Hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs) and battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) are currently more expensive than conventional passenger cars but may become cheaper due to technological learning. Here, we obtain insight into the prospects of future price decline by establishing ex-post learning rates for HEVs and ex-ante price forecasts for HEVs and BEVs. Since 1997, HEVs have shown a robust decline in their price and price differential at learning rates of 7 ± 2% and 23 ± 5%, respectively. By 2010, HEVs were only 31 ± 22 EUR2010/kW more expensive than conventional cars. Mass-produced BEVs are currently introduced into the market at prices of 479 ± 171 EUR2010/kW, which is 285 ± 213 EUR2010/kW and 316 ± 209 EUR2010/kW more expensive than HEVs and conventional cars. Our forecast suggests that price breakeven with these vehicles may only be achieved by 2026 and 2032, when 50 and 80 million BEVs, respectively, would have been produced worldwide. We estimate that BEVs may require until then global learning investments of 100–150 billion h which is less than the global subsidies for fossil fuel consumption paid in 2009. These findings suggest that HEVs, including plug-in HEVs, could become the dominant vehicle technology in the next two decades, while BEVs may require long-term policy support. ; JRC.F.8-Sustainable Transport


    Access

    Download


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    On the electrification of road transport - Learning rates and price forecasts for hybrid-electric and battery-electric vehicles



    Publication date :

    2012-05-08



    Type of media :

    Miscellaneous


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English


    Classification :

    DDC:    629



    Battery challenges for electric road and hybrid vehicles

    Rosenkranz,C. / Kuper,C. / Koehler,U. et al. | Automotive engineering | 2010


    Electrification of Household Travel by Electric and Hybrid Vehicles

    Kiselewich, S. J. / Hamilton, W. F. | SAE Technical Papers | 1982


    Electrification of household travel by electric and hybrid vehicles

    Kiselewich,S.J. / Hamilton,W.F. / General Research Corp.,Santa Barbara,US | Automotive engineering | 1982


    Using Electric Vehicles for Road Transport

    McCulloch, Malcolm D. / Bishop, Justin D. K. / Doucette, Reed T. | Springer Verlag | 2012


    Electrification of transport logistic vehicles: A techno-economic assessment of battery and fuel cell electric transporter

    Kleiner, Florian / Özdemir, Enver Doruk / Schmid, Stephan et al. | German Aerospace Center (DLR) | 2015

    Free access