Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles Offer the Best of Both Worlds, Says EPRI Consumer and Engineering Study
Palo Alto, Calif.--September 5, 2001 A recently-completed EPRI-sponsored study shows that the numerous benefits offered by hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), particularly those with all-electric range and a plug-in connection to the utility grid, will spur consumer interest in purchasing such vehicles. A new Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) study indicates that consumers think plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) offer the best of both worlds with the advantages of both electric and gasoline vehicles--such as savings on fuel and maintenance, use of an existing 120-volt infrastructure, long range, and popular features. The publicly available study, a cooperative effort of utilities, automakers, regulatory agencies, and others found that 30 to 50 percent of consumers in the study's market model would choose a plug-in HEV or a no-plug HEV mid-size sedan, even if priced 25 percent higher than a $19,000 conventionally-powered vehicle. If automaker or government incentives are included, the market potential is higher still. In addition, 63 percent of respondents preferred plugging in a vehicle at home rather than going to the gas station. This is much higher than previous studies indicate. In contrast to many advanced vehicles, the infrastructure for plug-in HEVs already exists, with 86 percent of study respondents indicating they have relatively easy access to a 120-volt outlet. The plug-in HEV with a 60-mile all-electric range has the potential to be the first advanced vehicle to attain the equivalent of 80 miles per gallon (mpg)--the U.S. Department of Energy goal for mid-size sedans--without using a diesel engine, expensive lightweight construction, new infrastructure, or extreme body aerodynamics. By comparison, the study's no-plug HEV with no all-electric range can attain 42 mpg. (A conventional gas-powered car achieves 28 mpg.) The DOE models upon which estimates for mpg were based assumed all HEVs met today’s performance requirements. A no-plug HEV contains an internal-combustion engine that generates electricity to recharge its battery. A plug-in HEV operates like such a “power-assist” HEV on long trips or steep hills and uses gasoline, but works as a pure electric vehicle (EV) when it has been plugged into a 120-volt outlet (i.e., each night at home). Depending on the size of its larger battery, it can provide 20 to 60 miles of daily range in EV mode. The study looked at the key attributes of HEV performance, energy economy, fuelcycle emissions, costs/prices, consumer acceptance, and commercialization issues. Although several hurdles still exist in the HEV commercialization process, including battery cost, battery lifespan, and drive system design, the study results indicated that plug-in and no-plug HEVs provide major fuel economy improvements as well as significant reductions in smog-forming and greenhouse gas emissions. According to the study, HEVs’ efficiency and environmental benefits increase with the HEV electric range capability when that capability is fully utilized. For example, a no-plug HEV, when compared to an extremely clean conventional vehicle that meets California’s Super Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle (SULEV) standard, can reduce emissions that contribute to smog by 15 percent, and petroleum consumption and emissions of carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming) by 25 percent. Measured against the same conventional vehicle SULEV, a plug-in HEV with a 60-mile all-electric range and fully charged every night can decrease
energy use, smog-forming emissions, and carbon dioxide emissions by 50 percent, and cut petroleum consumption by more than 75 percent. “Even with the higher costs of HEVs, consumers’ responses indicate they understand and appreciate the benefits of HEVs, including fuel cost and maintenance savings, environmental improvement, and energy independence,” said Robert Graham, EPRI’s area manager for electric transportation. “This suggests that more than just fuel savings could be promoted to market HEVs.” The first-of-its-kind, $2-million, two-year study, titled “Comparing the Benefits and Impacts of Hybrid Electric Vehicle Options,” provides statistically-based customer preference data previously unavailable to the public. EPRI, the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the South Coast Air Quality Management District, and a coalition of national utilities sponsored the study with input from Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp., and the U.S. Department of Energy and its Argonne and National Renewable Energy research organizations. The study found HEVs that meet tough performance goals can be produced in medium volumes (100,000 cars per year) with a retail price equivalent in year 2000 dollars of 13 to 22 percent more than a conventional car (priced at $19,000) for the power-assist version with no all-electric range (HEV 0). The plug-in HEV with a 20mile all-electric range (HEV 20) would retail for 21 to 32 percent more, and the plug-in HEV with a 60-mile all-electric range (HEV 60) would be 39 to 54 percent more. Battery costs are the primary reason for the different incremental costs. The prices do not include possible incentives provided by the government or automakers. “In contrast to many advanced vehicles, the infrastructure for plug-in HEVs already exists,” said Ed Kjaer, director of electric transportation at Southern California Edison, one of the participants in the study. “The study found 86 percent of home and apartment dwellers have relatively easy access to a 120-volt outlet.” "Automakers are currently pursuing no-plug HEVs. From a systematic comparison of different HEV types, this report concludes that plug-in HEVs offer consumers and society superior environmental and petroleum reduction benefits and that they could be attractive to buyers, especially if appropriate incentives are provided," said Fritz Kalhammer, consultant and chairman of recent CARB expert panels on batteries and fuel cells. "Moreover, large-scale production of plug-in HEVs will benefit the commercialization of pure battery EVs, fuel cell EVs and off-grid energy storage by reducing the cost of key components common to all of these technologies," Kalhammer added. The new HEV study continues the work of the Hybrid Electric Vehicle Working Group created by EPRI in 1999. Other organizations that contributed to the study include the University of California, Davis Hybrid Electric Vehicle Center, Applied Decision Analysis (ADA), and A. D. Little-Acurex Environmental. Utility participants were Southern California Edison, the New York Power Authority, and the Southern Company. The consumer research portion of the study involved the use of eight focus groups in two cities, and a survey of more than 400 new car buyers in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Boston, and Phoenix, as well as ADA's choice-based market modeling. Those interested in the full HEV study should visit www.epri.com. Additional supporting materials are available.