Reality Check on Electric Cars : GM’s new auto could provide a key test of consumer market
The rubber is about to hit the road for electric cars. The announcement last week that General Motors Corp.’s latest zero-emission vehicle will debut in Southern California auto showrooms by November is welcome. It injects a long-awaited dose of reality into debate and policy decisions that, until now, have been based on assumptions about the presumed potential of this technology rather than experience.
The new GM EV1, to be marketed by Saturn Corp. here and in Arizona, will be the first all-new electric vehicle sold in the United States since the early 1900s, according to company officials. The sleek two-seater incorporates specifically engineered features, including a light, all-aluminum frame, low-resistance tires and the most aerodynamic design of any car now on the road, they say.
EV1 will carry a $35,000 sticker, and federal, state and local purchase incentives will bring the final price closer to $27,500. Saturn, however, initially plans to lease rather than sell the EV1. The lease package, including a home charging unit, will cost about $450 monthly for 36 months.
GM will not own the spotlight in the electric car market for long. Honda plans to introduce a four-seat vehicle next year with an advanced battery that will increase driving range. Ford, Chrysler, Nissan and Toyota are also developing electric vehicles, with sales initially intended for the commercial fleet market.
Will there be enough action in the showrooms to jolt the electric car market to life? Saturn has received more than 1,000 inquiries about this model from interested consumers. Company officials say they consider about 300 of them serious prospects.
The debut of GM’s car comes just seven months after nervous state officials postponed from 1998 to 2003 a mandate to require introduction of zero-emission cars by auto makers as part of their overall sales fleet. At the same time, the auto makers promised to voluntarily introduce prototype electric cars--in undisclosed quantities--over the next few years.
Creating a viable market for these vehicles has long been a chicken-or-egg problem: Do you mandate production of the cars and assume consumers and convenient charging stations will inevitably follow, as many environmentalists insisted? Or do you wait for consumer demand to develop the size and scope of the market, as auto makers and state officials insisted? Introduction of the GM car should provide new information in the debate and give a signal about the potential of the market.
