In reply to Jed Rothwell's message of Wed, 17 Dec 2008 16:51:31 -0500: Hi, [snip] >Robin van Spaandonk wrote: > >> >> This is understandable, but demonstrates once again that managers have no >> knowledge of science. Fleets are precisely the *worst* market for PHEVs. >> This is because fleet cars are frequently driven all day long. It is >> precisely >> the family car (or second car) that should be a PHEV. > > >I think you overstate that.
I was trying to make a point, so yes, I did exaggerate a little. > >First, many "fleet" cars do not go long distances. I believe the average >Post Office urban delivery route is shorter than 100 km. They drive slowly. ...but then, you are also cherry picking. ;) > >Second, even when a plug-in hybrid battery is exhausted, a plug-in hybrid >with a 50 kW ICE is still far more efficient an ordinary ICE car, and in >hilly areas it is much more efficient than a Prius, because the battery >buffer is larger. True, but fleet use will create the general impression that PHEVs are only maybe 30% or so better than ordinary cars, whereas, if used primarily in the markets for which they are most suited, they can 70-100% better, as you yourself have previously pointed out. > >Finally, many families do not drive many hours or longer distances every >day. In the US, the average automobile is driven 11,800 miles per year, >which is not much. It is around 40 miles per business day. That would be a >waste of plug-in hybrid capacity. If there are only a few thousand of these >cars at first they should be used for more long-distance applications. This doesn't make sense. It is precisely *because* the family car is only driven 40 miles a business day, that it *should* be a PHEV. That would mean that it would effectively be almost all electric, consuming little of no gas, reducing dependence on foreign fuel, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and shifting to energy supplied via the grid. Furthermore, it is much easier to add renewable energy to the grid, than it is to use it in mobile applications directly (bio-fuels excepted). Regards, Robin van Spaandonk <[email protected]>
