At Detroit Auto Show, Electric Vehicles Still Make A Splash
VIA Motors rolled out three new products on January 14 at the North American International Auto Show. VIA Motors is a company that converts trucks, vans, and SUVs into extended-range electric vehicles.
"Customers have to know you exist," said Lauren Flanagan, Executive Chair of Current Motor, an electric motorcycle company based in Ann Arbor, MI.
But while the major auto companies, with a few exceptions, rolled out prototype-only electric vehicles — from the BMW i-series to Smart’s not-yet-released electric-drive vehicle — Current is already shipping vehicles to consumers even while it improves on its proprietary electric motor. The electric motorcycles are selling to, "green, affluent, techie, early adopters who want a no-emissions vehicle," Flanagan said.
"I think what’s clear is the market’s real," Flanagan said. "It’s still an emerging market. It’s not big. It’s not going to be mainstream for some time until the cost of battery technology comes down and range is greater. The cost and the range anxiety are probably the two big obstacles to widespread adoption."
Electric vehicles will not become widely accepted by the public until they can go at least 300 miles on a charge, can be charged and ready to go within five minutes, and can be bought at a price comparable to their internal combustion cousins, according to Simon Ng, Director of the National Biofuels Energy Laboratory at Wayne State University in Detroit.
"The good news is battery costs [are expected] to be lower by fifty percent within the next couple years," Ng said. "However, improvement in energy density and fast charging technology have not progressed fast enough. There are issues of durability, safety, and replacement cost of battery; and that will take a few more years of intense research and development."
Flanagan’s solution is to begin with two wheels instead of four. The motorcycles are a gateway to the world of battery electric vehicles while the technology is improved. On two wheels, drivers are not going to go cross-country — fifty miles per trip is about the limit — but at just under $10,000 after tax credits, the price is more affordable than, say, $98,000 for an all-electric Tesla Model S.
And with "test pilots" scattered across the country reporting back on how the cycles ride for the past three years, Current has an advantage that many large car companies do not — actual wheels on the ground in customers’ hands.
Ng said that will change shortly, though, as more major car companies will produce electric-drive vehicles in 2013. Even though many are still in prototype phase, the point is to simply have some skin in the game, Flanagan said.
