Disappointing Year for EVs and PHEVs

A disappointing year for those who see PHEVs and EVs as the future for the automobile industry.

The motivation, of course, is to cut CO2 emissions, but not much is happening in that regard with disappointing sales, and where most of the electricity for charging batteries is generated using fossil fuels.

The question should be asked: How low would PHEV and EV sales be without subsidies, paid for by taxpayer dollars?

Here are total PHEV and EV sales for all of 2014.

Total U.S. vehicle sales in 2014 were 16,435,286 vehicles.

The PHEV and EV sales were less than one percent of total U.S. sales, or 0.72%.

Do PHEVs and EVs really deserve taxpayer funded subsidies?

When these vehicles were introduced, it was expected that there would be 1,000,000 sold by the end of 2015. This was the forecast made by President Obama.

Total cumulative sales since these vehicles were introduced in 2011 are:

• PHEVs = 150,620
• EVs = 135,425
• Total EVs and PHEVs, 2011 – 2014 = 286,045

A far cry from 1,000,000.

It also brings into question whether Tesla’s proposed $5 billion dollar battery factory will be a sound investment, or a good use of tax payer subsidies with perhaps $1.5 billion in subsidies from Nevada alone.

The factory is being built to support the sale of 500,000 EVs per year, by 2020.

It’s important to recognize that HEVs, such as the Prius, are not the same as EVs and PHEVs. They do not recharge their batteries from the grid and have no effect on the grid.

HEVs use electric motors to improve the overall efficiency of a vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine. HEVs use gasoline, or diesel fuel, as the source of energy for propelling the vehicle.

HEVs are different from EVs, which are designed to use only batteries and eliminate the use of gasoline, and PHEVs, which are intended to use battery power for commuting distances. EVs have a range of around 100 miles, while PHEVs have a range of around 35 miles on battery power, and use an auxiliary internal combustion engine to allow the PHEV to travel longer distances.

Some commentators mistakenly combine HEVs, EVs and PHEVs when describing electric vehicles. This distorts the actual market penetration of cars that rely on battery power, either exclusively, such as the Tesla, an EV, or for commuting distances, such as the GM Volt, a PHEV.

Tax payer subsidies are also helping to fund the installation of battery charging stations.

So far, EVs and PHEVs have been toys for the rich and famous, with middle class families subsidizing these purchases with tax payer dollars.

Based on the evidence thus far, it would seem that tax payer money is being wasted on this effort to build and sell PHEVs and EVs, and to install battery charging stations.

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