Pay Less at the Pump: The Hybrid Revolution
(Page 7 of 8)
October/November 2005
By John Rockhold
A HESITANT AUTO INDUSTRY
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So why don’t all hybrids get this kind of mileage? The whole industry — not just Toyota — took great lengths to distance itself from the plug-in idea because automakers felt Americans wouldn't cozy up to the idea of plugging in their vehicles each night, and because the cost of the higher-voltage batteries is currently prohibitive. The lithium-ion batteries found in the Energy CS Prius at the Tour de Sol, for instance, cost $15,000 alone, and they weigh 160 to 190 pounds more than the standard Prius battery pack.
“We think the plug-in concept is interesting, and Toyota will be doing its own research into it,” says Cindy Knight, a spokesperson for Toyota. “But we see a big distance between tinkering with a prototype and bringing one to market. When better breakthroughs in technology become available, we’ll be interested.” In fact, a number of environmental organizations, such as the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, are researching the long-term viability of plug-in hybrids.
THE PLUG-IN REVOLUTION
While major automakers claim current plug-in hybrids are too costly to successfully market, CalCars is busy trying to narrow the cost gap through incentives, subsidies and rebates from public and private sources. Kramer says eager plug-in hybrid buyers are the key piece of the puzzle to reach mass production. On the commercial side, Energy CS’s newly formed company, EDrive, has successfully demonstrated the effectiveness of the technology — proven by the company’s finish in the Tour de Sol. In 2006, EDrive intends to sell its plug-in conversion services to Prius owners for about $12,000. While the price of such a conversion is steep, the goal not only is to revolutionize the market, but also to convince large automakers such a market exists. Once EDrive can show interest and investment in its own plug-in conversion kit, related products will enter the market at increasingly competitive prices.
“Our goal is to persuade Toyota and other automakers to build plug-in hybrids for a market we expect to expand as state and international greenhouse gas initiatives are phased in,” Kramer says. “We’re exploring with public officials ways to provide incentives to automakers to build them. We’re demonstrating demand initially from early-adopter individuals and institutions.” One organization helping to promote the plug-in hybrid concept is the South Coast Air Quality Management District, which gave Energy CS $130,000 to convert four Priuses to plug-ins that will be tested in several car fleets.
MAKING PLUG-INS AFFORDABLE
The high cost of plug-ins is directly related to their increased number of batteries, and the availability of affordable advanced battery technology will be a crucial challenge to the growth of the plug-in market. But battery technology is improving rapidly, and when combined with larger scales of production and more dollars for research and development, the upfront cost of lithium-ion batteries could be reduced.
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