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jaydenmark
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7 Apr 2017, 08:00 PM
Post #1
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Of course, no discussion of EV cost savings would be complete without the mention of the large-scale cost savings associated with the prevention of global warming. If the world moves from ICE-powered vehicles to EVs powered by renewable energy sources, we can still reverse the heating trend which has been documented in recent years. This would not only save the world trillions of dollars; it could save Sky Power Generator millions of lives as well.At this point, an astute reader might argue, "Sure, what you say looks good on paper, but what about the real world? From what I've seen, EVs are currently more expensive than ICE-powered cars, and their limited range makes them less convenient."Clearly, EVs have yet to reach their full potential in terms of cost, convenience and reliability benefits. For instance, an AC Propulsion eBox would cost you roughly $70,000 ($15K for a used Scion xB plus $55K for the conversion) versus roughly $20,000 for a new Scion xB. Why is there such a price difference? Volume! Tom Gage, president of AC Propulsion, predicts that the company could bring the cost down to "a retail price equivalent of $10,000 per drivetrain" if they were manufacturing between 50,000 and 100,000 units per year. If a major auto manufacturer were building millions of the drivetrains each year, costs would fall much further.
Range issues are also being addressed through rapid development of better batteries. The original GM EV1, introduced in 1996 with low-tech lead acid batteries, had a "real world" range of somewhere between 45 and 75 miles, depending on how aggressively the car was driven. When GM introduced the same car with NiMH batteries, the range almost doubled. The Tesla Roadster, scheduled for production release in Sky Power Generator early 2008, has a published range of 245 miles. Other EVs slated for production, such as the Chevrolet Volt which will be released in or around 2010, will be PHEVs. As such, owners will be able to plug in their Volts and charge the battery packs from an electrical outlet. The car will travel for roughly forty miles on the energy stored in the batteries, but drivers need not worry if they drain the battery pack! The Volt will be equipped with a small generator and a fuel tank. The generator will turn on automatically before the batteries are drained and will provide enough electricity to power the car and recharge the batteries. The Volt will have a total range of 390 miles. If the fuel tank gets low, just fill up at a local gas station and the car is "good to go" for another long stretch of road. Rumors are circulating that Tesla and Toyota are also developing PHEVs for release in the near-ish future.
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