By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Electric vehicles are not the newest thing in automotive transportation. They are, in fact, one of the oldest versions — a vintage innovation now coming back into its own.
Brett Kime, sales manager at Thayer Chevrolet in Bowling Green, addressed the Bowling Green Exchange Club recently about the current state of electric vehicles.
He noted that the first electric auto was invented in 1850, and that by the early 1900s, about 30 percent of cars in urban areas were electric powered.
Then came Henry Ford and the economies of scale. That took its toll on all rival automakers. A Model T rolled off the assembly line with a $500 price-tag. A comparable electric car sold for $2,000.
Then the global disruptions caused by two World Wars upset the supply change for the precious metals needed for the electric vehicle batteries, Kime said.
During the oil crisis in the 1970s, some interest in the technology came back, but it wasn’t until the first decade of the 21st century when concerns about climate change increased that serious consideration of electrically powered vehicles took off with the Toyota Prius leading the way.
Still adoption has been slow as of the technology evolved.
The category includes three different types.
The straightforward electric vehicle, the EV, is powered only by electricity and must be plugged in. The hybrid combines electric and gas. The engine produces an electric charge in the course of operation which reduces the amount of gas the vehicle uses. A hybrid gets can get more than 50 mpg.
Then there’s a plug-in hybrid, such as the Chevy Volt and the Prius Prime, which some advocates see as the best option, Kime said. The vehicle is plugged in and that gives the vehicle a limited driving range on electric power. After that it transitions to either a gas engine or a hybrid system.
Kime said his dealership sells a one or two EVs a month compared to about 20 other vehicles, which may include hybrids.
One of the hurdles electric vehicles face is the need for charging. When the Nissan Leaf came out in 2011, it had a driving range, depending on the battery selected, of 50-70 miles, and it took eight hours to charge.
Kime said since those early days there have been “vast improvements in charging.”
Now an EV has a range exceeding 300 miles and can charge enough for 100 miles of range within 10-15 minutes. And the number of charging stations, including using the most efficient level 3 Tesla Super Charger, has increased.
EVs are here to stay, he said.
Manufacturers are investing in the technology, and the government has been encouraging that.
California has been the most stringent with a goal of banning the sale of gas powered vehicles by 2035.
As noted by Michele Raine, an Exchange member, there are still questions about their environmental impact. She was told 10 years ago that driving an EV meant driving a coal-powered vehicle.
Kime said that, yes, in Ohio the source of the electricity for plug-ins is largely coal or nuclear.
Some owners, though, have installed solar panels on their homes to provide the power to charge their EVs.
The price of an EV has gone down. They start at $35,000, and if they qualify for the $7,500 government subsidy that reduces the price more. To qualify for that assistance, though, final assembly of the vehicle must be in the U.S. and a certain percentage of the precious metals in the battery must be American sourced.
Owners of EV and hybrids also pay higher fees to register their vehicles. That offsets the gas tax that they don’t pay. Those fuel taxes are needed to fund road maintenance.
EVs and hybrids are making up a greater share of the nation’s fleet, Kime said, though nowhere near the 30 percent at the beginning of the 20th century.
Consumers still have a lot of questions about the technology that’s why the Thayer Family dealerships which sell Chevrolets, Toyotas, Hondas, and Chryslers, will host special events to showcase the range of electric vehicles.
