No, there are also problems that don't involve technology. Big cities are the main economic centres, the places that many people travel to or in to earn their income. But living in the city gets increasingly expensive as property value and taxes go up. Many people move out of the city to keep the cost of living down, which increases their commutes and affects their drivetrain choices. However, for those who still live in the city, they will be forced to eventually migrate to apartments and condos, but these places don't offer electrical outlets to the parking spaces. So, where do you go to plug-in? We may eventually see the day of five-minute recharge stations at gas bars, but I'm not holding my breath for that introduction to precede plug-in EV penetration.

In fact, the further out one lives from a centralized city, the more inefficient the travel, including bulking up on battery capacity.

 

In the US - the vast majority of people have access to an outlet at night. For a large portion of the population - they could be installed in garages pretty easily. Probably less than 10% of the population park their cars on a public street not in front of their house (ie where an outlet could be installed).

Apartment complexes would just put in assigned parking (which many already have) with a locked outlet. In some places - it might me a couple of quarters in a timed outlet rather than an individually metered one. Even this complicated start up cost is cheaper than good batteries.

Again in the US - the majority of us live in single family homes so it is easy to have market penetration of PHEVs while the apartments of the world are waiting to build the infrastructure.

 

I would like to know what the MPG on the volt is after the first 40 miles???

 

50+

Peace,

Martin

 

I don't see this as a huge obstacle / issue either. Thye type of dwelling people live in already provide limitations to the kind of vehicle they could own. 100% of homes/apartments do not have to be plug-in hybrid ready to make a viable market. I think one already exists.