General Electric Co. will order electric vehicles in the “tens of thousands,” according to the company’s Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt.
The new initiative will allow roughly half of GE’s sales workforce to drive electric vehicles.
“Now is the time to invest more,” Immelt said last week at an event in London sponsored by the University of Cambridge’s Program for Sustainability Leadership. “We will have to go for a while without the government at our back.”
According to auto industry market research company J.D. Power & Associates however, automakers like General Motors and Nisssan Motor Co. may not meet expectations due to the limitations of technology, and also gas prices may not be high enough for most consumers to justify opting for an electric car.
Nissan is about to launch its electric Leaf compact sedan by the end of 2010. General Motors’ Chevrolet Volt is also about to hit the market, which runs on an electric motor as well as a gas engine as a contingency option when the batteries run out of power.
“Many consumers say they are concerned about the environment, but when they find out how much a green vehicle is going to cost, their altruistic inclination declines considerably,” said John Humphrey, senior vice president of automotive operations at J.D. Power in a statement.
“For example, among consumers in the U.S. who initially say they are interested in buying a hybrid vehicle, the number declines by some 50 percent when they learn of the extra $5,000, on average, it would cost to acquire the vehicle.”
In September, GE and Better Place signed an agreement to deploy electric vehicle infrastructure throughout the country. The project aims to provide faster deployment of services for owners of electric vehicles, with a goal of converting more corporate fleet vehicles to electric cars.
“Almost three years ago, Better Place identified the transformation from oil to electricity as the last massive ‘digitization’ of energy, and a significant economic opportunity globally,” said Shai Agassi, founder and CEO of Better Place in a release. “Our collaboration with GE is another significant step forward for Better Place as we seek to assemble a formidable ecosystem of industry leaders including Renault, HSBC, and now GE that can help us scale our model globally.”
The partnership will help drive research in battery technology, provide financing for purchasing batteries, convert fleet owners, and educate consumers in electric vehicle technology awareness.
The new initiative will allow roughly half of GE’s sales workforce to drive electric vehicles.
“Now is the time to invest more,” Immelt said last week at an event in London sponsored by the University of Cambridge’s Program for Sustainability Leadership. “We will have to go for a while without the government at our back.”
According to auto industry market research company J.D. Power & Associates however, automakers like General Motors and Nisssan Motor Co. may not meet expectations due to the limitations of technology, and also gas prices may not be high enough for most consumers to justify opting for an electric car.
Nissan is about to launch its electric Leaf compact sedan by the end of 2010. General Motors’ Chevrolet Volt is also about to hit the market, which runs on an electric motor as well as a gas engine as a contingency option when the batteries run out of power.
“Many consumers say they are concerned about the environment, but when they find out how much a green vehicle is going to cost, their altruistic inclination declines considerably,” said John Humphrey, senior vice president of automotive operations at J.D. Power in a statement.
“For example, among consumers in the U.S. who initially say they are interested in buying a hybrid vehicle, the number declines by some 50 percent when they learn of the extra $5,000, on average, it would cost to acquire the vehicle.”
In September, GE and Better Place signed an agreement to deploy electric vehicle infrastructure throughout the country. The project aims to provide faster deployment of services for owners of electric vehicles, with a goal of converting more corporate fleet vehicles to electric cars.
“Almost three years ago, Better Place identified the transformation from oil to electricity as the last massive ‘digitization’ of energy, and a significant economic opportunity globally,” said Shai Agassi, founder and CEO of Better Place in a release. “Our collaboration with GE is another significant step forward for Better Place as we seek to assemble a formidable ecosystem of industry leaders including Renault, HSBC, and now GE that can help us scale our model globally.”
The partnership will help drive research in battery technology, provide financing for purchasing batteries, convert fleet owners, and educate consumers in electric vehicle technology awareness.
