Just as the 19 century belonged to the steam engine and the 20 to the internal combustion engine, so future generations will look back and see that mobility in the 21 century belonged to electrically powered vehicles (EV). Bloomberg predicts that by 2040, 54% of new car sales worldwide will be electric, and the majority of vehicles on the road globally could be EVs shortly thereafter.

Conected. Autonomous. Shared. Electric.

We’re on the verge of a new age of mobility. Autonomous driving is a crucial factor in getting us there. Together with the other major trends of connectivity, sharing and e-mobility it will create the single biggest upgrade of our core product since the invention of the car.
At Daimler we’re working on offering our customers the best and most comprehensive ecosystem for the mobility of the future.
Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG

New Business Models

As automakers embrace e-mobility, they will look beyond the concept of units shipped and start defining success by vehicle miles traveled (VMT). Consumers, who’ll be able to choose to own, lease, rent, or share an EV, will benefit from greater choice and flexibility.

The Future is Electric

The pace of EV Innovation Is Accelerating. Automakers are investing heavily in EV innovation, betting that EV demand will stay strong. More than 10 new EV models were released in 2017, at least six are on the way in 2018, and that’s only the beginning.

  • Every Jaguar and Land Rover launched from 2020 will be electrified.
  • Volvo will electrify all models beginning in 2019.
  • Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi Alliance will launch 12 new EVs by 2020.
  • Daimler will invest $11 billion in 10 models by 2022.
  • Hyundai will have eight electric cars by 2022.
  • BMW will offer 25 electrifed models by 2025, 12 of which will be all-electric.
  • Volkswagen Group will electrify all 300 of its cars and SUVs by 2030, delivering 80 new electrifed models by 2025.

Convenient, Easy EV Charging

When you can access charging at home, at work and around town, everywhere you park becomes an opportunity to charge. Considering that most cars are parked more than 90% of the time, that’s a lot of chances to charge. It takes just seconds to plug in, making charging virtually effortless: your car charges while you go about your day.

Home Charging Is Becoming More Common

A home charger is easy to install and its electrical requirements are similar to a washer-dryer set. When given the opportunity, people enjoy charging at home because it is convenient. Imagine leaving home with a full tank of gas every morning.

We are looking at electric mobility in the context of an overall energy supply system that is increasingly based on renewables. We are playing a pioneering role with the prequalification of the balancing-power market – enabling producers to feed power into the grid, as part of the pilot project. That is now for the first time also possible down at the level of individual households, which helps balance the entire power grid.
Dr. Hagen Seifert, Head of Sustainable Product Concepts at Audi.

EVs are Increasing Demand for Electricity

The transition from fossil fuel based mobility to a transportation system that runs on electricity is the biggest opportunity for utilities ever. EV drivers represent beneficial electric load growth for the utility and a chance for them to grow sustainably by:

  • Investing in renewable power
  • Providing power management tools to help fleets and individuals use more power efficiently
  • Designing new technologies to separate and balance EV loads
  • Incentivizing the installation of smart connected charging infrastructure and helping to raise awareness of the benefits of electricity as a transportation fuel.

For the coming EV generation, the role that utilities will play in shaping our transportation experience will be much like that of gas providers over the past 100 years.

Smart Grid

Smart grids will be the backbone of the EU’s future energy system. These upgraded electricity networks, with intelligent metering and monitoring capacities and a two-way digital communication between supplier and consumer, should predict and respond to the behaviour and actions of all users connected. This will result in the efficient delivery of reliable, economic and sustainable electricity services. Smart grids will also compensate for intermittent electricity generation from renewable sources that are dependent on the weather, such as wind and solar power.

A long-term goal, to support “vehicle-to-grid” (V2G) solutions in which plug-in electric vehicles can communicate with the grid, will enable drivers to sell electricity or modulate how quickly they charge.

The growth of EVs – as well as larger batteries and faster charging, supporting longer-range driving – will increase the load on the existing electrical grid. Utilities and electrical engineers specializing in the EV charging industry have already identifed this challenge. They are developing new “smart grid” technologies for separating and routing EV charging requests, better balancing the load across the distribution grid to avoid compromising charging time and EV driver experience.

Endnotes

Source: Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
Source: https://www.jaguarlandrover.com/news/2017/09/every-jaguar-and-land-rover-launched-2020-will-be-electrified
Source: Adam Vaughn, “All Volvo cars to be electric or hybrid from 2019,” The Guardian, July 5, 2017.
Source: Joumanna Bercetche, “Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi to launch 12 zero-emission vehicles and a robo-taxi by 2022, chief says,” CNBC
Source: Anne Blair, The Future is Eectric https://southeastdiesel.files.wordpress.com/2017/12/blair_ev_sedc_presentation.pdf
Source: John Voelcker, “Hyundai-Kia: eight electric cars by 2022, dedicated EV platform,” Green Car Reports, August 17, 2017
https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1112165_hyundai-kia-eight-electric-cars-by- 2022-dedicated-ev-platform
Source: Bill Howard, “BMW: We’ll Have 25 Electri ed Models by 2025,” Extreme Tech, September 8, 2017
Source: Kirsten Korosec, “Volkswagen to Electrify All 300 of Its Cars and SUVs by 2030,” Fortune, September 11, 2017
Source: Paul Barter, “Cars are parked 95% of the time. Let’s check!” Reinventing Parking, February 22, 2013.
http://www.reinventingparking.org/2013/02/cars-are-parked-95-of-time-lets-check.html