Overcoming Barriers to Electric-Vehicle Deployment Interim Report (2013) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
2 The Customers, Manufacturers, and Dealers
2 The Customers, Manufacturers, and Dealers
Pages 15-26
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From page 15... ...
However, widespread adoption of PEVs will require effective communication with customers on how the vehicles work and how they fit into their lives; vehicles that offer safe, comfortable, and reliable transportation at costs that are competitive with those of conventional vehicles (direct costs of purchasing and total costs of owning and operating the vehicle) ; vehicles that offer an adequate range of travel; and an infrastructure that provides convenient charging and servicing.
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From page 16... ...
The Vehicle Battery and Charging Two issues related to the vehicle battery create confusion. First, potential PEV buyers who are familiar with ordinary car batteries and other consumer batteries that have short lifetimes and contain toxic materials might be concerned about the proper recycling or disposal of PEV batteries.
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From page 17... ...
The major contributor to the high upfront costs is the lithium-ion battery; costs are likely to decrease through continued advances in battery technology via research and development and through reductions in manufacturing costs via manufacturers' learning and increased production volume. For an electric vehicle to be cost-competitive with comparable conventional models, it will need to offer customers substantial fuel savings.
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From page 18... ...
Without the promise of substantial fuel savings, PHEVs are considerably less attractive, especially if they are sold at a price premium relative to their conventional-vehicle counterparts. Whether a vehicle is considered an attractive option by a customer is determined by the value proposition, which considers how well the vehicle meets the customer's needs and how well the vehicle price matches what the customer is willing to pay to satisfy these needs.
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From page 19... ...
Figure 2-1 shows the distribution of daily travel distance for vehicles. According to the 2009 National Highway Transportation Survey; 68 percent of all vehicles traveled less than 40 miles on a given day, and 92 percent of all vehicles traveled less than 73 miles (FHWA, 2011)
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From page 20... ...
They need information on vehicle costs and performance, operating and maintenance costs, incentives available, and charging infrastructure required. The federal government could consider providing the following: • Public-service announcements that use various communication media -- traditional and social media -- to showcase current PEV owners, illustrate how a PEV meets various transportation needs, provide information or links to websites (such as fueleconomy.gov)
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From page 21... ...
Research on the effectiveness of past and existing customer incentives to purchasing alternative-fueled vehicles would help to inform the design, cost effectiveness, and creation of new incentives. For example, studies involving hybrid-electric vehicles, such as the Toyota Prius, have suggested that customers respond better to immediate incentives, so using purchase rebates instead of income-tax credits is likely to be much more effective (Gallagher and Muehlegger, 2011)
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From page 22... ...
The federal government has supported basic research on and development of electric-drive technologies, particularly battery development, and continued federal support should help to reduce technology costs and indirectly encourage the use of electric-drive technology in a variety of vehicle models. Other policy options available to the federal government could spur greater development of PEVs by automobile manufacturers, such as raising fuel-economy standards, instituting zero-emission-vehicle mandates, and creating carbon taxes.
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From page 23... ...
indicated that current outlets are not fully prepared to explain and educate customers on PEVs and the charging infrastructure required. Given the comparatively high cost of training and preparing dealership personnel and the comparatively greater needs for customer education on PEVs before they are comfortable in making their purchases, there appears to be a critical information gap at the primary point of sale.
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From page 24... ...
As discussed above, the federal government could support demonstration activities through existing federal initiatives, such as the DOE Clean Cities program. If one considered only the goal of increasing PEV adoption, there might be other models of closing the knowledge gap between customers and the PEV technology at the point of sale.
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From page 25... ...
2012. Estimation of energy use by plug-in hybrid electric vehicles: Validating gamma distribution for representing random daily driving distance.
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From page 26... ...
2012. Optimal design and allocation of electrified vehicles and dedicated charging infrastructure for minimum life cycle greenhouse gas emissions and cost.
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