said it a long time ago that a reasonably priced "soccer mom" EV had a market. I know this next statement will go over like a Led Zeppelin with the range anxiety crowd but fact of the matter; there are more than enough people out there who drive 35 miles per day or less and a limited range EV for ... would be perfect.
Here's an interesting effect I've seen with our Leaf, which tends to mimc what
is in this article.
My wife constantly is concerned about any trip of 30+ miles one way, in that we won't be able to get back home without going out of our way to charge. If it involves any highway driving (such as a typical trip for us into Boston or Worcester), she will be highly resistant about making it in the Leaf. Only if I really insist (and prove there is the possibility of charging) will she (reluctantly) agree. It doesn't matter to her that I've made the trip myself and returned home with 20 miles of range; she's not happy with that as a safety zone.
This evening we're making a 70 mile round trip with about 50 highway miles. Even though we would start on a full charge, she won't take the Leaf because there isn't charging where we're going. (Although, with this amount of highway, even I would be concerned about the range)
If the range of the vehicle was 100 miles more than it is today, she would never have any concerns or anxiety about such a trip, even though we'd likely return home with 120 miles of range left. The buffer to empty would be enough to make her completely comfortable. Without that buffer zone, she will always be concerned even if we never come close to using the extra 100 miles of range.
Getting over this is what I expected is needed for the "soccer mom" EV market. There has to be no concern that they'll ever get close to "empty", otherwise they just won't go for it.