General Motors and other legacy automakers have been a bit slow bringing newer, more competitive battery-powered offerings to market – but it’s not just development lead times leading to the delays. Before they invest in electric vehicles, companies like GM want to ensure they are competitive when compared with similarly priced gas offerings and that the right charging infrastructure is in place to make ownership less of a hassle.
GM president Mark Reuss elaborated on this topic in a recent op-ed he wrote for CNN.com. The piece entitled ‘Electric cars won’t go mainstream until we fix these problems’ outlines GM’s stance on EVs and the problems that it thinks must be solved before it can begin to sell battery-powered cars en masse. The biggest problem with regard to EV adoption is range, Reuss says, with internal GM studies indicating that most consumers want an EV that can travel at least 300 miles on a charge.
“Range is the single biggest barrier to EV acceptance,” Reuss writes in the article. “Just as demand for gas mileage doesn’t go down when there are more gas stations, demand for better range won’t ease even as charging infrastructure improves. People will still want to drive as long as possible between charges.”
Mark Reuss
GM’s research also shows that “among those who have considered buying an electric vehicle, but haven’t, the lack of charging stations is the number one reason why,” Reuss wrote. GM believes it’s up to manufacturers, charging companies, governments and industry groups to all ensure more charging stations are installed. The automaker also wants to see more partnerships with companies that will install EV chargers in new and existing homes, which may also increase the chances consumers buy an EV when shopping for a new car.
The final barrier is cost. While most EV owners report operating costs that are about one third of that of a comparable gasoline car, this is outweighed by the high purchase price of EVs. Once the price of EVs is on par with a comparable gas car, ownership should surge – with customers enticed by the prospect of having to not pay for gasoline, oil changes and other similar expenses.
“Looking forward, we think electric vehicle propulsion systems will achieve cost parity with internal combustion engines within a decade, probably sooner, and will only get better after that, driving sticker prices down and widening the appeal to the average consumer,” Reuss added.
GM has a flurry of new electric vehicles coming to market in the near future, including the Chevrolet Bolt EUV crossover, a new electric pickup truck and an electric Cadillac luxury crossover. It will be interesting to see how GM tackles the problems mentioned in Reuss’ article in the lead up to this electric vehicle push. The success of these vehicles will be dependent on their price, range and performance – but GM will also have to ensure customers have access to an adequate charging infrastructure in order to sell them in large numbers. This appears to be the one part of the EV problem GM isn’t too keen on fixing itself.
It’s not clear if GM plans to follow Porsche’s path and install some charging stalls at its dealerships, or if it will continue to support and rely on third-party companies like EVgo and Chargepoint to grow America’s vehicle charging network. Earlier this year, GM also partnered with construction company Bechtel to set up new chargers across the U.S., but the majority of the cost will be inherited by Bechtel, with GM only providing location data so Bechtel knows where to build the chargers. This is in contrast to Tesla, which has taken on the challenge of setting up its own network of Superchargers to give its customers more confidence and help to reduce range anxiety.
Despite GM’s hesitance to invest in charging infrastructure, Reuss seems open to the idea of working with industry partners to solve the problems and help EVs gain more traction in the U.S.
“Most people said they want vehicles that can match gasoline-powered vehicles in range, ease of ownership and cost. The sooner we can break down these three critical barriers, the sooner electric cars will become mainstream,” Reuss also said in the article.
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Source: CNN.com
Comments
GM also claimed last week no one wants hybrids. But GM has never made a properly competitive hybrid, even models like the Bolt which is great was marketed so poorly from gen 1 day 1.
I think EREV is currently the best option, so how’s the future of the Volt look??
The Bolt is ugly as sin, GM fumbled that too
What’s the vehicle with the highest profit margin? Trucks. What’s the vehicle that gets the worst fuel economy? Trucks. Put a 50kW battery in a truck paired to a 4.3/3.6 V6 or 2.7T 4cyl as an EREV and price it $2000 more than a comparable 2.7T.
They could see city MPG nearly double and highway jump 25% AND from a business standpoint still make a ton of money
From their adpot it into the full size SUVs. Then trickle down to CUVs
First paragraph should say Volt not Bolt
$2000 more I doubt it a bolt MSRP is$50000 for that little s***box. A 4wd truck will require 2 or more bigger motors plus bigger batteries unless the economies of scale come into play probably $20000+
The greatest issue is cost. It cost nearly twice as much to buy a similar Electric vehicle compared to a similar size ICE vehicle. This really matters as the ICE vehicles is already too expensive.
Range today is 300-400 is what people expect so I don’t see that as much of an issue as it once was.
The lack of charging in areas that are on your way in most parts of the country are still an issue.
Charging times can be a major issue in long travel. As EV adopters by choice are happy taking an hour out here and there most regular travelers here in the mid west just want to get to the destination. We only stop to take a leak and fuel up.
One thing many have not learned yet is charging is not cheap if not done at home of if it is not part of a free program. I just learned many places charge by the hour and here in Ohio it can cost $30-35 which is more for the same amount of range I pay less for with gas in my truck.
EV will grow but it will slow and steady. Only a break though on batter cost and range will change much fast. I am waiting to see if this new solid state battery helps lower cost.
Please, It is not the responsibility of the tax payers (the government) to fund the cost of setting up charging stations. The taxpayers already are coughing up the tax credits given on EV purchases and in many cases the funding of road system since most taxes are generated on the price of gasoline, something an electric vehicle owner is not paying.
If you can’t produce an EV that is competitive, don’t build it!
I agree, and eventually anyone owning a electric car will be taxed more because of the lost tax money from gas. Most EV’s are heavier than the average car also so more damage to roads. Its just nobody thinks of these things because they all just think the grass is greener if we use just electric. Sorry that is pipe dream and not matter what until some big break through in electricity/battery recharging, ICE powered vehicles are going no where.
The dovelopment of the modern computer, gps, internet and others tech breakthroughs were due to government grants, even $billion companies apply for grants to cover for R&D.
EVs are a permanent thing now but it will be a while before they replace fossils fuels.
Shut off the power (think California) and shut off mobility…. never buy one of these unless power is privatized….
what are you talking about? pacific gas and electric was shutting electricity up and down california recently and they are a private company. they also recently filed for bankruptcy after their power lines caused massive fires.
The same could be said by shutting down the flow of oil
The future of EV is in the hands of the private segment not the government.
The original auto market went nearly 20 years with a mix of cars and most were not cheap or long ranged. It was not till the Model T came and provided a price most could or would pay to give up the horse.
The Model T did not have crazy features, it was not the fastest or nicest. But it was the cheapest. Once the market caught up in better prices then the better features came.
This segment is similar as right now most are held back by price and the lack of savings over ICE. It will come in time but it is not here yet.
Charging he held back due to the lack of cars and the fact few are willing to invest heavy as 4-5 years from now what ever is installed now could be out dated.
You make a battery that charges in 5 min every gas ration would have a charger next to every pump.
The puzzle is coming together but it will take time, technology and continued investment.
The key for automakers now is to start the investing and keeping a hand in the game to spread out the cost and continue development.
The company with the first version of a EV Model T will take the lead. Then they will not want to make the mistake Henry did by lack of continued investment.
While GM is investing and promoting EV they are not going to rush things unless there is some value to be presented. They also have not killed ICE plans as they are still looking 30 years out with ICE.
The biggest obstacle for GM is Frumpy Mary Barra. Turned Cadillac into an abysmal joke.
Bubba I hate to tell you the abysmal joke started long before a Mary got in office.
Decades of poor product and unstable independent leadership of the divi has taken its toll.
I had hope when Johann was here but when he left I fear we fell back into the same committee directed division we have suffered for ever with.
Remember the first mass-produced electric car? GM built it, made it available for lease only, then cancelled them and crushed nearly every one they made. The Volt? Cancelled. GM has no interest in helping electric vehicles along because they currently have no advantage. They will wait for others to do the hard work and then when the tide changes they will chase better profits.
You could say manufacturer’s like Ford and FCA are doing the same, except ‘worse’. Little guys like Mazda I can understand, without a partnership they can’t develop EV from scratch until someone else has made it viable. I think Mazda has an EV in the pipeline for 2022-ish, but that’s at a time where battery tech has taken off, same with motors and more important charging networks.
GM’s tax credit are run dry, and if not they must be very close and minimal $$$ rebate, Ford and FCA who have sat on the sidelines still get the full federal credit.
What you leave out is the Impact was not a great car and more of an experiment. It was limited in miles and was more expensive to build than what they made on it.
GM made it clear from the start it was not going to be a long term car. The expense to keep it on the road would have been more than it was worth.
The Volt is going away because people lost interest as most are now skipping right to full electric. Even the Prius is not selling what it used to sell and may go away.
Profits were slim to none on the Volt too.
The Volts mission was to interest people in electric models but also to establish suppliers to start work on components for electric cars. If there is no market there is no investment by suppliers. the Volt just seeded the market.
Many mistake the Volt as the destination when it was merely a stepping stone to the future.
With EV models we will find they will either work or they will not. Automakers will not stick around with models that have little to no profit long as they move to the next step to establish the market.
The goal is not just to build EV cars it is to make money selling EV cars.
The ultimate goal is to get the prices down to where they cost no more than ICE models. Anyone can make an electric car. The hard part is to sell it cheaper and make money at it.
i think the waiting strategy is being employed by the japanese more than anyone else. and i don’t blame them for being cautious about EVs.
no one is making money on them. you are losing thousands on each sold. the entire market is propped up by temporary tax incentives.
so unless you are forced to, i can see why the wait strategy makes sense.
A little over a year ago, I needed to buy a riding lawn mower. I researched the market and chose an all electric rider (as did my neighbor on the street). The mower was more expensive than the ICE alternatives, but a comparison of the total cost of operation showed the electric rider was cheaper to own with a break even point at just over two years. Yes, I don’t have to worry about charging stations as I don’t have to venture more than an hour from the home charger, but the cost analysis should work for cars/trucks. I keep my cars for well over 10 years, so my next car will likely be an EV. I think Reuss’ comments are little more than a delaying tactic as GM has been pretty slow to the gate on the EV market. There are quite a few Teslas in my area and neighborhood with one 8 slot Supercharger station locally by a shopping area. The cars I see using it are almost out of state or out of county which tells me the other owners are charging at home or at work.
I love winners and whiners :
Winners :
Range is the single biggest barrier to EV acceptance :
opportunity: Better battery chemistry ( acquired a couple of battery companies (Maxwell Technologies with a bet of ultra capacitors could be a better bet for an electric tech breakthrough. , Hibar Systems ( specializes high-speed battery manufacturing systems )
Lack of charging stations
opportunity : High speed Dc charging and charging network and connected network and range prediction system in car
The final barrier is cost : With bets on better battery chemistry,new research, gigafactory ( scale of manufacturing ) , costs can come down :
Whiner : Write op-ed in cnn.com .. so every one hear the cry .
Range is not the problem many will believe. Just ask everyone you know who drives over 100 miles in a day. Less than one percent do. So the other 99 percent can buy and drive an EV. Second, price is always an issue, but do a long term cost of ownership calculation of a regular vehicle. Add all the normal gasoline maintenance and fuel costs for one year and multiply by ten. Then add that to the original cost of the gasoline engine vehicle. That is the real cost for a normal lifetime. Just compare that with a new EV. As a bonus, add the time lost visiting dealerships, shops, and gasoline stations, sine an EV needs none of that, and is refueled at home overnight, using as much power as a small appliance or A/C unit.
In the long term, EV are much more cost and time effective. Finally, ask real EV users and see how happy they are!