The future of the electric car market in the USA

The future of the electric car market in the USA is looking bright and the most recent updates in the EV technology suggest the possibility of doubling or even tripling the electric vehicle stock within the next seven years. It has been estimated that the current electric vehicle stock in the USA could grow to approximately 1.5 million units by 2025. This would represent a 100% growth in the stock compared to 2015. This level of growth is in stark contrast to the overall demand for the American passenger car market which stands at about 1.2 million vehicles per year.

Increasing Demand for Luxury Cars

An increasingly large proportion of the luxury market is now being satisfied by the advent of electric cars. This is partly due to the declining cost of the technology but also a result of changing consumer expectations. The original wave of luxury electric cars were all geared towards driving in an urban environment. This was not of any particular necessity but the technology was relatively new and the concept of driving an electric vehicle in a city environment was something that hadn’t yet been established.

The emergence of low cost electric cars (Alternative economies for a sustainable world) now mean that the potential market for the luxury electric car is much wider. This allows for more options to be made available to the consumer and allows them to choose the most appropriate option for them. It also allows manufacturers to target more of the high income demographic who are prepared to pay more for the luxury of an electric car. The premium price for electric vehicles comes from the premium quality of the technology and its environment friendly status.

The future looks bright for the electric car industry in the USA. The high demand that currently exists is forecast to rise steadily over the next few years and the trend is likely to continue over the next twenty years. By the mid 2020s, the number of vehicles on the road is expected to be so large that even with a further increase in the number of electric cars, there will not be sufficient charging infrastructure to satisfy the demand. A further problem is that the quality of infrastructure is likely to be worse than what is available now. There is also the possibility that these shortages could lead to the adoption of low quality chargers that are better suited to fast charging rather than long charging.

The race to the top

In a recent survey carried out by the Royal Automobile Club, one of the main challenges that American electric car manufacturers face is the lack of consumer confidence in the technology. In general, American drivers are much more familiar with petrol and diesel cars as a result of their decades long presence in the market. There are many people in the USA who are not yet convinced that electric cars are the right option for them. Their choice of car is influenced by the range of cars that they can buy at a reasonable price and a lack of awareness is preventing more people from making the switch.

The USA is renowned for its innovative engineers and it is this that could help to resolve the challenges that manufacturers face. Already, several major car manufacturers have launched new and innovative plug-in hybrid electric models which are available for those who want to move away from the internal combustion engine. These models are still expensive but they do offer an alternative for those who want a hybrid vehicle but not the costs of a full electric vehicle. As the technology becomes more affordable, the need for charging points will become less significant and this could reduce the overall cost of owning an electric vehicle. There will still be some adjustment needed in the American public to support this changeover but we are clearly moving towards a situation where petrol and diesel cars will become a rarity in the US.

There are currently a number of innovative hybrid cars available in the USA that are being designed to help to overcome the range limitations that electric cars sometimes face.