GM will do "heavy lifting" toward plug-in goal [w/POLL]
2011 Chevy Volt - Click above for high-res gallery
It's going to be awfully tough to hit President Obama's stated goal of one million plug-in hybrids on American roads by 2015. After all, that's just over five years away and there aren't actually any affordable plug-in-capable vehicles available as of today from a major automaker that meet the basic requirements of the average American household. This is slowly changing, but the clock is ticking. General Motors plans to do its part to make Obama's lofty objective a reality. Speaking to Reuters, Britta Gross, director of global energy systems and infrastructure commercialization at GM, said, "I can tell you we can definitely do the heavy lifting part of that. We definitely will lift up our end of that."
We don't doubt that General Motors truly desires to sell as many Chevy Volts as it can produce, but a number of obstacles still stand in the way of putting a million plug-ins on the road, not the least of which is the availability of large-scale automotive batteries. With that in mind, what are the chances that there will really be a million PHEVs on American roads by 2015?
Gallery: 2011 Chevy Volt
[Source: Reuters]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
John Lee 12:13PM (6/25/2009)
Fungible fuel will be the key to growth in the future.
Since the electrons in a chevy volt don't care how they are made, making them from coal, wind, sun, ethanol, natural gas, petroleum, geothermal, tidal, hydro - PHEV will be the NEXUS that connects nearly every source of energy we have. Our choice on how to fuel our cars WILL become the market where energy is traded.
I don't think that the broader society changing implications of this sort of fungibility is appreciated.
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Ken Muir 12:40PM (6/25/2009)
A million plug-in vehicles by 2015 is a stretch? You have got to be kidding me? I am constantly stunned by our generation’s timidity and total lack of vision.
I would think it valuable to know our history to allow us to be far bolder in our goals to move away from petroleum as a transportation energy source.
Hoover Dam was built in 5 years. 2 years ahead of schedule! It took slightly over 4 years to build the Golden Gate Bridge! Both projects happened in the 1930's with equipment that would be considered toys by today’s standards and while people were literally starving during the Great Depression.
I would recommend a book called Sly and Able, A Political Biography of James E. Barnes. While this man had more than a few shortcomings, he knew how to get things done. He was Franklin Roosevelt's point man in turning Detroit around in six months from building cars to building what would be the war machine that defeated Hitler and won World War II. That's six months folks! All it takes is a National will to not allow the giant multinational corporations that have grown to monster size since WW II to keep telling us tiny little goals cannot be met. Remember 51 of the largest nations on earth are actually corporations! Teddy Roosevelt enacted anti-trust laws for a reason and that was to keep just such a thing from happening.
The International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers lists 53,041,983 cars produced worldwide in 2007. This does not count commercial vehicle production of 20,059,712 vehicles.
With the right leadership, the top seven car makers could be making a million cars a year each by 2012 and they know it! They should be into the tens of millions by 2015.
It's a matter of will and simple scaled production! The public must demand that our political leadership force the automobile companies break their alliance with and commitment to big oil. That is the key that will turn the lock that opens the door to a cleaner brighter future for your kids and mine.
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Evie Futura 1:24PM (6/25/2009)
It is interesting the cost of getting to a million isn't emphasized more in the comments. With the Imiev at 40k plus and no volume offerings from any maker in the next two years, it doesn't seem that much will happen before the next presidential election in terms of huge volumes of autos. That is only three and a half years away and the campaign cycle starts literally a year ahead of time.
So very little other than trials for the next two years, huge spending on the development side, but economics unclear, and the proponents act like the cost is not object, it is a huge factor to how to phase electrics in reasonably and timing matters. It is not a question of what can we do but what should we do. Obviously incentives help but if you go crazy with a subsidy for a segment that is just not ready it can cost just too much.
polo 2:34PM (6/25/2009)
"With the Imiev at 40k plus and no volume offerings from any maker in the next two years, it doesn't seem that much will happen before the next presidential election in terms of huge volumes of autos."
What do you mean no volume offerings? In the next two years the imev (20,000 first year) and the volt (10K first year) will be produced, and both automakers expect to double that by their 2nd or 3rd. The Ford EV is also set to come out around the same time (2012) along with Tesla Model S and Chysler's own production EV. The plugin Prius will probably follow. There are at least 5 automakers planning volume EV production by 2012, with most planning to double production the follower year and/or offer additional EV models. If sales are good and the battery prices go down (as is expected) more automakers will jump and production will ramp up. 1mill by 2015 is highly possible, considering how EVs will help fleets meet the stringent CAFE emission and efficiency standards, and if another gas price shock happens.
And way to move the goal post - Obama said 2015, NOT before the next election.
paulwesterberg 3:55PM (6/25/2009)
Toyota will probably sell a million plug-ins all by themselves.
The 2011 prius, available for sale in the summer of 2010 should come with a slightly larger lithium battery pack, a plug and a software upgrade that allows more drive time in EV mode. If they can keep the price under 30k and have at least a 4kWh battery pack then the vehicle will qualify for federal plug-in incentives. Even a paltry 15-20 mile range would help many people to drastically reduce gas consumption so they only need to fill up once a month or for long trips.
Knuckles 1:54PM (6/25/2009)
James E. Barnes didn't have to contend with DOT, EPA, Consumer Protection and every liberal, politically correct, agency in existance today. With the government involved we would have "set-asides" for every minority you can imagine, regardless of their ability to produce, or not.
Government stands in the way of getting things done, not moving progress forward. Try building an atomic energy plant - you'll die of old age before all the the paperwork is done and approved.
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Chris M 11:15PM (6/25/2009)
This initiative comes from the head of Government, the President himself. But the resistance to change, the bureaucratic inertia, rarely comes from the top, it usually comes from the lower level functionaries, so I'm afraid you could be right about the roadblocks. Don't forget that some conservatives will also put up roadblocks, simply because they oppose Obama.
Snowdog 1:54PM (6/25/2009)
Didn't it take hybrids longer that that to reach a million? And plug in premium is trivial compared to the PHEVs.
In the end the behavior of the masses is driven primarily by price and PHEVs are too expensive to reach a million by 2015.
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Matt 1:59PM (6/25/2009)
Licensed Drivers in the United States: ~ 200 Million
1/200 = .005 or 0.5%
I think we could have one half of one percent of all people driving plug-in's within five years, easy.
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John Lee 2:00PM (6/25/2009)
Toyota and Honda have already sold 1,000,000 hybrid cars.
10,000,000 cars are sold in the US each year.
60,000,000 or more will be sold by 2015.
For electric drive cars, either EV or PHEV to consist of either 1 in 10 cars sold in just the year 2014 or 1 in 60 cars for the next six years does not seem a goal that would be in the range of ecconomically dangerous terrain.
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srue 2:08PM (6/25/2009)
It's very hard to make predictions, especially about the future.
Technology progresses both faster and slower than expected. I won't be surprised by either outcome. But if I had to speculate, I'd say that a million PHEVs by 2015 is well within our reach.
Also, I love polls!
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Jonas 3:12PM (6/25/2009)
"It's very hard to make predictions, especially about the future."
As opposed to predicting the present, which is easier, or the past, which is pretty much a Google search away.
win39 2:26PM (6/25/2009)
Really? A crystal ball poll? Polls are useful to find out attitudes or opinions, but a complete waste of time to predict the future. Suggestions for future polls:
Will the world end in in 2010?
Will someone leave me a large fortune in their will?
Will Britney Spears get religion and become a flamboyantly good nun?
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Brammofan 3:55PM (6/25/2009)
Does the "one million" figure include two-wheel plug-in EVs? If so, then I think it's possible by 2015, given the soon-to-be-released Brammo Enertia at Best Buy. Someone walks in for the latest Jonas Brothers CD, walks out, or more specifically, rides out on an Enertia. Anything is possible.
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lferguson 2:07PM (6/26/2009)
Can I get a non-plug in version of this car? I love the way this thing looks. Love the lights, love the design language and if this came out as a diesel or hybrid I'd abandon my plans to get my A3 TDI and seriously consider picking one of these up.
I know I'm not the only one. Come on GM, you've made your money on the back of repurposing stuff you've already made - the people want cake...now what are you gonna do?
Chance Stevens
Editor, http://www.tvlampsnbulbs.com
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daimyonintendo 1:25PM (7/03/2009)
Yea but the Chevy volt is still a step backwards. Like todays hybrids and electric vehicles are only electric assisted, I DONT WANT ANY KIND OF OIL BURNING ENGINE, THE OIL DAYS ARE OVER. I will buy a Tesla car over the Chevy Volt any day. I want 100% electric, no gas, no oil, no bullshit. Oil barons your time is over!
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