The United Kingdom’s Committee on Climate Change solicited reports from several consultancies last year to determine the region’s green vehicle future. The Committee on Climate Change received reports from Element Energy and AEA Technology last week that clear up the future of clean vehicles in the UK. The Element Energy report demonstrates the difficult balance between existing EV technology and the tendencies of commuters. The AEA Technology brief pointed out the advantages of PHEVs as bridge technologies before suggesting tools for EVs and PHEVs distribution.
Element Energy found that British drivers were concerned largely with high costs and limited ranges when discussing electric vehicles. The typical EV owner in the Element Energy sample owned multiple cars with the electric vehicle as an option for very short drives. By virtue of this trend, Element Energy found that EV drivers used between 33% and 50% of full battery range. The most positive component of the Element Energy report for eco-conscious Brits was an examination of the Department for Transport’s travel trends database. This analysis found that 50% of sample drivers only traveled 25 miles or less per day, which means that electric vehicles could undertake 50% of all commuter mileage. Element Energy offset this hopeful analysis by stating that the 60 to 120 minutes of average parking time for British commuters would be insufficient for regular EV charges.
AEA Technology reviewed automaker plans for EVs and PHEVs as well as consumer trends to determine progress toward clean vehicles by 2020. This report found that small PHEVs, medium EVs and commercial EVs will progress little by 2020. Researchers at AEA Technology touted existing sports EVs like the Tesla Roadster but recognized that sports and luxury vehicles only provide 14% of new car sales each year. The firm found that PHEV trucks, vans and sedans may be needed to reduce the UK’s carbon emissions. AEA Technology concluded that vehicles running on biodiesel and other variants on diesel power would likely outpace PHEVs and EVs but provide little in the way of emissions savings. In the end, the AEA Technology report stated that EV and PHEV production will not reach 100,000 units per year until 2020.
While these reports cast skepticism over the UK’s efforts at emissions reductions, Element Energy and AEA Technology offer suggestions to remedy these roadblocks. Element Energy suggests an extensive rollout of EVs and PHEVs in suburban areas of England to test out limitations on vehicles and infrastructure outside of dense city centers. The AEA Technology report discourages the traditional auto rollout for EVs and PHEVs, suggesting new approaches like battery leasing, vehicle leasing and the Better Place model to get these vehicles into consumer hands. The lesson emerging from these reports is that the Committee on Climate Change and other agencies need to expand their thinking when it comes to cleaner transportation.
