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Plug-in Cars May Account for 22% of U.S. Auto Sales by 2030
2010-11-01 12:14:23.101 GMT
By Alex Morales
Nov. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Plug-in cars such as Nissan Motor
Co.'s Leaf model and General Motors Co.'s Volt could make up 9
percent of U.S. auto sales by 2020 and 22 percent in 2030,
Bloomberg New Energy Finance said.
Achieving that level of growth depends on rising gasoline
prices and the cost of batteries coming down, the analysis
company said today in an e-mailed statement. The price of
electric cars, higher than three-quarters of autos currently
being sold, is the most significant limiting factor, it said.
Next year "will see the launch of a large number of new
plug-in hybrid and electric vehicle models around the world,"
New Energy Finance Chief Executive Officer Michael Liebreich
said in the statement. "It's not just car companies who have a
lot riding on their success. Utilities, oil companies, whole
countries will feel the impact if there is rapid uptake."
New Energy Finance said its "base case" scenario assumed
retail gasoline prices per gallon of $3.34 in 2020 and $3.68 in
2030. A gasoline price of $5.48 in 2030 could spur electric cars
to take 31 percent of the market, while a price of $2.08 would
see that proportion fall to 14 percent, it said.
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--Editor: Reed Landberg, Alex Devine
To contact the reporter on this story:
Alex Morales in London at +44-20-7330-7718 or
amorales2@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Reed Landberg at +44-20-7330-7862 or
landberg@bloomberg.net.
