In light of the Paris COP21 climate conference, New York City announced plans to incorporate 2,000 electric vehicles (EVs) into its municipal fleet by 2025. New York City claims this move will make it the largest EV fleet operator in the world. Analyst Dean Frankel of Lux Research takes a dive beyond the headlines.
Since 2010, the cost of lithium-ion battery packs for electric vehicles has dropped 60%, from $1000 to $400 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) according to analysis by BNEF. At the same time, concerns regarding urban air pollution and our need to deploy zero emission vehicles in these cities are increasing. Melissa C. Lott takes a closer look at how EVs could help – and what the limitations might be.