NYC to buy 70,000 EVs

A study came out today saying that electric cars–both battery electric and plug-in hybrids–would make up as much as 16% of new car sales inNew York City come 2015. That’s roughly 70,000 vehicles.

But what’s driving these EV sales? Governments are expected to impose higher restrictions on CO2 emissions, for one. Plus, subsidies and tax benefits for EVs are expected to increase.

“The biggest carbon dioxide production concentration is in megacities,” said Stefan Knupfer, who heads McKinsey’s Automotive & Assembly practice in the Americas.

In other large metropolitan areas, like Paris and Shanghai, they expect to see a 9% and 5% increase respectively. These findings were the result of a year long study surveying around 2,000 consumers. The study claims half of the EVs purchased by 2015 will be plug-in hybrids. In Paris, the researchers found that plug-in hybrids would account for 80% of new vehicle sales by 2051.”

The early adopters are relatively happy with a basic charging infrastructure,” said Axel Krieger, a partner in McKinsey’s New York office who led the research. “That means they have the opportunity to charge at home, and to charge at their workplace in their garage.” The report says that a dense public charging infrastructure won’t be needed early on, but it will in the long run. NYC is currently looking to partner with other neighboring cities and vehicle stakeholders to set up a EV joint initiative.

Of course, we’ve already seen companies like California-based Coulomb Technologies expand its network of ChargePoint charging stations.

Source : Gas2.0, by Jerry James Stone, January 12th, 2010