http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/ci_23807227/hybrid-ev-car-sales-ramping-up-slowly
By Kevin Smith, August 6, 2013
The charging cable on a
Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid car on display during the second press
preview day at the 2012 North American International Auto Show January
10, 2012 in Detroit, Michigan.
Herlica Garcia can still remember her daily commute from Downey to Rancho Cucamonga.
In her Nissan Murano, the 90-mile roundtrip was
costing her $70 a week. But that was before she bought her 2010 Toyota
Prius III, which whittled that down to about $10 to $15 a week.
The 31-year-old Downey resident, who now works in Torrance, said her hybrid has made all the difference.
"Now I'm getting 49 to 51 miles per gallon," she said.
"It runs really smooth. I went to Texas and back a couple years ago
with my son, my sister and her two boys for about $220 round trip. Gas
was a less expensive back then, but even today it would still cost less
than one airline ticket."
Hybrids and electric vehicles have been heavily
promoted in recent years with incentives and discounts that are designed
to spur consumers to buy them.
It all plays into the nation's push to reduce
emissions, become more fuel efficient and lower our reliance on foreign
oil. But despite all of that, sales of hybrids and EVs still account for
a very small percentage of total U.S. auto sales.
Figures from
motorintelligence.com
reveal that just 3.6 percent (521,000) of the nation's light vehicle
sales in 2012 were hybrids and EVs. Total hybrid and EV sales through
June of this year accounted for 3.9 percent (308,000) of the
light-vehicle mix.
Those numbers were up from 2011 when hybrid and EV sales hit 295,978, or 2.3 percent, of total light vehicle sales.
Not a huge uptick, but industry experts say sales are beginning to ramp up.
"They are increasing significantly," said Todd
Leutheuser, executive director of the Southland Motor Car Dealers
Association. "The incentives are strong enough that Chevy Volts are
moving extraordinarily well and the Toyota Prius is off the charts -- it
could almost be its own brand."
There's no denying the efficiency of hybrids. A recent
issue of US News & World Report ranked the 2013 Ford Fusion hybrid
No. 1 out of a list of affordable, mid-sized hybrid vehicles.
With an average price ranging from $26,851 to $31,526,
the Ford Fusion hybrid was touted for its "excellent fuel economy,
strong performance and great reliability." The car is powered by a
four-cylinder engine and electric motor that together produce 188
horsepower.
At 47 miles per gallon in both the city and highway, the 2013 Fusion Hybrid has one of the best fuel ratings in its class.
The Fusion was followed in the rankings by the 2013
Hyundai Sonata hybrid, the 2013 Toyota Camry hybrid and the 2013 Toyota
Prius V hybrid.
Others on the list include the 2013 Kia Optima hybrid, the 2013 Volkswagen Jetta hybrid and the 2012 Nissan Leaf.
Peter Smith, a sales and leasing consultant at
AutoNation Ford of Valencia, said people are becoming increasingly
comfortable with the idea of buying hybrids.
"Consumer confidence in hybrids is increasing," he
said. "Everybody is coming out with hybrids. It's become tested and
reliable technology. People are becoming more and more fuel conscious,
and even wealthy people have become more practical, more conservative
and more eco-minded."
It certainly doesn't hurt that automakers like Ford
and Toyota offer a warranty of eight years or 100,000 miles on their
hybrid components.
That extended warranty will likely put many consumers
at ease because the replacement cost for hybrid batteries can range from
$1,000 to $6,000 depending on the year and model of the car.
"The big concern is the battery," Smith admitted. "But
with an eight-year warranty ... that's a long time to have the same car
these days. And if you actually had to replace it after eight years,
chances are good that the prices will have come down by then. It's a lot
like computers."
And much like computers, prices for hybrids cover a
broad range. The US News & World Report ranking lists affordable,
mid-sized hybrids that range in price from $18,936 to $24,005 for the
Honda Insight, all the way up to Toyota Avalon hybrid, which can run as
much as $39,626.
On Tuesday, General Motors announced that is is
knocking 13 percent off the price of its 2014 Chevrolet Volt. The $5,000
discount will push the starting price down to $34,995, including
shipping.
Ford, Toyota, Honda, Chevrolet and others also offer
plug-in hybrids, which require the owner to plug in the vehicle to
recharge the electric battery. With standard hybrids the gasoline engine
and breaking system automatically recharge the electric battery.
Marc Geller, a spokesman for the Electric Auto
Association, said sales of plug-in hybrids and EVs are taking off much
faster than traditional hybrids did when they were first introduced
around 2000. He explains it this way:
"Grid electricity here in California is so much
cleaner than petroleum and there is no question about the environmental
benefits," he said. "They are zippier than most gas cars, they're fun to
drive and you never have to go to gas stations."
That may be true. But the vast majority of consumers
still have "range anxiety" when it comes to pure EVs. They worry about
the limited network of charging stations.
"I think
for most people EVs are still viewed as too risky," Smith said. "They
feel there is always that chance that you'll be stuck somewhere."
Geller admitted that EVs are not for everyone. But the concerns about charging stations are somewhat overblown, he said.
"The truth is that about 80 to 90 percent of charging
is done at home or at work," he said. "It's the most the convenient
place and the cheapest place. Even with a 120-volt plug you can regain
25 to 30 miles of charging in the course of a workday. And if you go to
plugshare.com
it has a map that shows you the public charging infrastructure. You'd
probably be amazed at how much there is. And you have to remember that
we're still at the beginning of this."
Geller said consumers who invest in a 240-volt home
charging station -- the units range in price from around $300 to $2,000
-- can recharge their EVs fairly quickly.
"You can fully recharge a Volt or Leaf in three to four hours," he said. "The average cost for that equipment is about $600."
Ed Kjaer, director of transportation electrification
for Southern California Edison, said nearly 13,000 of the utility's
customers are plug-in users who drive either plug-in hybrids or EVs.
"Thirty-five percent of them are pure EVs and the
other 65 percent are hybrids," he said. "Range anxiety is the No. 1
concern, but what we're finding is that when customers get used to the
technology that goes away."
Kjaer noted that 70 percent of the nation's workers commute less than 40 miles a day.
"If you charge your car every night at home, a typical
EV has an 80- to 100-mile range," he said. "So even if you didn't have
access to public charging you'd still have plenty of juice in the car.
And there's a lot of free charging out there. Many companies are
choosing not to charge for that at the moment."
Kjaer is encouraging EV users to use the "end charge"
programing feature on their vehicles. That randomizes the start time of
their charging, which prevents a large number of EVs from coming online
at the same time, thus avoiding power-load spikes.
There are plenty of reasons why consumers have turned
to hybrids and EVs. But as is often the case with consumer movement ...
follow the money.
"Hybrids probably account for no more than 10 percent
of our total sales, but it bounces up when gas prices get closer to $5 a
gallon," said Steve Fong, sales manager at Sierra Honda in Monrovia.
Garcia said her move to a hybrid was also motivated by finances.
"The money I was spending before is what prompted me
to get the hybrid," she said. "And I'm not only saving money -- it's as
roomy as my Murano."
