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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Consumer benefits of EVs and plug-in HEVs. Final report

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:362621
 [1];  [2]
  1. Turrentine (Thomas S.), Aptos, CA (United States)
  2. Kurani (Kenneth), Newcastle, CA (United States)
Electric vehicles (EVs) are already on the market and auto manufacturers are developing a wide range of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) including some models that recharge batteries from the electric grid. Many of the customer benefits of these technologies are overlooked in the market research process but have important strategic implications for those wishing to understand all the benefits these vehicles bring. Market researchers have focused on how well EVs match up to the better known benefits of conventional, gasoline-fueled vehicles, especially their mobility. This approach ignores most of what is unique to electric vehicles and focuses attention on the range limitations of EVs. The goal of this study is examine the benefits that give value to EVs apart from mobility--home-based recharging and a large range of environmental and community benefits. Given that most households already own gasoline fueled vehicles to give them sought after mobility, it is not unreasonable to explore in greater detail the benefits of EVs that will make households want an EV along side their gasoline vehicle or even motivate them to replace their gasoline vehicle with a Plug-in Hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). This report describes and explores the potential customer benefits of EV and HEV technologies and defines future research needs and opportunities in these markets.
Research Organization:
Electric Power Research Inst., Palo Alto, CA (United States); Thomas S. Turrentine, Aptos, CA (United States); Kenneth Kurani, Newcastle, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
Electric Power Research Inst., Palo Alto, CA (United States)
OSTI ID:
362621
Report Number(s):
EPRI-TR--110780
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English