“PLUGGING IN” THE CONSUMER: THE ADOPTION OF ELECTRICALLY POWERED VEHICLES IN THE US INTRODUCTION U.S. consumer interest in non-fossil fuel vehicles is relatively positive. There are several issues that American faced about fossil fuel such as pollution, dependency on oil imports, concerns of how long fossil fuel supply will be worn-out and especially fluctuation of foreign-oil prices and the more expensive cost of fuel for American household. Some actions have been taken both by the policy maker such as formed an air pollution control department to reduce smog (in the City of Los Angeles, CA) and passed the Clean Air Act in 1970. Those efforts already reduced the car emission by more than 95%. The car manufacturer also took action by …show more content…
2 The News & Observer, John Murawski, 7 March 2011, All-electric Nissan Leaf makes Raleigh debut. Page 3 of 8 Pages IDEA GENERATION, SCREENING AND EVALUATION A number of different powertrain technologies held promise for lowering emission and increasing fuel economy such as: EV and fuel cell. Fuel cell is the most efficient powertrain among other. However, it also still has technological challenge such as bulky and expensive hydrogen-storage system, durability of fuel-cell system, the lack of infrastructure for producing, transporting and dispensing hydrogen to customers and also the high price of FCV compare to another option. With those issues, there is no intersection between the three components (Benefit, Form and Technology) that will come out as feasible potential new products. As the result, FCV-drivetrain technology will likely require another technology generation before it arrives. EVs are a prominent innovation. The pre-order of Nissan Leaf in the US was successful. About 20,000 limited U.S. models to be released this year have already been claimed in preregistrations. With the price tag of 32,780 and consumers can get a $7,500 federal tax credit, bringing the cost to $25,280. It will still become too pricey. However, the day-to-day energy savings appears to be the great allure with Leaf drivers3. Moreover, EVs experience a market adoption problem, to move from early adopters to mainstream buyers. In consumer’s perspective, EVs must
In this article “Why the Gasoline Engine Isn’t Going Away Any Time Soon,” Joseph B. White states that alternative energy cars could be the start of a revolution in the automaker world, however, complications interfere with the outcome. Although the author suggests different ideas on alternative vehicles, he contradicts himself numerous times while also lacking credibility of any sources.
The United States of America is one of the biggest automobile markets in the world. This trend has also created awareness for environmentalist to bring attention to rising level of pollution and emission within the cities and metropolis. As response, the U.S. Government is encouraging the automobile manufacturers to produce clean and renewable alternative vehicles that will drastically reduce pollution and emission. Subsequently, the automobile industry has witnessed a gradual introduction of environmental friendly vehicles that use clean and renewable energy to encourage less pollution and safer environment. The manufactures of these vehicles have introduced into the market three categories of electric passenger car
Electric vehicles began taking the market by storm when Nissan introduced its mass-production Leaf model in 2011. Since then, nearly every manufacturer has brought its own EV to the market. The future appears bright for EVs, especially as engineering improvements make them more efficient and cost-effective. That said, we will examine the good, the bad and the ugly of electric vehicles to help you make an informed decision about this emerging technology.
Cars and truck account for 20% of all U.S. global warming emissions, where more than 24 pounds per gallon of carbon dioxide and other global warming gases come right out of the car’s tailpipe (“Union of Concerned scientists”). This frightening statistic is part of the reason why the federal government has put in place many policies and incentives such as the Clean Air Act, The National Program for greenhouse gas emissions, Catalytic Converter Federal Laws, and incentives of $12,000 in California to get people to upgrade to more fuel-efficient cars. With such programs and incentives put in places, it is also important that car companies such as Toyota and Ford also take action to further cut pollution rates. They have done so by
The United States is one of the large fossil fuel consuming country. Most of the automobile vehicle in the country run on the fuels like gasoline and diesel. These fuels are responsible for the increase in pollution. The demand for this fuel is increasing day by day. It is necessary to find alternative fuels because at some point these fuels are going to end. To encourage users to use cleaner vehicles to avoid pollution federal and state governments provide users significant incentives.
In 2016, there were 17.55 million cars sold in the US and electric vehicles (EVs) made up less than 1%, accounting for 150,000 vehicles, – up from 17,500 sales in 2012. EV’s have been slow to capture market share, although their growth may allude to a tipping point in the near future.
The focus on the company’s homogenous products in trucks and larger vehicles switched attention in the North American portfolio to a new line of midsize cars. The global shift in market demands for smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles became even more apparent. Thus, began the production of the new Ford brands in Europe, Africa and Asia markets, of smaller vehicles to meet changing consumer preferences. These strategies proved to be very successful with the new fuel-efficient cars, such as, the Ford Focus and Fiesta. Ford is emerging as a market leader in the production of electric powered vehicles, which is a new segment in a growing environmentally friendly market.
The market of the luxury, all-electric sports vehicle lines is extremely competitive and Tesla’s Model S falls under all categories. Yet the demand for this vehicle type is high but volatile. Other automobile manufacturer’s research and development may lead to additional competition in the future.
The Nissan Leaf is a Zero-Emission electric vehicle manufactured by Nissan and was launched in Japan, the USA and Europe on August 2, 2009, (Mulcahy, 2013) though it has been a proponent of green technologies since after the Second World War and the oil price fluctuations. However, until 2012, only seven, of their more than 20 introduced concepts, went into production and only one, Nissan Leaf was successful. The car is sold in over 15 countries and has received many awards for excellence and Nissan claims that the car is over 90% recyclable. (Dekhordi, Yonekura and Kohnepushi, 2013)
In light of the constant rises in petroleum prices, climate changes and an economy recovering from the effects of the recent economic downturn, consumers have started to reconsider the usage of electric cars (Global EV Outlook, 2013). Electric Vehicles [EV] have been around since the 1830s, yet it is only recently that countries have experienced an increase in their production thus redefining tomorrow’s automobile and transportation industry. This year, the global production of EV is predicted to rise by 67% (IHS, 2014).
Electric cars have always been a thing of the future. The promise of a “green” mode of transportation is something that most people would love to have. Until recently, only a few manufacturers have even attempted the mass production of electric vehicles. The early attempts by General Motors (GM) in the 1990’s to mass produce electric cars mostly ended up in failure. Electric car customers were forced to deal with long re-charging times, a much lower range compared to gasoline powered cars, higher vehicle costs, and limited model styles to choose from. Though some were willing to make these sacrifices, the vast majority were not, which ultimately led to the end of electric vehicles 20 years ago.
There is a serious problem facing the world right now. It is air pollution. The number one contributor to this epidemic is automobile emissions. We have all heard of the issues that are involved with air pollution including the depletion of the o-zone layer, the green house effect, and acid rain. The problem has been scoped from every imaginable angle, and now it is time to solve the problem. I propose that each of the ‘Big Three’ (Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler) car manufacturers be required to have 10% of their product line as EV’s By the year 2010. I propose this because it will be the start of cleaner air, EV advancement, and awareness of EV’s and how they work.
When the automobile was introduced to the public, they immediately fell in love with it. It was a welcome miracle of science, clean, efficient and a reliable machine compared to the horse and carriage which required constant cleaning and a large place for storage. As more and more people acquired these machines, no one noticed the changes it made to the environment. The term smog was first used in California around the 1940’s to describe a yellow-brown haze that caused eyes to water, and headaches. It was found that the exhausts of the combustion engine brought forth this poison cloud that caused not only mild irritations but also had long lasting effects such respiratory problems and lung cancer. It wasn’t until 1965 when congress finally decided to do something about it and passed the vehicle air pollution and control act. Yet, it was not enough and so congress later decided that to further protect the environment and its citizens it needed to pass more laws. Laws that determined manufactures of the vehicle, safety, emissions and the use of any new technologies to help minimize the damage to the environment.
The problem for most people is that “Going Green” is not cost efficient, and most working families are unable to afford making the efforts. As of September 2015, there were over thirty models of electric cars. The world 's top selling highway-capable electric car was the Nissan Leaf, released in December 2010 (Schaal, 2015). The fact that the vehicle is powered by
The dependency on transportation in today’s society is quite remarkable. There are many forms that people take advantage of everyday including: planes, trains, and automobiles. Unfortunately, these diverse varieties of transportation do not run on imagination. For automotive vehicles, the most prevalent material used to operate are fossil fuels. There is a popular concern with the abundant reliance on these fossil fuels, which are a nonrenewable resource. The controversial usage has opened the discussion to alternative opportunities for fuel sources that, potentially, can replace the current fossil fuel being used in automotive vehicles. When considering the current market of cars, many have complaints in gas powered automobiles. There are many problems, commonly discussed, with emissions. Cars have a tendency to be harmful to the environment, and expensive to use frequently. This is where the alternatively powered cars are introduced into the conversation. There are multiple vehicles that can replace the prevalently operated, gas powered cars. However, alternatively powered vehicles must be considered in the same aspects a consumer would think about when buying a normal car. The buyer of automobiles, in the current market, look at the necessities that come with the maintenance and upkeep the car requires. Price, maintenance costs, insurance, incentives, and quality of life are