evworld.com
evworld.com
These two links from E.V. world help to bolster my sometimes flagging spirit regarding where E.V's are eventually heading. Even if Honda for some unknown reason is not going to use our batteries this year I am certain that they will have to see the light down the road but even if they don't there are all those other electric vehicles that will need our quality batteries.
Click To Listen
RealAudio Presentation - Length: 11:43 minutes
Dr. Peter Harrop
Dr. Harrop is the former CEO of Mars Engineering in the UK and
recently completed a comprehensive survey of some 440 EV
companies in 26 countries around the world, authoring a report
entitled, "Electric Vehicles Are Profitable." He states that in the
"solar system" there are some 6,000 companies involved in the electric vehicle business. 10% currently build or will be introducing
EVs and 70% are profitable. He estimates by 2010 there will be 10,000
EV companies despite numerous mergers and acquistions. By 2000,
he estimates there will be 7 million EVs in the world.
Harrop stated currently industrial EVs are the largest sector with
some $1 billion in projected sales for 2000. He also sees Toyota
becoming the dominate EV manufacturer with its cars, trucks, buses
and fork lifts. This is a trend that will threaten smaller, niche
companies. He also pointed to the example of Yamaha which makes
EVs for the disabled, electric bicycles and scooters.
He suggests that people will buy EVs not primarily because of air
pollution, but more because it makes "new things possible" and
replaces human effort. An example is the growth of supermarket
electric carts for the elderly and disabled. One company has build
and sold 70,000 in the US alone. Another form of EV are the home robots that are selling in the "tens of thousands" in Japan which
can vacuum floors.
Currently the largest sector by dollar volume are heavy industrial
EVs, golf cars, and light industrial EVs respectively. However, by
2010 Harrop sees cars taking the lead followed by heavy industrial
and two-wheel EVs such as bicycles and scooters. In 1999, some 1.2
million EVs will be built and the growth rate will accelerate to 20% a
year by 2010, at which time some 10 million EVs will be built
annually. |
