2014 might be a better year for electric vehicles. IHS Automotive predicts that global electric vehicle production will increase by 67% in 2014, while global production for vehicles overall is forecast to increase by 3.6%.
This translates to a production increase from 242,000 in 2013 to 403,000. The 2013 figure was actually 44% better than that of the previous year.
‘With so many new European models flooding the marketplace, the Europe, Middle East and Africa region is expected to build 40% of all EVs in 2014. Asia will build an additional 30%, while the U.S. will make about 27% of all EVs in the world, IHS said.’
There are several possible contributing factors to the production increase, such as increased demand due improved public perception of EVs, recent EV price cuts (for example, the $5,000 Chevy Volt Price, and the $3,950 Nissan Leaf price cut in the U.K.), the introduction of more models, reduced production costs which increases manufacturers’ confidence in their ability to sell them, and tightened environmental regulations.
Competition between battery manufacturers may should help to reduce manufacturing costs as well.
“European emissions standards are tightening in the second half of this year,” Ben Scott, an analyst for IHS Automotive, said in a statement. “At the same time,” he added, “European automakers are introducing compelling new EV models.”
The Nissan Leaf, Chevy Volt, Tesla Model S, and Ford C-Max plug-in hybrid account for a significant amount of EV production for the moment, but this is likely to change!
Finally, to end this on a positive note, that ripple effect that we all love is likely to cause even more production increases in the future, due to the fact that increasing production tends to reduce the manufacturing cost per unit, leading to reduced prices (at some point).
Source: Plugin Europe.
