New York City early adopter demand to far outstrip electric vehicle supply

Filed under: EV/Plug-in

How much does learning about an electric vehicle (EV) change the chance that someone will want to buy an EV? According to a study conducted for the City of New York’s comprehensive sustainability plan called PlaNYC, by 21 percent. Of course, they also found that 18 percent of the population wanted an EV less after learning more about them. Besides EVs and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), PlaNYC looked at how moving more people onto the city’s money-saving public transportation and bicycles and getting more people to walk affect the city’s air quality. The city wants to understand these calculations because there is a goal in place to drop NYC’s greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent from 2005 levels in 2030. Since transportation accounts for so much of these emissions, figuring out the impact of plug-in vehicles - and all of the other options people have to get around - is a huge and important task. Here’s how plug-in vehicles might play a role:

For those New Yorkers that will continue to rely on the automobile for their mobility needs, these electric vehicles can offer an improvement over gasoline vehicles in reducing both urban pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, helping to meet the City’s PlaNYC targets. And, although they are currently more expensive to purchase than gasoline-powered vehicles, electric vehicles offer the potential to save drivers significant sums of money over time, in fuel and maintenance savings - by some estimates, electric vehicles may be 40% to 70% cheaper to operate, depending on gasoline prices and how far a driver travels each year.

Also, this:

Most New Yorkers do not own a car, and those who do may not drive them as far, or as frequently, as in other parts of the country. In addition, many New Yorkers park their cars on the street or in commercial garages. As a result, it is unclear who the target market for the first EVs would be in New York City, how many EVs would be purchased, what the key factors and barriers would be for early adoption, and how EV usage would impact our electrical grid. It is also not clear what incentives - infrastructure investments, subsi- dies, or other actions - may be needed to promote EVs.

Finally:

There is a potentially large group of early adopters willing to change behavior to accommodate electric vehicles. A distinct population of “early adopters” is very positive about electric vehicles and willing to change habits to adapt to the requirements of electric vehicles. This may include, for example, switching from an on-street parking space to one in a local parking garage to access necessary charging infrastructure. The research also has found that New Yorkers’ attitudes, rather than their driving or parking behaviors, are strong indications of their willingness to adopt electric vehicles. … The research projects that, by 2015, up to 14-16% of all new vehicles purchased by New Yorkers could be electric vehicles. Despite this strong interest from early adopters, only limited numbers and types of electric vehicles are expected to be offered in the New York region to meet projected demand.

So, automakers, get thee some EVs to NYC. More details can be had by downloading the PDF. Thanks to lne937s for the tip!

[Source: PlaNYC]

New York City early adopter demand to far outstrip electric vehicle supply originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Sat, 23 Jan 2010 12:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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