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

  • Mobility, autonomous vehicles, connected cars and big data analytics ‘present growth opportunities in 2017’
    June 8, 2017
    New research by Frost & Sullivan indicates that e-mobility solutions, autonomous vehicle technology, and other digitisation advances are creating new and exciting opportunities in the automotive industry.
  • Plug-in EV sales in North America ‘expected to exceed 1.1 million by 2024’
    May 29, 2015
    According to a new report from Navigant Research, North American plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) sales are expected to exceed 1.1 million annually by 2024. The report, Electric Vehicle Geographic Forecasts, analyses the North American market for light duty plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs), including detailed geographic forecasts of PEV sales by US state, metropolitan statistical area (MSA), Canadian province, Canadian city, and selected utility service area.
  • In-car navigation market bottoms out
    August 8, 2012
    The total in-car navigation market has been in continual decline for the last three years, but ABI Research believes it has now reached its lowest ebb. While pure navigation is unlikely to reach the highs of 2008 again, the overall market is reaching a revenue plateau, creating a solid platform on which connected in-car services can bring a new generation of revenue growth. Senior analyst Patrick Connolly stated,” When we look at the decline from 2008 to 2011, there is a perfect storm of economic conditions
  • Over nine million hybrid cars will be made in 2027 - each with a range extender
    June 6, 2017
    Research firm IDTechEx believes we are in the decade of the hybrid electric vehicle, despite the fact that most off-road, electric two-wheelers and underwater vehicles are pure electric. Indeed, most electric aircraft are pure electric as well.