In my latest EVAdoption article I let 3 years of frustration bubble up into a somewhat grumpy post. For the last few years I've seen almost on a daily basis someone post somewhere the ~30 average vehicle miles traveled statistic as a reason American consumers do not need longer-range BEVs. Hog wash. In this article I walk through anecdotes and examples of the 5%-10% of much longer trips US households take that make the ~30 average VMT statistic, well utterly meaningless.
Chart of the Week - Average & Median Range, Battery Pack Size, & Miles/kWh of US Available PHEVs
The biggest problem with PHEVs in my opinion is not their complexity as a dual powertrain, but that most of those currently offered have a relatively short all-electric range. With GM ceasing production of the 53-mile Chevrolet Volt, there are only 3 PHEVs with 30 or more miles of range. In fact the average and median range of US-available PHEVs is 21.6 and 21.0 miles respectively. And the battery pack size average is 10kWh versus 63 kWh for BEVs.
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Plugs not pumps!
Loren McDonald EVAdoption EV Analyst/Writer/Speaker
