Forgetting that it is an import, Arianna Huffington called her Toyota Prius
“an automotive twofer, a pleasure to drive and patriotic to boot”, while
actor Will Ferrell said “there’s no reason all Americans shouldn’t be
driving hybrid cars” and Meryl Streep opined that America wouldn’t be in the
Middle East if everyone drove one. Perhaps the most honest A-List
Prius-driver was comedian Larry David, claiming he “needed something to make
me feel smugly superior”.
Electric Vehicles
But hybrids are sooooo 2007. With the arrival of electric vehicles (EVs) such
as the $100,000 Tesla Roadster or the cheaper $41,000 Volt from General
Motors, the likes of George Clooney, Matt Damon and Google’s Larry Page
achieve zero tailpipe emissions while buying American. One would think that
surging petrol prices would induce more ordinary mortals to follow suit.
Instead, Boston Consulting Group recently cut its US EV penetration estimate
by two-fifths to just 3 per cent by 2020 while another studypegs the Volt’s
“addressable market” at 7 per cent. More mundane technologies will appeal to
those who are cheap rather than chic.
Price per percentage carbon reduction
Generously assuming a 60 per cent drop in battery costs by 2020, BCG
calculates that an EV’s price per percentage carbon dioxide reduction is
twice as high as cutting-edge combustion technology and five times the gain
from improved aerodynamics. Even this ignores electricity’s own carbon
footprint. Based on the average US generation mix, the Volt would release
about 27 pounds of C02 in a typical commute, just a pound less than the
similar-sized Chevrolet Cruze, which costs half as much even after the
Volt’s $7,500 tax subsidy.
But what environmentally-aware Hollywood star would be caught dead driving a
Cruze from his mansion to his private jet?
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