If you do not learn from history, you are doomed to repeat it. Looking back over the last 120 years, one can see many false starts for the electric car industry. Some of the very first horseless carriages were electric vehicles, and automakers have been teasing us with images of a future propelled by electric cars even during the muscle car movement. The closest we ever came was the EV1 program, which fizzled and failed after a few years. So how do we make sure that this time it sticks?
The energy policy committee at last week’s SAE World Congress mulled over this issue. Their conclusion is that electric vehicles still need significant support before they can stand on their own merits, or the switch from gas to electric vehicles could stall before it ever really gets started.