Electric Vehicles

Sorry for the snarky headline and the swipe at internal combustion engines, but I have seen so much misinformation spread about electric cars in cold weather lately that I had to clarify something.

Yes, electric cars are negatively affected by the extreme cold, but it’s perfectly manageable and arguably as manageable if not more easily manageable than gas-powered cars.
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In the general public, the range on a single charge is still the biggest concern when it comes to electric vehicles. That’s despite the fact that most EVs have enough range to cover their average commute several times over.

A longer range is believed to be key for wider EV adoption and the vehicles offered on the market are certainly going in the right direction with the median all-electric vehicle range growing from 73 miles (117 km) in model year 2011 to 114 miles (183 km) in model year 2017 of EVs available in the US.
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Bad news hit the EV world last week when Republicans unveiled their tax bill and it included a complete removal of the federal tax credit for electric vehicles by the end of the year.

The only hope for EV buyers is that the language about the tax credit changes by the time the bill becomes law. Now, those EV buyers might have an ally within the GOP.
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A new “Automated and Electric Vehicles Bill” is being introduced by the government in the UK in the Queen’s Speech.

It includes some interesting measures, including mandatory installations of electric car chargers at motorway services and gas stations.
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The International Energy Agency (IEA) came out with its 2017 Global EV Outlook and it highlights the fact that the world’s EV fleet reached over 2 million cars last year.

It also breaks down the distribution of electric vehicles around the world by country and shows how China as solidified its position as an EV leader.
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Honda, like most other major automakers in Japan and Korea, is still very much invested in fuel cell hydrogen powertrains, which has resulted in little development in battery-powered vehicles.

While the company is apparently not ready to give up on fuel cell, they announced plans to “strengthen the development” of battery vehicles and that they will unveil a new electric vehicle this autumn.
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Just as Texas was shutting the door on Tesla over their direct sale model last week, they relaunched their $2,500 electric vehicle rebate to spur EV adoption.

While it’s good news for EV buyers in general, Tesla buyers are not likely to have access to the program since its going through dealerships, which Tesla is not allowed to operate in the state.
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The argument that electric vehicles are just as polluting as gas-powered vehicles because they consume electricity produced from coal plants has been looming over electric vehicles for a long time.

It has been debunked on a few occasions and while there are places where the grid is so dirty that it doesn’t make a big difference whether someone drives an electric car or a very efficient gas-powered car, most of the US electric grid is clean enough that it doesn’t come close to the efficiency of electric cars.

As the grid gets cleaner, thanks to solar, wind, hydro and other renewable energy sources, the electric car’s advantage is increasing every day and the latest data shows that it’s not even a contest anymore.
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Electric vehicle sales keep increasing at an impressive pace in Canada to a point that they are now representing a meaningful percentage of overall car sales.

During the first quarter 2017, electric vehicle deliveries reached a record high of 1,474 units (BEVs and PHEVs) – up 68% over the same period last year.
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Electric vehicle sales are closely followed by auto industry analysts who are trying to predict when they will surpass internal combustion engine sales.

Morgan Stanley’s analysts are the latest to share their prediction in a new report today. They predict that more electric vehicles will be sold in 2040 than gas-powered cars.
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Last year, we reported on how electric vehicle investments were on track for a record high in 2016 after years of record lows following the bankruptcy of a few startups, namely Fisker, Coda, A123, and Better Place.

CB Insight has been tracking EV investments and confirmed the record year in 2016, but it projects a significant slow down in 2017 again.
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Denmark announced the phasing out of its tax break for electric vehicles starting in 2015, which caused Tesla’s sales to surge to an all-time high in the country, but they have been virtually non-existent since then and all electric car sales have crashed.

To highlight the impact, 1,300 electric vehicles were sold in Denmark in 2016, while Tesla delivered 1,300 vehicles in December 2015 alone.

The government has now announced that they are walking back some of the changes in order to boost back EV sales for at least 5,000 more vehicles.
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It’s hard to believe for someone like me who spend most of his time researching electric vehicles, but simple awareness of electric vehicles and their qualities is still the biggest barrier to EV adoption.

It is becoming clearer than ever today when looking into the results of a new survey of 158,000 people – mostly young new drivers who are studying for the driver license tests. Surprisingly, 70% of them said no to electric vehicles.
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Edmunds, the auto research firm, came up with a grim report titled “Elimination of federal tax credits likely to kill U.S. EV market”. They title says it all. They predict that electric vehicle sales in the US will crash when the main automakers making electric vehicles will run out of the federal credits.

They are mainly coming to this conclusion based on a case study of what happened to electric vehicle sales in Georgia after they ended their own state program for electric vehicles. At least, they are acknowledging that upcoming vehicles, like the Tesla Model 3, could still bring EVs to a wider audience without the tax credit.
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We reported earlier this year on the cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Portland, Ore., sending a request for information (RFI) to automakers for an electric car order of 24,000 vehicles.

It would have become the biggest electric car order ever, but several more cities have since joined the effort and they are now looking for 114,000 electric vehicles.
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The city of San Francisco has not been shy to use its building codes to try to accelerate the deployment of sustainable energy. Last year, it required new buildings to have solar panels installed on the roof and this year, it will try to accommodate electric vehicles by using a similar approach.
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The biofuel and oil industries, which were both heavily subsidized over the years, are now working together to lobby against electric vehicle incentives under the pretext that they are seeking “a level playing field”.

Their respective main lobbying groups made the announcement this week.
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A lot of electric vehicle charging networks in Europe operate only in specific countries, which can make it hard for electric vehicle drivers to road trip across borders. A solution has been introduced today to make European electric travel easier.

Today, five of the biggest network operators announced the ‘Open Fast Charging Alliance’, which “will enable roaming to create a premium network of fast chargers all over Europe”, according to the new group. 
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Electric vehicles had a breakout year in the UK in 2016 and the market is off to a good start in 2017. Battery-powered vehicles are starting to represent a more significant portion of the total new vehicle sales in the country – it reached a record of 4.2% share of new vehicle registrations last month.
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A bill passed in Michigan in 2015 is about to kick in, making being a vehicle owner in the state more expensive than ever. The bill, which is part of a road-funding package proposed by Gov. Rick Snyder, will see cost increases across various facets of vehicle ownership, from annual registration fees to gas prices.

Those projected to be the hardest hit are people who own multiple vehicles and those who own fuel-inefficient vehicles, but while this may seem like good news to green vehicle owners, the bill is also introducing a surcharge on electric and hybrid vehicles for as much as $235…
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