Tesla Topping The EV Manufacturing Charts

Tesla Model S

Juniper Research released a research report entitled "Hybrid and Electric Vehicles: Consumer and Commercial Markets", forecasting some 17 million hybrid and electric vehicles to be sold by 2020.

The prognosis given today in the article seems more or less accurate, but what is more important to note is that EV segment is rapidly improving even faster than previous estimates, last year's forecast was for about 12 million units.

"Juniper believes that stakeholders primarily need to establish the viability and desirability of electric vehicles with consumers, and adopt an aggressive ‘go to market’ strategy that includes: The rolling out of a wide-scale public charging infrastructure – that is seen as both ongoing and committed. Improving vehicle battery life and range per charge. Conducting effective consumer education campaigns, with attractive incentives to change."

In the second part, Juniper Research ranked plug-in electric car manufacturers, stating that Tesla Motors is currently the top player, followed by BMW, Nissan, Chevrolet and Ford. We are slightly supprised that BMW is ahead of Nissan, but the results from Juniper Research are based on:

Vehicle range (EPA rated mileage (Environmental Protection Agency))

Vehicle sales

Infrastructure implementation

Time spent in development and deployment

Future plans and innovation

"Tesla, an OEM solely manufacturing electric vehicles, scored highly with strong sales, superior mileage range and firm commitment to their Tesla Supercharge scheme. Whilst BMW and Nissan have witnessed high sales, their electric vehicle capabilities lag behind Tesla."

Chevrolet Bolt EV - ≈200 miles of range

Another finding is the understanding for the need of higher range EVs by Tesla and Chevrolet.

"OEMs, such as Tesla and Chevrolet understand that ‘range anxiety’ is the greatest hindrance to the adoption of electric vehicles. In order to meet the expectations of the combustion engine vehicle market, Tesla and Chevrolet have focused their efforts towards ensuring that their models’ mileage range can exceed 200 miles on a fully charged vehicle."

What is needed to leverage plug-in electric car sales? Consumer education (to present all the capabilities and benefits of EV technology), as well as more public charging infrastructure on all major routes (especially fast charging) to build confidence in the vehicles.