Student Post: The Electric Car Strikes Back?

Recently, while perusing the “New Additions” section on Netflix, I came across a documentary entitled “Revenge of the Electric Car”.  In this 2011 follow-up to his popular documentary “Who Killed the Electric Car”, director Chris Paine documents the renewed efforts of the automotive industry to develop a commercially viable electric car.  Early in the film, Thomas Friedman, a New York Times columnist, states that “this is not a problem that is gonna be resolved by regulators and bureaucrats.  This is a problem that’s gonna be solved by engineers, innovators and entrepreneurs.”  For the most part, this particular line of thought is very much in line with the reading “Struggling Past Oil”.    

It is quite apparent that electric cars are the best solution for the problem of reducing the dependence on oil.  The existing infrastructure, the environmental benefits, and the existing and developing technologies have already begun to turn the market towards more efficient vehicles.  The relative stability of the price of electricity, and the fact that there are no emissions from vehicles running solely on energy make it preferable to alternative fuels such as ethanol.   

The one point of the reading which I disagreed with was the proposition of adding an additional tax to gasoline in order to fund alternative non-oil sources of transportation fuel.  It seems that the reading’s suggestion of “allowing the markets to work” is contradicted by the imposition of an additional government tax.  A functioning market should be able to correct itself without punitive taxes.

The public has been fairly receptive to the electric car’s resurgence.  The overriding concerns with the electric car are convenience based.  Addressing these concerns should fuel consumer demand for the vehicles without increasing the average American’s tax burden.  Fuel ranges on a single charge and charging times for batteries are the main gripes.  Currently, the Nissan Leaf, an all-electric vehicle, has a range of between 73 and 119 miles.  Nissan realizes that this is unacceptable to the average consumer; even more so when an overnight charge is involved.  Nissan is already researching and developing batteries which will increase the range of the vehicle.  While that technology is developing, Nissan is also developing a new technology that will fully charge the Leaf’s battery in approximately 10 minutes.  While that development may still be a decade away from making it to the marketplace, it shows that natural market forces are driving the demand for innovation without additional taxation. 

As oil prices continue to ebb and flow unpredictably, it seems likely that consumers will demand alternatives.  With several major auto manufacturers now producing at least one electric-gasoline hybrid or all-electric vehicle, it appears as though competition should be enough to drive innovation.  As Bob Lutz, a former Vice-Chairman of GM, has said, “the electrification of the automobile is a foregone conclusion.”