Skip to main content

Electric and petrol-powered cars could be price-competitive in 2017

New projections from US advocacy group the Electric Coalition indicate that the cost of owning an electric car is on its way to becoming competitive with petrol-powered cars. The coalition teamed with professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) to calculate expected costs of several types of compact cars, pitting battery-electric against internal combustion engines, plug-in hybrids and hybrid vehicles. Including cost of purchase, fuel, maintenance, federal tax credits and residuals, the data sho
July 29, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
New projections from US advocacy group the Electric Coalition indicate that the cost of owning an electric car is on its way to becoming competitive with petrol-powered cars.
 
The coalition teamed with professional services firm 5019 PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) to calculate expected costs of several types of compact cars, pitting battery-electric against internal combustion engines, plug-in hybrids and hybrid vehicles. Including cost of purchase, fuel, maintenance, federal tax credits and residuals, the data show the cost of owning petrol-powered vehicles continuing to rise through 2024 as costs for hybrids, plug-in hybrids and pure electric cars decline dramatically.
 
“In this analysis, we also saw that battery electric vehicles should have a total cost of ownership that is competitive with internal combustion engines in 2017,” said Jonna Hamilton, the coalition’s vice president of policy.
 
On the production side, that trend is reflected in lithium-ion battery prices, which have dropped from about US$1,000 per kilowatt-hour in 2008, to US$600 per kWh today. Hamilton said analysts expected that price to fall even further, to between US$300 and US$325 per kWh by 2020.
 
The EV market is already showing gains in popularity among consumers as production costs fall and drivers take advantage of remaining rebates and dirt-cheap leasing deals.

Hamilton said more than 110,000 plug-in vehicles were sold in the US over the last two and a half years.
 
Future reports in the collaboration between the Electrification Coalition and PwC will further examine battery costs and sales and evaluate the infrastructure needed to support the market’s growing fleet of electric cars.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Panasonic to supply battery cells for Ford’s hybrid and PHEVs
    March 22, 2012
    Panasonic Corporation has announced that it will supply lithium-ion battery cells for Ford Motor Company's hybrid and plug-in hybrid electricvehicles (PHEVs). The upcoming models of the Ford Fusion Hybrid Electric and C-Max Hybrid Electric as well as the Ford Fusion Energi and C-Max Energi plug-in hybrids will use Panasonic battery cells in combination with a gasoline engine
  • Trailer telematics a catalyst for fleet optimisation, Finds Frost & Sullivan
    July 2, 2012
    The trailer telematics market is fast developing into a major growth engine for the commercial vehicles telematics market in Europe. Immense opportunities await telematics vendors as a majority of the trailer population in Europe (as well as North America) remains underpenetrated. Within the trailer telematics market, trailer location and tracking is the most developed application. However, security concerns and the need for effective mobile asset monitoring and management are creating several new applicati
  • Autonomous driving and emissions regulations fuelling 48v power-net
    February 17, 2017
    The launch of autonomous vehicles and a host of electronic components render the current 12-volts (v) battery nearly unusable, says a new report by Frost & Sullivan, Strategic Analysis of the Global 48v Power-net Market. To meet stringent global emissions regulations and offer a basic semi-autonomous system, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) must electrify components while offering a bigger source of power. Therefore, OEMs plan to migrate to a 48v power-net and use two voltages. Heavy-duty, power-h
  • Elimination of electric vehicle systems
    June 24, 2016
    According to IDTechEx Research reports, Power Electronics for Electric Vehicles 2016-2026, Mild Hybrid 48V Vehicles 2016-2031 and Structural Electronics 2015-2025: Applications, Technologies, Forecasts”, el4ctric vehicles (EVs)have a cost challenge: hybrids have complexity problems meaning reliability and space issues. Extra power electronic units arrive for tasks such as a vehicle-to-grid, vehicle-to-house and inductive charging. Many more will be added in future such as regeneration modules - thermoelect