A REQUIEM FOR ELECTRIC CARS

California's regulators will decide in the coming months whether to back away from their requirement that by 2003, 10% of all cars and light trucks sold in the state be zero-emission vehicles. That would translate into approximately 22,000 battery-powered electric vehicles each year. The mandate, which has been postponed and watered down since it was issued in 1990, is expected to be a highly contentious regulatory issue. The auto industry argues that few consumers want battery-powered cars, while environmentalists contend that auto makers are not marketing the vehicles aggressively enough. Only 3,300 battery-powered electric cars were sold in the United States between 1996 and 1999. This article examines why consumers continue to shun battery-driven electric cars and why the outlook for them remains so cloudy. Auto makers are increasingly favoring hybrid engines, which combine a traditional gasoline-powered engine with an auxiliary electric motor. While California regulators are reluctant to do away with the zero-emission vehicle mandate entirely, they are likely to tone it down further by letting auto makers substitute more consumer-friendly hybrids that run on gasoline and whose electric motors recharge automatically during driving.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/1071393X
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This article was excerpted from "The Wall Street Journal."
• Corporate Authors:

  Urban Mobility Corporation

  1634 I Street, NW, Suite 500
  Washington, DC  United States  20006-4003
• Authors:
  • Welsh, J
• Publication Date: 2000-7

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: 2 p.
• Serial:
  • Innovation Briefs
  • Volume: 11
  • Issue Number: 4
  • Publisher: Urban Mobility Corporation
  • ISSN: 1071-393X

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air pollution; Automobile industry; Automobiles; Battery chargers; Consumer behavior; Consumer preferences; Electric automobiles; Electric batteries; Electric trucks; Environmental policy; Environmental protection; Exhaust gases; Gasoline engines; Hybrid automobiles; Hybrid vehicles; Light trucks; Pollutants; Regulatory reform; State laws; Zero emission vehicles
• Geographic Terms: California
• Subject Areas: Energy; Environment; Highways; Law; Policy; Vehicles and Equipment; I10: Economics and Administration;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00795740
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 27 2000 12:00AM