THE CAR BUYER AND THE EV

Study: Obama's electric car goal hits roadblock
Erika Dimmler, February 3, 2011 (CNN)

"President Barack Obama's goal of putting 1 million electric cars on U.S. roads by 2015 could run into a huge roadblock -- the American consumer.

"According to a report…by researchers at Indiana University, automakers are unlikely to manufacture enough cars to reach the president's goal because of a potential lack of buyer demand."

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"Nissan and General Motors, makers of the Leaf and Volt, respectively, already have the capacity to produce enough cars to meet the goal. Serious questions remain, however, about the level of desire among potential buyers worried about cost, ease of use and likely resale value."

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[Gurminder Bedi, retired Ford Motor Co. executive/report co-author:] "[The President] has really jump started the market…[T]here will be more electric vehicles by 2015 than there would have been if that initiative hadn't been started…[but after] the early adopters, what is going to motivate the mainstream people to buy the vehicles?…Buying an electric vehicle just by itself, because it's better for gas mileage, will be a good factor. But that's not going to be sufficient."

"In 2008, there were nearly 57,000 electric cars on U.S. roads, according to an estimate by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The administration has created a number of incentives for consumers to purchase electric cars, including a $7,500 tax credit to first-time buyers."