Continued EV interest after HOV Plug-Ins are introduced?

[DeaneG]

On thing I've been wondering lately - In California, once reasonably-priced plug-in hybrids are introduced that are eligible for HOV lane stickers, will interest in pure BEVs like the Leaf fall off?

I ask this because (1) All three Leafs on my block had white HOV stickers applied practically as they rolled up the street, including mine, and (2) in the summer air-conditioning months, it could be slightly cheaper to run a plug-in Prius on gasoline rather than electricity, so for some there might be little or no cost benefit in choosing a BEV.

I'm guessing that in major CA cities, the HOV lane stickers are the main reason people are choosing Leafs over Priuses. We like our Leaf a lot but are wondering how this will play out.

 

[Stoaty]

I think it depends on your needs. For instance, I already have an ICE vehicle that I am keeping for the occasional long trip (the Prius wouldn't fit the number of people, amount of gear needed). So for me, buying a car with a gasoline engine in addition to the battery just adds maintenance costs and limits how far I can drive on electricity alone (compared to the Leaf). A lot of other people may be in the same position, and for them the Leaf makes the most sense. On the other hand, if I planned to only have one car, the plugin Prius would win for its flexibility; the Leaf wouldn't work well as a standalone car for a large segment of the population.

 

[TomT]

Remember that there are unlimited white stickers available but only 40,000 green (PHEV) stickers...

I'm guessing that in major CA cities, the HOV lane stickers are the main reason people are choosing Leafs over Priuses. We like our Leaf a lot but are wondering how this will play out.

 

[thankyouOB]

we in LA on TOU meters can charge at 8.3 to 8.7 cents a kWh. I dont see how that pencils out to the same as gas no matter how high I turn on the AC.
YMMV if you have an investor-owned utility milking your bank account or you are on a tiered rate.
Get you some solar, brothers and sisters.

I am averaging 4-5 miles/kWh for 5000 miles, with about 85% freeway miles, albeit rarely at 65 mph given the traffic-limiting speeds even in the HOV.
My cost is about 2 cents a mile for power, or less.
But I have solar....so it is even less than that.

 

[Aeolus]

It is probably more likely that EV popularity will increase with the introduction of more plug-in hybrids, especially if the advent of PEV's helps with build out of the charging steucture.

The economics of solar and EV's with time of use billing and rising energy costs will become more compelling all the time, and range does not really become a problem if you have access to other household vehicles or car-sharing services.