Greening Business: driving the debate on electric vehicles

Experts from the automotive, utility and government sectors came together at PA's Greening Business event, Electric Vehicles: Fact or Fiction?, to debate the challenges and opportunities surrounding electric vehicles (EV). To hear what they had to say on EV infrastructure, EV business models and EV consumer adoption trends, watch our short videos below:

Some discussion points from the event include:

By supplying EV infrastructure, electricity suppliers and network businesses could unlock the EV market and tap into a new revenue stream.

However, utilities still face a degree of uncertainty over this new business model. This is because:

• installing and maintaining EV charging posts is expensive - utilities need a clear picture of consumer charging behaviour in order to understand where to install charging posts (in the home, at work, in public areas or in all three locations)

• they need to be sure electric vehicles will be an attractive enough proposition to consumers to make establishing network capacity and billing infrastructure a viable and scalable investment

• utilities still need to establish an attractive EV proposition for consumers – they should consider bundling services to make EV an appealing lifestyle choice and part of a personal energy management programme.

There have been some early EV success stories, such as ESB ecars in Ireland, where there is one main electricity supplier for the entire country. However, utilities need to identify a dynamic billing option that does not restrict consumer charging needs in a competitive electricity market, such as the UK.

EV penetration will remain limited to early adopters until:

• the up-front investment cost for consumers is reduced

• consumers are assured EVs will be as convenient and reliable as conventional vehicles and range anxiety is overcome through the establishment of supporting infrastructure (such as charging posts)

• battery technology becomes more advanced, giving consumers better or equal distance for money in comparison with petrol-run vehicles, in all environmental conditions (particularly in countries where petrol is cheaper than electricity, such as the US).

It has yet to be proven that consumers are prepared to pay a premium for electric vehicles. Until the Model T-Ford of EVs becomes available for personal mobility, EVs will always be competing against cheaper conventional vehicles.

To find out how PA can help your business prepare for the coming of electric vehicles, please contact us now.

To continue discussing the facts and fiction of electric vehicles, join the debate online in PA's Greening Business EV LinkedIn group.