The PEV Collaborative has developed an actionable plan, “Taking Charge: Establishing California Leadership in the Plug-In Electric Vehicle Marketplace”, that it hopes will help California meet its energy, technology and environmental goals. The strategic plan was written by the PH&EV Research Center at the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Davis and guided by the Collaborative members. The Collaborative is now focused on implementing and the recommendations outlined in the strategic plan.
Taking Charge was funded through a grant from the California Energy Commission and prepared by Tom Turrentine, Ph.D., Director of the PH&EV Research Center, and a writing team including Ryan McCarthy, Ph.D. (Chief Writer), Kevin Nesbitt, Ph.D. (PEV Programme Advisor), and two loaned experts from the California Air Resources Board, Joshua Cunningham (technical analyst and writer) and Josh Boone (Executive Assistant for Plan Development). The project team was led and guided by of Diane Wittenberg, Executive Director and Chairman of the PEV Collaborative.
California has long been both a leader and a market for clean vehicles, If PEVs are going to be successfully integrated in large numbers into the automotive marketplace, a rapid, large-scale automotive transformation is likely to occur in California first. Indeed, the state has an opportunity to continue demonstrating cultural leadership and capitalise on the coming PEV market. It has the economic, political, social, and technological wherewithal to shape the market, affect desired outcomes, and position itself as an economic centre for PEV industries.
The Taking Charge strategic plan recognises California’s leadership in the marketplace, but also acknowledges that a sustained market for PEVs in California will take a concerted effort. “Multiple stakeholders are already working to create a strong foundation for the PEV market. This plan leverages their ongoing and extensive activities and recommends new actions that require their coordination. Their collaboration will help California Take Charge in the global transition to PEVs,” say the plan’s authors.
The plan aspires to facilitate PEV market growth so that, by the end of the decade, hundreds of thousands of PEVs are sold annually in California and the market contributes significantly to California’s ongoing economic, energy, and environmental policy objectives. Its strategic focus intends to solidify California as a technological, manufacturing, economic, and policy leader that benefits from — and shapes — the global PEV market for decades to come.
The Collaborative endorses a systematic, customer-focused approach to creatively overcome challenges in this new California marketplace where consumers enthusiastically adopt clean, cutting-edge technologies.
The roadmap envisages three key stages in this development. Firstly, the market is launched and within two years, the Collaborative envisages automakers sell several thousand PEVs annually to early adopters, and California accounts for 20% to 30% of PEV sales in the United States. “Early adopters’ experiences with PEVs meet or exceed their expectations. They become strong advocates for the technology and eagerly show off their PEVs to family, friends, neighbours, and co-workers,” estimate the authors of the plan. Subsequently, California initiates a comprehensive PEV consumer education programme, and businesses and municipalities incorporate PEVs into fleets, exposing their workers to the technology. “Altogether, these efforts lead to an ever-increasing awareness of PEVs and growing market demand among Californians.”
New models, better batteries and innovative financing
This first stage is followed by a period of market growth, during which automotive companies continue their vehicle rollout, offering new models, more advanced batteries, and second-generation designs, “encouraged by the overwhelmingly positive experience of California’s early adopters”.
The PEV Collaborative sees consumer markets expanding in response to new vehicle offerings, innovative financing that leverages operating cost savings to reduce upfront costs, and ongoing education, outreach, and visibility. Annual PEV sales grow to tens of thousands, and PEVs become a common sight in California communities.
In the final stage, pencilled in for 2020, a sustainable electric transportation system is ready to emerge. “As significant economic, energy, public health, and environmental benefits begin to accrue in California, the PEV market is ready for takeoff,” say Tom Turrentine and his team, who estimate annual PEV sales in California could run into the hundreds of thousands, with double-digit sales growth continuing.
PEVs go mainstream
By 2020, the PEV Collaborative expects automakers to be offering a wide range of vehicle models, as PEVs enter multiple market segments. Vehicles, charging infrastructure, and a clean electricity grid are fully integrated in a robust, scalable PEV market system. Mass-production of, and continued improvements in, automotive batteries bring PEV purchase prices down. Lifetime PEV costs are clearly competitive with conventional alternatives.
To realize the vision of success and achieve the goals of this plan, the plan authors warn that stakeholders must coordinate and act to overcome key challenges including: consumer education and outreach; reducing PEV costs and building markets; providing sufficient charging infrastructure; developing effective policy actions; and ensuring the safe, reliable, and efficient integration of PEV charging with the electricity grid. “Stakeholder actions should foster market conditions that attract private investment, innovation, and new business models that can drive mass market adoption of PEVs through cost reduction and improved consumer experiences,” they say.
One million PEVs by 2020
Nevertheless, the PEV Collaborative is confident in California’s ability to follow through with this plan, and fulfil the six key goals they have established. The plan authors believe California is capable of ensuring consumer experiences with PEVs are overwhelmingly positive; ownership costs of PEVs are competitive with conventional vehicles; PEV charging integrates smoothly into an increasingly clean, efficient, reliable, and safe electricity grid; PEVs advance energy security, air quality, climate change, and public health goals; early strategic action creates jobs and economic benefits in California; and the PEV market moves beyond early adopters to mainstream consumer. In achieving these milestone, they believe California is capable of supporting one million plug-in hybrid and battery-powered vehicles by 2020.
“California has led the world and the nation when it comes to green innovation and it is these types of bold and diverse partnerships that will move the next generation of clean vehicles forward. I applaud all of the PEV Collaborative members for coming together to provide drivers with cleaner, more efficient options,” Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger comments.
The Taking Charge strategic plan should not bee taken lightly, especially considering members of the PEV Collaborative include representatives of heavyweights from the automotive industry such as Robert Babik, Director (Vehicle Emissions Issues: Environment, General Motors), Nancy Gioia (Director - Global Electrification, Ford Motor Company) and Toshio Yoshidome (Vice President - Powertrain, Chassis, Regulation, Toyota). They are joined by a plethora of other members from the electricity sector, public entities, clean tech companies and academia including: James Boyd (Commissioner and Vice Chair, California Energy Commission), Anthony Eggert (Commissioner, California Energy Commission), Christine Kehoe (Senator, California State Senate), Doug Kim (Director - Advanced Technology, Southern California Edison), Jason Wolf (Vice President - North America, Better Place), Catherine Dunwoody (Executive Director, California Fuel Cell Partnership), and Mark Duvall (Director of Electric Transportation and Energy Storage, Electric Power Research Institute).
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