Ever since the first electric and hybrid vehicles hit the market some 25 years ago, we've been told they are the future of automobiles and will eventually overtake gasoline-powered vehicles in the U.S. market. While sales and production of EVs have increased (thanks in part to government subsidies), the vast majority of Americans still prefer traditional vehicles over electric ones. Now, even the industry is starting to acknowledge that. General Motors President Mark Reuss says in a new op-ed that electric vehicles won't go mainstream until they can match gas vehicles on range, cost, and ease of ownership.
KTRH Car Pro Jerry Reynolds agrees with that assessment, noting that electric vehicles are still largely seen only as luxury items. "That's because of the amount of cars Tesla has sold, Audi is coming out with a new one, Porsche has a new one coming out," he says. "But these are all going to be very expensive cars, not cars for people to drive every single day."
Reynolds tells KTRH there are still major issues with the design and capacity of electric cars. "Like with cell phones, I think they've got to get better, and they've gotta get smaller and lighter," he says. "And the range of an electric car will often determine whether an electric car will work for someone or not. Right now, a person has to live and work pretty close together if they're going to make an electric car be a viable option."
Another issue is that electric cars, for the most part, are still limited to certain types of vehicles. "Nobody's done an all-electric pickup truck that's got any kind of towing capacity," says Reynolds. "And that's going to be a big issue for Texas."