Electric Vehicles: Where Do We Stand, and Where Are We Headed?

 

With gas prices continuing to linger at high levels, more people than ever are thinking and talking about electric vehicles as they seek relief from costly visits to the pump. The auto industry has taken notice, with many manufacturers laying out plans to convert most of their fleets to EVs over the coming years. Ford said last year that it will make an $11 billion investment in two manufacturing plants devoted to EVs. That initiative is expected to result in 40 percent of Ford's worldwide vehicle sales being EVs by 2030. The move is also projected to create 11,000 jobs. General Motors plans to make only EVs by 2035. Federal lawmakers have taken note too, having recently passed legislation that will devote billions toward EV infrastructure.  So what should people know about EVs? First, EVs are widely considered to be classified in one of three ways: plug-in hybrid vehicles (which still use some gasoline), hybrids (which also use some gasoline but do not need to be plugged in to an electrical source) and battery-electric vehicles (which use no gasoline at all). While interest in EVs has risen in recent years, challenges to making them more ubiquitous remain. Primarily, there aren't enough electric charging stations available. Estimates show that there are about 46,000 charging stations in operation, compared with about 150,000 gas stations.  Additionally, the fossil fuel industry, as one might expect, isn't exactly fully onboard with the EV movement. Oil and gas companies see their future as being uncertain as society moves away from fossil fuels.  At the retail level, gas stations also don't know what the future might hold for them. Perhaps they can install electric charging stations to supplant gas pumps. But this conversion could be costly and ultimately not profitable enough to be a wise business decision.  Gas stations might also not be a primary source of charging for EVs, as other public locations (offices, restaurants, retail spaces) may continue to set up charging stations for the convenience of their clients.  It's important to note, though, that charging stations aren't "one size fits all." There are different charging types with different costs and their capacity to juice up vehicles fully can vary.  For example, the Tesla Supercharger can charge up to 200 miles in 15 minutes, but can only be used by Teslas.  If you want to learn more about EVs, there are resources available. The International Energy Agency, the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency all offer helpful information about this growing industry.