Israel and the Electric Car

Way cool. In theory. Here’s the problem. It can only work (with today’s gas prices and battery technologies) in countries that are relatively small and isolated. Israel is perfect, because it is very small, and it is bordered on all sides by unfriendly nations. If an Israeli wants to travel far, it has be by boat or by plane. It works in the UK for the same reason. UK is relatively small, and it’s an island. You are not going to travel very far in the UK. Russia, though, with its own oil resources, and a vast land mass, is not going to follow suit. China might be able to pull it off because of the interesting mix of totalitarianism and entreprenurialism. The government decides it’s going to do something that is very costly, and it can force low-wage government “employees” (basically serfs) to work for large corporations (which pay high taxes to the government, but earn a lot of money so that it’s worthwhile for them), to build enough of an infrastructure to make cross-country travel feasible. Also, despite its high population and high number of vehicles, if I’m not mistaken, there isn’t that much cross-country driving anyway, so it would likely be limited to city areas. They can also make it nearly impossible for their citizens to buy anything other than electric cars by changing their tax policies easily.

I can’t see the US, though, doing the same thing. You need high – really high – gas prices, and either the ability to authoritatively lay down the law of what’s going to be done, or an easy-to-navigate system of business and the government, which would allow companies to build the infrastructure. Now, it is possible that as gas prices continue to rise, IF more and more people buy electric cars that need to be plugged in, and IF a company with the ability to produce charging station contracts with a large municipality like San Francisco or New York City, THEN we MIGHT see a spike in the purchase of this type of car in these urban areas. IF we do, then the Federal government or some State governments MIGHT implement a system of charging stations that allow longer travel. You have to remember that most people today still travel long distances by car, rather than by plane. Gas stations are found on every corner in cities, and within a few miles of each other on interstate and intrastate highways. For people to really begin to use these types of cars in the US, the battery life needs to be extended, and charging stations need to be available at every parking meter in cities and at every motel along major highways.

Won’t happen anytime soon unless a start-up gets major funding or the government makes a major policy change. Right now there are a lot of competing ventures in the alternative fuel market, and electric-plug-in batteries are not near the top.