Who Drives Electric Cars?

We are starting to get data of the population of electric cars pout there to guide the rising build out that is inevitable.  Present constraints are all about range and weak infrastructure which will change out fast enough.

In the end, we will need a 1000 mile battery lightly loaded dropping to 600 miles heavily loaded.   This provides the energy for fast travel as well and we are not there yet.

However we are climbing from one percent to two percent this year and those are numbers that allows everyone to see one and drive it if he wishes.  Thus remaining customer resistance is easily dealt with.

Who Drives Electric Cars?

 September 23, 2013, 12:25 a.m. ET

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324123004579055112450200336.html

Electric cars are still such a novelty that little is known about their owners and how they use the vehicles. But recent research is beginning to unlock some of the mysteries.

Plug-in vehicles—those that run entirely on battery power or that combine electric and gasoline drives—represent less than 1% of total U.S. vehicle sales, but in the past three years their numbers have grown rapidly. Sales nearly tripled in 2012 and are on track to nearly double this year, according to the Electric Drive Transportation Association, a trade group.

Since 2009, the EV Project—financed with grants from the U.S. Energy Department and operated by Ecotality Inc., ECTY -4.67% a maker of electric charging stations—has been collecting and analyzing data from more than 8,000 drivers of electric vehicles.

Among the findings: Owners of electric cars drive less, possibly because they are using electric vehicles primarily for short trips, to work or the grocery. Or it may be that they fear running out of juice. A separate survey found that limited range caused many EV owners to avoid longer or discretionary trips—to the movie theater or to visit friends, for instance.

The EV Project's data also shows that buyers of plug-in vehicles are relatively more affluent than the average motorist. That reflects the cost of the vehicles: General Motors Co.'s gas-and-electric Chevrolet Volt costs around $40,000, while the all-electric Nissan Leaf sells for about $30,000. Owners are also more likely to be "greener"—a large portion of electric-car buyers report having solar panels.

The results are important for the utilities that build, maintain and operate the power grid. EV Project data show that owners of electric vehicles tend to cluster in the same neighborhoods and plug in at similar times—usually in the evening. This can increase the load on a single transformer significantly, and lead to the equipment aging more quickly, as well as to power outages.