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Ford is Throwing $11 Billion at Its Electric Car Problem (theverge.com)
Ford said on Monday it will boost its investment in electric vehicles to $11 billion in the next five years, more than doubling a previous commitment. Company's chairman Bill Ford said the car maker would have 40 hybrid and fully electric vehicles in its range by the same period. It comes as countries around the world put more pressure on car makers to rein in carbon emissions. From a report: It was a dramatic escalation in Ford's crosstown rivalry with General Motors, which has seen its stock prices rise thanks to its commitments to both electrification and autonomy. GM has said it plans to roll out at least 20 new electric cars by 2023, a goal that puts it in a position to bring battery-powered driving to the mainstream. Last week, it unveiled a concept autonomous car without steering wheel or pedals. Meanwhile, the Blue Oval has had a challenging 2017. It remains strongly profitable, but its sale are stagnant, its costs have increased faster than expected, and its margins have failed to meet targets.
Thanks, Tesla ! Without you, those feet-dragger's would have never done this.
Transmission isn't the largest expense that utilities have to pay for. Saying the infrastructure won't support it is just FUD from someone who doesn't work in the industry.
EV's stabilize the grid, because utilities don't need to scale up and down micro generation as demand changes. This saves a significant amount of money in administration and maintenance on the generation side, which comprises the majority of utility spending. Also EVs provide a massive, new source of revenue to utilities without capital investment, because they're now selling resources that were previously underutilized.
What you're pointing out is that urban areas are designed to discourage private automobile ownership by individuals - often very intentionally. There isn't really any kind of automobile an auto manufacturer can build to change that. For now, they'll probably focus on development for the (fairly large) suburban market.
That said, autonomous vehicles should eventually be able to make electrics more practical in the cities. These cars won't be owned by individuals, but rather by corporations or local transit authorities. Live in the city, but run into a situation where walking, biking, or busing won't cut it? Just bring up an app, book your travel, and a nice, autonomous, electric vehicle will swing by to pick you up and take you where you need to go. When it's running low on power, it can return to one of several "car barns" designed to hold and charge the vehicles. This environment still provides a great opportunity for auto manufacturers to evolve and make large sums of money.
I know it's a huge hurdle to get many urban folk to give up personal ownership of an automobile, but with things trending away from "I go to X location to get the things I need" and toward "The things I need are delivered to my home" I think there will be less and less need (and therefor less desire) to own cars. This will be furthered as companies (hopefully) continue to expand work-from-home options and eliminate old fashioned dress codes (making commutes on feet, bikes, mopeds easier and more attractive). I feel like the auto makers that will win out in the end will be those that find solutions for shipping/delivery vehicles and shared transportation services.