Signpost Up Ahead: Fossil-Fuel Cars Are Dinosaurs

More evidence that electric cars are on the verge of obsoleting those dinosaurs running on fossil fuels: Electric Vehicle Sales Near 9,000 For June 2013 — One Of Their Best Months Ever : Electric vehicles saw one of their best months of sales ever in June 2013, according to a new report from Autoweek. The report uses numbers from the Electrification Coalition, a nonprofit group of industry leaders, battery manufacturers, and automakers that promotes the use of electric vehicles on a mass scale. According to the group's figures, almost 9,000 electric plug-in vehicles were sold in the U.S. in June, topping off a two-and-a-half year surge that saw the sale of over 110,000 cars throughout the country. Specifically, Tesla closed up 8.4 percent of the luxury market in the first half of 2013, beating out sales by the Mercedes-Benz S-class, the Audi A8, the BMW 7 series, and virtually every other competitor. That's in line with Tesla's earlier report that it beat out every competitor in the first quarter of 2013, turning a profit for the first time in its ten-year history. Back in November, Tesla's Model S roadster won Motor Trend's Car of the Year award for 2013, and in May Consumer Reports said the car "comes close" to being "the best car ever." Nissan's Leaf is also enjoying success in cornering 3.3 percent of the subcompact market. In fact, sales of electric-battery-only vehicles beat out hybrid cars completely in the first half of 2013. According to Green Car Report's figures, 9,839 Nissan Leafs, 882 Mitsubishi i-MiEVs, approximately 9,400 Tesla Model S cars, and 1,700 or so other compliance cars, nosed past the total of 18,335 plug-in hybrids and Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric cars. The six-month sales figures from the Electric Drive Transportation Association were a little different, but reached the same basic conclusion. Most of the action came from the explosion in Tesla sales, which — while its second-quarter report won't be released until August — put it well on track to flout analysts' expectations and hit its stated goal of 20,000 sales a year. Now, as Autoweek points out, there are still hurdles for electric vehicles to clear, including high battery costs. High battery costs? Nope. The future will bring a battery costing less than current batteries, but with as much energy density as gasoline. And, since electric motors are about three times as efficient as fossil-fueled motors, the electric cars of tomorrow will be able to drive coast-to-coast without needing recharging. The death of the fossil-fueled car is just around the next corner.

Posted in: Wall Street Trading