Study: Only Five Countries Sold Over 10K PEVs In 2014
Plug-in vehicles may be doing well as of late in the sales game, but a study by The Research Capsule says their gameplay needs more work.
According to AutoblogGreen, the group says only five countries have sold over 10,000 PEVs in 2014, which are likely the United States, China, Japan, Norway and France, respectively; the report costs $7,000 for a site license, so AutoblogGreen relied on sales blog EV Sales for its information regarding those countries.
The one useful (free) information from the press release focuses on geographic distribution of overall PEV sales. For example, 50 percent of the 100,000-plus plug-ins sold through November in the United States are in California. Meanwhile, Norway adopts technology left and right, while Sweden is still trying to figure out how to flat-pack a PEV for sale at IKEA, with an appropriate all-caps Viking name to match.
As for when things may improve, The Research Capsule forecasts it would take 10 years or more for PEVs to go mainstream, and that only one country “will break 10 percent of all vehicle sales during the coming five years.” The forecast is an extrapolation of one made by the group regarding sales through 2017.
Seattle-based writer, blogger, and photographer for many a publication. Born in Louisville. Raised in Kansas. Where I lay my head is home.
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I've seen one of these BMW E-Car thingies driving around a quaint suburb of St. Louis. It was all white. There may or may NOT have been doors on it. It was the most bizarre thing. I could almost hear my fellow Missourians gasping in horror. The passengers looked fairly uncomfortable riding in the monstrosity, too. It turned out to be some sort of a gimmick or something to draw in the crowds at one of the local dealers. In reality, I suppose Muffy could drive it down the mile long driveway down to the gate to get the mail. Otherwise, what the hell...??
It's nonsensical to discuss EV volumes among markets whose size varies by 10 or 20 to 1. It only makes sense to discuss sales percentages. Norway leads on that score.
When the first manufacturer presents a "Leaf-Priced" a PEV with a guaranteed 100-mile (worst case) range for sale, I think they'll sell a boatload of them. Heck, if I'm still working, I'd consider one myself.
I guess that my last "salient" comment is being masticated by the system. One thing that I haven't seen is any (wild-ass) speculation on whether the US+European and Saudi govt's are colluding on this to put the squeeze on Putin; though there is some worldwide financial "churn" as a result.