Are electric cars the future of driving? Experts disagree:
As Nissan prepares to sell its Leaf electric sedan it predicts electrics will account for 10% of the auto market by 2020. That means you’d see them about as often as you see Honda vehicles today. But some analysts and industry insiders put the expected market share at about 2% — about the same as Mazda or Subaru. Essentially it’s the difference between seeing them “all the time” and seeing them “once in awhile.”
Jonathan Welsh, the writer, is “just waiting for something cooler than the Leaf, with better battery range than the Chevy Volt and more interior space than the models BMW is test marketing” — which, I commented there, is a mistake:
If you want better battery range than the Chevy Volt, I suggest that you’re looking in the wrong direction. Batteries are extremely heavy and expensive for the amount of energy they store, while gasoline and diesel are extremely light and inexpensive for the amount of energy they store.
If anything, the Volt should have less battery range and rely more on its gasoline generator. If you’re always using batteries, you’re carrying too many heavy batteries around.