As part of his push to cut our dependence on foreign oil, President Obama said at his State of the Union address reiterated his vision of seeing one million electric vehicles on the road by 2015. “With more research and incentives, we can break our dependence on oil with biofuels and become the first country to have a million electric vehicles on the road by 2015,” he said. Well, the reality may be slightly different — a new report from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University, has found that automakers are not planning to produce that many cars in the next four years, nor are consumers willing to buy them.
Though car enthusiasts are excited about electric cars, the study found that the vehicles’ high cost and limited range makes them a difficult sell to the mainstream public. The report’s panel included a Ford executive and representatives from environment, science, academic and research communities. Nissan and General Motors also provided input. The panelists studied the manufacturers’ announced production numbers to come up with the analysis.
The first two electric vehicles — the Chevrolet Volt and the Nissan Leaf — both went on sale towards the end of last year to widespread attention. The report notes that GM plans to make up to 45,000 Volts a year, while Nissan will produce about 150,000 Leafs.
On the bright side, the report points out that continued government incentives will help increase sales. Currently new buyers are given a $7,500 tax credit for the purchase of an electric vehicle. Several states are also providing additional incentives.
WHY THIS MATTERS
In the end, even if Obama’s 1 million number is not fully actualized, an effort towards that goal will still go a long way in cutting our dependence on foreign oil.
Via Usa Today
