April 15th, 2009
Plug-in cars? Not so easy does it...
There may not be a million plug-in cars on American highways by 2015, despite some campaign promises from then candidate Obama. Even the President has power limitations. Here’s a look at the obstacles to getting a million plug-in cars built and sold by then.
This story points out it took eight years to get a million hybrids on the road in the U.S. Yet the economy was not spiralling downward as that happened, loans were flowing like bankers’ bonuses and gasoline prices were generally going higher. Even today hybirds are less than 3% of the total U.S. car fleet.
None of the major automakers can get a plug-in car into the U.S. market before next year. Prices are expected to be higher than for comparable-sized hybrids or gasoline cars. Even if the government tries to convert its fleet to plug-ins, none of the makers have plans to produce as many as 100,000 per year.
Warranty issues may also slow down adoption. Even the Plug-In America folks argue the new plug-ins cannot be expected to carry ten-year warranties, but should have only five-year warranties when sold new.
A newsman since 1969, Harry Fuller has worked for CBS, ABC, CNBC Europe, CNET and was founding news director at TechTV. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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