Predicting the market potential of plug-in electric vehicles using multiday GPS data

Mobashwir Khan and Kara M. Kockelman

Energy Policy, 2012, vol. 46, issue C, 225-233

Abstract: GPS data for a year's worth of travel by 255 Seattle households illuminate how plug-in electric vehicles can match household needs. The results suggest that a battery-electric vehicle (BEV) with 100mi of range should meet the needs of 50% of one-vehicle households and 80% of multiple-vehicle households, when charging once a day and relying on another vehicle or mode just 4 days a year. Moreover, the average one-vehicle Seattle household uses each vehicle 23mi per day and should be able to electrify close to 80% of its miles, while meeting all its travel needs, using a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) with 40-mile all-electric range. Households owning two or more vehicles can electrify 50 to 70% of their total household miles using a PHEV40, depending on how they assign the vehicle across drivers each day. Cost comparisons between the average single-vehicle household owning a Chevrolet Cruze versus a Volt PHEV suggest that, when gas prices are $3.50 per gallon and electricity rates are at 11.2ct/kWh, the Volt will save the household $535 per year in operating costs. Similarly, the Toyota Prius PHEV will provide an annual savings of $538 per year over the Corolla.

Keywords: Plug-in electric vehicles; Battery-electric vehicles; Long-term vehicle use (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (42)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:enepol:v:46:y:2012:i:c:p:225-233

DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2012.03.055

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