In The Slow Lane

Today's plug-and-play EVs range from glorified golf carts to "real" sedans with all the standard amenities. Yet unlike the green concept cars that generate buzz at motor shows (one being the 320kph electric supercar called Testla), they rely on off-the-shelf technologies incorporated into vehicles designed for quick local trips. Their target consumers already own conventional cars and therefore don't mind the standard EV limitations, especially when fuel costs and emissions factor into purchasing decisions. "Our challenge from the outset was to reduce the cost of green motoring with low-cost, entry-level products," says Keith Johnson, founder of the largest zero-emissions auto distributor on the planet today, London's GoinGreen. "We're selling an idea, not just a brand."

Technology is moving in the EVs' favor. Just as the shift to AC motors last year made today's plug-in cars true hill-climbers, improvement in energy management and storage could push up vehicle speeds and ranges. Though comparatively costly, lithium-ion batteries cut recharge times to three to four hours from the standard eight or nine hours needed to juice conventional lead-acid battery packs, and they deliver ranges of 113 to 160km. Maini expects today's medium-speed vehicles to evolve into cars capable of traveling 160-plus kilometers per charge and attaining speeds of 97kph for occasional freeway use. "That's both doable and cost-effective," he says, "and the cars we build will slowly trend toward that."

As London's emergence as the world's most EV-friendly city illustrates, the popularity of plug-ins owes much to public policy. The city's market was born when the government imposed a $16-per-day congestion charge on drivers traveling into the terminally clogged downtown area, but exempted zero-emissions vehicles. In response, GoinGreen cut a deal with Reva to import its prototype minicar. Branded the G-Wiz, it now sells for $18,000 in London but saves a daily city commuter some $3,000 per year in congestion charges, taxes, insurance and fuel costs. As a further inducement, several London boroughs have offered EV drivers free or discounted parking and installed plug-in recharging outlets commuters can use during the day. "This shows that if the incentive is big enough, people will change their behavior," says Ben Lane, a green-vehicle analyst at Ecolane Ltd. in London.

The British capital is a microcosm of what could happen globally. GoinGreen—which markets its vehicles directly to Londoners over the Internet—has now sold enough of them (more that a thousand) to offer after-sales services akin to those expected from traditional automakers. And the G-Wiz's success has attracted rivals to the market. One of them, a start-up called NICE (short for "no internal-combustion engine") launched a French-built commuter EV and two plug-in trucks last year. Projections suggest that as many as 10,000 electric cars could be plying London's streets by 2010. "The lesson from London is that it has to be a combo of private investment and public policy," says Johnson.

Elsewhere, however, policies are a hodgepodge. In Continental Europe, rules vary country to country. The use of electric bikes and scooters in China has exploded since 1999 from almost nothing to more than 15 million units sold in 2007. EV proponents cite this as an example of the huge potential market for cars. In Canada, home to two EV makers, every province but British Columbia still bans them from public roadways. In the United States, five states prohibit them outright, and all but two of the rest (Washington and Montana) limit their top speeds to 40kph, which makes them a much harder sell outside gated communities.

But change is in the wind. California, a bellwether state for automotives and much else, could soon launch a pilot program that would permit as many as 15 EV manufacturers to test-launch thousands of cars a year through 2012. The study is the brainchild of the Medium Speed Vehicles Working Group, whose membership includes EV dealers, environmentalists and local officials in places like Santa Monica and Santa Barbara. "Our goal is to get a large-scale, real-life test for zero-emissions vehicles underway," says group coordinator Russell Sydney. "We are confident that an advanced 35mph [56kph] electric car would be the safest thing on the road."

Steve Mayeda, head of sales and marketing at Seattle's largest EV dealer, MC Electric, knows what a regulatory opening can bring. Last August, the State of Washington approved a bill he championed that raised the legal speed of plug-in cars to 56kph. His business has since taken off as shoppers like Linda and Michael Pearce arrive in greater numbers. In December alone, the dealership sold 30 cars. "It was a Christmas thing," says Mayeda, confident that the rise of the electric city car is at hand. "It's happening, and we feel good about it." So will, no doubt, all those in favor of taking life slower, and greener.

© 2008