2025 – Tipping Point For Electronic Vehicles

In 2016, 17.6 million new cars and trucks were purchased in the United States. Only 159,000 (0.9%) of the new vehicles purchased in the United States in 2016 were electronic vehicles (EVs). Why were so few EVs purchased, given the overwhelming concern over the environment and global warming? America’s reticence to purchase an EV include the following:

1. Price – A mid-size EV costs 30% to 50% more than a similar sized automobile with an internal combustion engine (ICE).
2. Limited Driving Range – The average EV can run for 40 to 200 miles on one charge.
3. Battery Charging Time – Time to charge an electric car can take as little as 30 minutes and up to 12 hours. The time it takes to charge depends on the size of the battery and the speed of the charging point.
4. Charging Stations Standards – The availability of fast charging points has in part been held up by the lack of an agreement among automakers on a universal method for fast charging and on standardization on a single electrical connector.

Major automobile manufacturers in Asia, Europe and the United States, as well as technology giants like Alphabet, Google, Microsoft, and Tesla are spending billions of dollars to make EVs the preferred automobile for consumers. The trillion-dollar question is when will new technology make the purchase of an EV more appealing than the purchase of an ICE? The “when” is called the tipping point.

Nissan Motor Company (Nissan) believes the cost of an EV will be the same as an ICE in 2025. EV battery manufacturers forecast dramatic improvements in increased driving ranges and shortened charging times will occur before 2025. Nissan Motor Company (Nissan) is a multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Japan. Nissan is the largest EV manufacturer in the world, including the manufacturer of the top-selling EV model, the Nissan Leaf.

Charging station standards and the number of charging stations may become the last impediment to the America’s EV tipping point. In my opinion, 2025 may be the tipping point for EV purchases in America.