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We've been reading headlines about Tesla, Nissan Leaf, and several other recent arrivals in the EV market the past few years, but the growth curves are starting to look very interesting:
We already wrote about the recent ZSW report that found that the world electric car market was up to 740,000 at the end of 2014. Other cool stats noted there included:
- China saw 54,000 electric cars registered in 2014, a growth of 120%.
- The US grew 69% to hit 290,000 total electric cars, about 39% of all electric cars on the road.
- Japan grew 45% to hit 110,000 total electric cars.
- The overall global electric car market saw a growth of 76%.
However, we missed sharing a big one, but thanks to reve putting it in a headline and a hat tip from Bob Wallace, we’re getting it now. Actually, you just saw it in the title: ~43% of the world’s electric cars were bought in 2014.
Coupled with the ongoing steep drop in the price of solar panels, we are quickly approaching an epochal tipping point in transportation, energy, and many other realms. My family is ready to switch to an EV as soon as a mass market car is available where we are. How about other Soylentils, do you plan to jump to an EV too, or hang on to your ICE?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by sigma on Tuesday April 21 2015, @02:02AM
I'll be waiting until there's a viable electric car before i buy another vehicle. I drive 41km per day to work, so an electric car is already practical as a commuter, however the cost/benefit calculation for a Leaf or similar car doesn't come out in their favour yet (at least in Australia).
The break even point for me is a little over AU$30,000, so when there's a Leaf-equivalent electric car at or below that price, I'll buy it.
My current (Mercedes) car is 17 years old and works well enough for me to maintain it until an electric car is viable.
(Score: 2) by Hairyfeet on Tuesday April 21 2015, @07:27AM
The problem with electric cars is 1.- Every study I've seen that factors in ALL of the environmental cost, from mining the lithium to disposal, still has them worse than a good high MPG ICE, and more importantly 2.- The limited life on the batteries means their used value will quickly make them worthless and the poor (who buy most of the used cars) are typically the ones who use the most gas.
ACs are never seen so don't bother. Always ready to show SJWs for the racists they are.
(Score: 4, Informative) by sigma on Tuesday April 21 2015, @02:14PM
There's a couple of of-repeated myths there that don't reflect reality. Firstly, electric cars are NOT worse than ICE cars in terms of construction impacts, and even running on coal-generated power, typically break even with petrol or diesel cars. To quote the Australian government:
The finding is that the impacts from vehicle operation far outweigh those from vehicle production. This is true even if we allow for an EV battery replacement over the vehicle life. Vehicle disposal impacts, including those of the EV battery, were found to be negligible due to the expected high rate of material recycling. The dominant influence of vehicle operation during the EV lifecycle highlights the importance of the way in which electricity is made, how efficient energy conversion is, and the way a vehicle is used.
The source of the electricity used to power electric vehicles is a key issue in Victoria (Australia). Despite various influences driving decarbonisation of the stationary energy sector, projections indicate that for a vehicle operating on Victoria’s grid electricity, the breakeven point in terms of carbon emissions from vehicle operation is some years away. Conversely, an electric vehicle operating on renewable energy may provide a net benefit in terms of lifecycle carbon emissions within three years of operation. Figure (b) below shows how this translates to a saving of over 50 per cent across the 20-year average Victorian vehicle lifetime.
Likewise, EV battery life has turned out to be better than expected, and new technologies look to improve that.
Roadster data
When Tesla first introduced the Roadster in 2008, it predicted that the battery pack would retain at least 70 percent of its capacity after five years and 50,000 miles of driving. But in reality, the car has done much better than that. In 2013, Plug In America did a study of Tesla Roadster battery longevity. Using data from 126 Roadsters driven a total 3.2 million miles, the study concluded that the typical Roadster would still have 80-85 percent battery capacity after 100,000 miles.
Model S data
The recent Model S numbers from The Netherlands are even more encouraging. Based on 84 data points from the 85-kWh version of the Model S and six from 60-kWh cars, the study concludes that the Model S will retain about 94 percent of its capacity after 50,000 miles, with losses thereafter shrinking to about 1 percent per 30,000 miles. That means that after 100,000 miles, the typical Model S is projected to retain about 92 percent of its battery capacity and range.
(Score: 2) by Hairyfeet on Wednesday April 22 2015, @08:51AM
Sigh....you DO know that Oz has a vested interest in battery production for electric cars...right? I'd trust what they have to say about as much as the ecig studies paid for by RJ Reynolds. Show me a report from consumer reports or some other third party with ZERO connections to a government? Then we'll talk.
Second the Tesla Roadster? Why don't you give us data about how well the typical Rolls ages. I will bet you my last buck more than 85% if not 90% of Tesla Roadsters are kept in climate buffered garages when not in use, this does NOT in any way, shape, or form, compare to what the average vehicle gets exposed to as most of us? Do not own climate controlled garages. In my area (which is typical of a large swath of the USA) summer temps routinely reach 100F+ and winters will have a month of sub 20f and most of the winter months stay below 42f....if you truly believe in your heart this does not affect Lithium Ion batteries? Then I have a bridge you might be interested in.
Why don't you show us some figures of the battery life of the hybrids, after all they've been out longer than Tesla Roadsters and unlike those rich people toys will have been exposed to much more typical weather and temperature variations than any $100K+ sports car.
ACs are never seen so don't bother. Always ready to show SJWs for the racists they are.