Comparison of Energy Consumption and Costs of Different Plug-in Electric Vehicles in European and American Context

Abstract

With increasingly stringent CO2 fuel economy regulations, the number of electrified vehicle options available to customers from car manufacturers has significantly increased in recent years. However, the market penetration of these vehicles significantly varies based on the powertrain configurations as well as the policies of the countries. To better understand the potential impact of current and future Plug-in Electric Vehicles (PEVs) on vehicle energy consumption, technology cost, cost of ownership and market penetration, a task force was formed by the Implementing Agreement for co-operation on Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Technologies and Programmes (IA-HEV). The task is composed of five integrated sections: vehicle energy consumption, component cost, vehicle cost, total cost of ownership (TCO) and market penetration. This paper discusses the methodology developed for estimating ownership costs. We also present the vehicle energy consumption and cost results developed for several powertrain configurations and standard driving cycles. The comparison of cost calculations for the U.S. and two of the largest European markets, Germany and France, show the importance of vehicle costs (particularly battery costs for PEVs), residual value, and the difference in taxes and incentives between the three countries.