2010:
Year of the Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle Conversion?
Friday, July 25, 2008
A
Plug-in hybrid converted by A123Systems
In 2010 a number of plug-in
hybrids will be hitting the streets of America. GM
plans to launch both the Saturn
Vue hybrid and the Chevy
Volt, while Toyota will release a plug-in version of
the Toyota
Prius. A number of plug-ins from niche automakers
might also become available in 2010. Unfortunately, GM
plug-in hybrids will be available in very limited numbers
the first few years and Toyota might only make their
plug-ins available for fleet sales.
By 2010, however, a number of second generation Prius
hybrids will be 6 plus years old. Obviously, these hybrid
cars will still have a lot of life left in them, but
what if the fuel economy of these hybrids could be more
than doubled for less than $5,000?
If A123Systems, for example, is able to stick to its time
line of plug-in conversion costs, converting a Prius into
a plug-in Prius might well be below $5,000, and if a
plug-in tax credit could be pushed through Congress,
perhaps the price of these conversions could be even
significantly lower.
And what would a company like A123 have to lose? Even
subsidizing some costs for a few years could really prove
both A123's nanophosphate-based lithium technology as well
as their mass-production capabilities - probably the most
critical issue limiting wide scale plug-in production.
Would your convert your hybrid to a plug-in hybrid for
less than $5000, including a warranty? Isn't such a
conversion worthy of tax incentives?
posted by Dahcredyns at
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