Electric Vehicles Gain Traction in the Bay Area

Momentum continues for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. BMW is already leasing its freeway speed MiniE. Sports car lovers navigate curving mountain roads in their Tesla Roadsters. Toyota (TM) is putting 500 plug-in Priuses into fleet tests this year. Next year, Nissan (NSANY), Chrysler, BYD, and Ford (F) plan to start taking consumer orders for electric vehicles from cars to vans. Toyota and GM will be fighting for plug-in hybrid market leadership. Over 100 EV players will be competing for your business. Electric Cars for 2010

Forty-thousand electric vehicles are now on the road in the United States; 99 percent max out at 25 miles per hour. These light-electric vehicles [LEV] are surprisingly popular in college towns, retirement communities, and in a variety of practical fleet applications from maintenance crews to parking meter attendants. Most of these electric vehicles are in California.

Will consumers buy or lease EVs in large numbers? Yes, if a few problems are overcome. Most will want freeway speed. Customers want an affordable vehicle. Many will want the types of vehicles planned by Toyota, Nissan, and GM – four door sedans and larger vehicles that can carry several people and lots of stuff. The vehicles will need greater range than today’s LEVs. Although the average household in the U.S. has two vehicles, with one rarely going over 40 miles in a day, many people will insist on EVs and PHEVs with much greater range. Consumers fear getting stuck.

“There are 247 million cars in the U.S., but only 53 million garages,” observes Richard Lowenthal, CEO of Coulomb Technologies. Because they need less range, urban dwellers are most likely to benefit from owning an EV, but least likely to own a garage. One U.C. Davis study determined that 80 percent of plug-in car owners want to charge more than once a day. That means we only have 12 percent of the charging stations that we need.

Yesterday, the City of San Francisco demonstrated its installed Coulomb Smartlet Networked Charging Stations by charging a city-owned plug-in hybrid Prius. San Francisco is an ideal city to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. Every year over 100 million rides are taken on the city’s fleet of electric trolley buses and BART rail / subway system. The city already has electric and plug-in vehicles in its fleet. San Francisco is recognized as one of the greenest cities in the United States, if not the world. Citizens have been early adopters of electric vehicles, e-bikes, and plug-in hybrid conversions.

San Francisco, like most cities, needs a charging infrastructure. Only 16 percent of vehicles in SF have access to a garage with an electric outlet. Most vehicles are parked on streets, apartment buildings, co-ops, and public garages without charging infrastructure.

“Our goal is to transform the Bay Area into the EV Capital of the United States, and a networked infrastructure is essential for the adoption of electric vehicles,” said San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. “San Francisco is proud to be the first city to feature charging stations with technology to support our city’s clean electric fleet vehicles and car-share fleets.”

“Electric vehicles are the future of transportation and the Bay Area is the testing ground for the technology,” said San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. “We began using plug-in hybrids in the city’s fleet last year. Now, for the first time the public can plug-in to the next generation of cars through car sharing organizations and take them for a drive in San Francisco.”

San Francisco is taking an important step forward by implementing a smart charging infrastructure that can be centrally managed and supported. The intelligent system can send text messages to drivers when their vehicle is charged, or that their hours of free parking are ending. The charging adheres to new SAE standards agreed upon by automakers and charging infrastructure providers. By making EVs a reality in a city with excellent transit and a future hub of high-speed rail, EVs will solve last-mile issues, and car sharing partnerships will allow long journeys to be zero-emission end-to-end.

Comments

[William Taylor:]

I am rooting for ZENN and the EESTOR story to be told, if there is to be one!

If it all works Zenn cars will be the most successful in the world. Dream a little, John..that dream just might make it to reality. No cumbersome batteries, no big carbon footprint... almost instant recharging....

Feb 22 09:52 AM

[HereAndNow:]

The Bay Area is a perfect location to launch an electric vehicle initiative. Not only will it improve the area environmentally, but it will surely spawn a number of related technology ventures in Silicon Valley.

The result:
- the local residents win (save $),
- the environment wins (less CO2,noise),
- the local economy wins (new companies,jobs),
- the US economy wins (product exports).

Feb 22 10:33 AM

[Urbane Gori...:]

I live up in the foothills of California. Last week, I parked next to a ZAP three wheeler. This morning I parked next to a little blue unknown make 'electric car'. It was smaller than a Mini, but so darn cute, I almost picked it up and put it in the trunk of my BMW ragtop!! We also have a lot of those 2 and 4 seater 'golf cart looking things' sold by Chrysler. I don't think they get a lot of distance though, as I've seen a couple with generators in the back, just in case.

jegan

Feb 22 02:55 PM

[hsr0601:]

There is an inventor from Wisconsin who invented an all-electric car in the form of a Ford Ranger that was shown at the KARE 11 fair booth at the 2008 Minnesota State Fair.

It is capable of reaching 100 miles per hour in speed, has a range of 300 miles, charges in 10 minutes and is pollution free with only the pollution that is done to make the electricity to charge it.

The inventor of this invention has, to my understanding, approached Ford Motor Company with his invention. The Ford Motor Company, in my estimation, should latch onto this idea, pronto.

My understanding is there are members of Congress who are trying to shoot down this idea of an electric car.

Where is there any common sense in this country?

Feb 23 12:39 AM

[hsr0601:]

There is an inventor from Wisconsin who invented an all-electric car in the form of a Ford Ranger that was shown at the KARE 11 fair booth at the 2008 Minnesota State Fair.

It is capable of reaching 100 miles per hour in speed, has a range of 300 miles, charges in 10 minutes and is pollution free with only the pollution that is done to make the electricity to charge it.

The inventor of this invention has, to my understanding, approached Ford Motor Company with his invention. The Ford Motor Company, in my estimation, should latch onto this idea, pronto.

My understanding is there are members of Congress who are trying to shoot down this idea of an electric car.

Where is there any common sense in this country?

Feb 23 12:39 AM

[I'm Not Jim...:]

A niche vehicle for a niche market like San Francisco. What do you think that a MInnesota winter would do to the charge of an electric vehicle battery? Great idea bringing to market a car that will cost 15-20% more than a gas powered vehicle, just a people are losing their jobs and the banks won't lend. I'm sure also that the government will be happy to "lend" the big three car makers the money to retool to build these vehicles, because nothing says government like mandating bankrupt companies to build cars that people don't want to buy!

Even if overnight we could give everyone these "polultion free" vehicles, we would have to burns millions more tons of coal to create the electricity to power them and create millions more toxic batteries that need to be disposed of. Whatever the future of mass individual transportation is in this country, the electric car is almost certainly not it!

Feb 23 01:34 AM

[Mad Hedge F...:]

Politicians, industrialists, and environmentalists who see battery powered vehicles as the wave of the future are overlooking the fact that 50% of the world supply of lithium comes from impoverished, landlocked Bolivia. This is a country that until now was best known for killing off famous foreigners (Che Guevara, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid), and being the source of a new form a venereal disease. Lithium ion batteries are four times more efficient than the current generation of nickel cadmium batteries, and are essential for electric cars to finally become economically viable. But now that the country finally has something the world wants, nationalism is rearing its ugly head. Local politicians see their country as the Saudi Arabia of the highly corrosive, toxic, reactive metal, and are already discussing ways to restrict access. The only other supplies are to be found in Chile, Argentina, Australia, China, and Nevada. Should the US invade to insure supplies? Iraq worked didn’t it? The best way for opportunistic investors to play this is to buy Sociedad Quimica Y Minera (SQM), Peru’s largest producer of lithium.

Feb 23 07:17 AM

[John Addison:]

Thanks for adding to the discussion and insights.

Globally EVs are much more prevalent than most think. Most in Asia are less expensive than internal combustion engine driven vehicles. Not Jim Cramer - initially the full featured 4-door sedans will be more expensive capex, but cheaper to fuel. With volume manufacturing, costs are likely to fall as they have with solar power. Most states are requiring growth of renewable energy, but even if its 100% coal power at the other end, the 3X efficiency of electric drive results in lower lifecycle emissions. Yes, battery performance can be a function of temperature. Plug-in Prius tests in Winnipeg at -40C showed little fuel efficiency improvement.

Mad Hedge Fund Trader - point well taken on lithium sources. Mr. Taylor, yes I hope that EESTOR gets commercialized at the right price. I've talked to those who heard the stealth pitch 7 years ago. Stay diversified. Disruptive change is never smooth, but when it succeeds it can make billions for the corporations that can adopt to the change.

Feb 23 07:40 PM

[I'm Not Jim...:]

The Asian EV's do not have to deal with our safety rules for cars. Additionally, commercial and even workload pickup trucks and busses cannot run on batteries. How inefficient would it be to have to have two functioning systems, oil and electric?

With regard to temepratures, we are probably only talking about 15-30 days a year where temperature will seriously affect battery performance, but how do you sell a car like that. What will happen to a car that sits in 20 degree weather in a parking lot for 8 or 10 hours while the owner is at work? How will the charge be affected? Here's one study:

"Research by General Motors (Ellis, 1994) indicated that the range of their prototype EV, the Impact, was 19 kilometers in cold weather. In other words, the car loses over 80% of its nominal 21\mDC range when operated at -18\mDC."

Feb 23 11:39 PM

[speculari:]

I'm surprised that none here mentioned the Aptera. A CA company currently developing a 3 wheeled vehicle reportedly that will be offered in both a straight EV version & a hybrid version. The battery utilized is closely held information but, initial reports indicate a range of 100 miles. Whatever the outcome on this particular car, remember; any method can & will be improved! Perhaps, one day, not too far off - a hybrid Atera will be equipped with a "solar skin" &/or a "solar parasol" ( to put up when the vehicle is in "park" mode) so that the vehicle may be heated, cooled and, have it's battery charged during all peak daylight hours. After that iteration, the next step would be to link the car to the electric "grid" so that any excess generation can go to other uses. Yeah, picture about 40,000 to 60,000 Aptera's dwelling in parking lots ..... which is what most of our autos do most of the time.... PARK! PARK! PARK!

Feb 25 12:43 AM