Plugging In,
Dutch Put Electric Cars to the Test
Elisabeth Rosenthal
Source: The
New York Times
AMSTERDAM — When Patrick Langevoort’s company
issued him an electric
vehicle two years ago, the first months were filled with
misadventure: he found himself far from Amsterdam, with only a 25 percent
charge remaining, unable to find the charging point listed on a map. Though the
car was supposed to travel 100 miles on a full battery, he discovered that cold
weather and fast driving decreased that range.
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| Image Source: New York Times |
But electric vehicles have improved, the network
of charging stations in the Netherlands has
expanded and drivers like Mr. Langevoort are getting used to the
particularities of electric driving. “I used to be a real petrol head,” said
Mr. Langevoort, who works for a company that manages electricity networks.
“Now, I’ve sold my petrol car.”
Although a number of European countries and a
few American states are aggressively promoting the use of electric vehicles to
reduce planet-warming emissions and pollution, the Netherlands provides perhaps
the ultimate feasibility test. If electric vehicles catch on anywhere, it
should be here: a small country — about 100 miles east to west — with gas
prices of about $8.50 a gallon and a long tradition of environmental activism.
To encourage electric driving, the country is
developing a rapidly expanding national grid of charging stations in cities and
along highways; and Amsterdam offers owners of electric vehicles free street
parking and charging. With hefty tax breaks, promotional leases and cheaper
operating costs, the vehicles offer driving costs no more than those of
conventional cars, some analysts
say.
The number of plug-in electric vehicles in the
Netherlands soared
eightfold to about 7,500 last year, and charging posts dot the
sidewalks. “In a few countries you’re starting to see a number of E.V.’s on the
road, especially in capital cities; they’re very visible,” said Peder Jensen, a
transportation expert at the European Environment
Agency.
And yet, experiments with the cars
in the Netherlands and Denmark also underscore the challenges facing this new
technology. Sales have been lower than politicians and automakers hoped,
representing under 1 percent of new vehicles, even here. “It seems that the
industry has not convinced consumers that they can do this,” Mr. Jensen said.
“If they fail over the next few years, I think investors will pull out, and
that will be a problem.”
Last year
120,000 plug-in electric vehicles were sold globally, according to a recent
report by Pike Research, an industry analyst group,
which predicts 40 percent annual growth between now and 2020. In 2012, 52,000
were sold in the United States, which now has 12,000 charging stations,
according to the automotive consulting firm J. D. Power; but they are dispersed over a
large area. Those statistics include pure electric cars and plug-in hybrids,
which can run on gas or propane once the battery loses power.
Though many analysts had assigned electric vehicles to the
second-car niche, a 2012 survey of Dutch drivers of the cars by the consulting
firm Accenture found that most of them ended up being
used as a family’s primary vehicle.
Drivers learned to figure out how far they could drive on a
charge, overcoming what has been dubbed “range anxiety.” They started off
cautiously driving straight from home to the office, knowing they could charge
at one or both sites. Over time, they expanded their driving repertory,
learning where to find charging points in garages and along highways — a
smartphone app contains them all — much as people learn the locations of
convenient A.T.M.’s. That task was made easier by the growing number of chain
stores and restaurants offering parking spots with charging outlets, so that
customers can refuel while they dine or shop.
Still, a layer of complexity limits acceptance. “There’s
still some planning; it’s a bit like a puzzle,” said Maarten Noom, an Accenture
consultant who drives an electric vehicle. “It’s not the same ease of mind as
with a gas car.”
Mr. Noom, for example, charges at his office and overnight
at home, but he switches to a gasoline car when his appointments are scattered
around the Netherlands, since he sometimes drives hundreds of miles in a day.
Charging at home uses low voltage and takes four to eight hours. New
high-voltage rapid charging stations give an 80 percent charge in 20 to 30 minutes,
but they are costly to install and still rare.
Mr. Langevoort, the electricity company manager, says he
now leaves for work later because his Opel Ampera’s charge goes further as the day
warms.
Some electric car leasing programs here provide free or
discounted gas vehicles for those who want to take a weeklong driving vacation
around Europe.
Many experts say the lack of a uniform business model in
the fledgling market is also a hindrance. Contracts for charging are sometimes
purchased along with the car and tied to a particular charging network, much as
cellphones are linked to a certain carrier. What is more, the penetration of
the various networks varies depending on the region, and technology is not
always interchangeable.
In Europe, the charging network run by New Motion delivers electricity from pumplike
devices. One rival, Better Place, offers swap stations where
drivers get a fresh battery in addition to charging points. In the United
States, SAE International, an organization of scientists and vehicle engineers,
recently adopted a standard charging plug nationwide so that most electric
vehicles can use any charging station. But some companies, like Tesla Motors,
operate closed networks of high-performance “superchargers.”
“That type of uncertainty is also unsettling to customers,”
said Mike Omotoso, a senior manager of forecasting at LMC Automotive,
a market research firm. “There’s a Wild West feel, with a lot of companies
jumping in. But ultimately there will be a shakeout and consolidation.”
In many European countries there is a good financial case
for driving electric. In Denmark, taxes on new luxury cars can be 200 percent
of the sticker price, whereas electric vehicles come tax-free. In the Netherlands,
gas costs about five times as much as the electricity needed for a similar
journey.
While there are some tax breaks for electric vehicle
purchases in the United States, the Obama administration has relied more on
exhortation to make electric vehicles “as affordable and convenient as
gasoline-powered cars in the next 10 years.” Last month, the Energy Department
announced its Workplace Charging Challenge, in which Google, Verizon, Eli
Lilly, Nissan and other companies pledged to put charging infrastructure in at
least one major office.
Mr. Jensen, of the European Environment Agency, said that a
big infusion of money could be needed to improve infrastructure in those
countries seeking to increase the use of electric vehicles.
When he looked into buying an electric car, the charging
system would not fit in his garage, Mr. Jensen said, and few are willing to
drive around Europe with a trunk full of adapters. “I think the companies who
will win are not necessarily the ones that have the best technology, but the
ones that form the best alliances,” he said. “It you have a mobile phone — and
even more a car — the most important thing is that you can use it wherever you
go.”
To read the original story go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/10/world/europe/dutch-put-electric-cars-to-the-test.html?ref=automobiles&_r=0
Dilip Maitra is a freelance writer keeping an eye on the car industry. Can be contacted on: dilipmaitra@gmail.com
