotCom]

Right now you could have the choice between a 20,000$ electric vehicle or a 11,000$ gas vehicle. Lets say the gas vehicle gets 33 mpg, and gasoline costs 3$. Then for 9,000$, you get 3000 gallons of gasoline, and at 33mpg, you get nearly 100,000 miles of free fuel. The price point where electric vehicles start to even make sense for an economical sense is somewhere around $15,000.