Average EV use in Ca....5300 miles/ year

[Hillhater]

California being the leader in EV use in the US, ....with 50% of EVs all US sales being there...... this study suggests that their use is very much as a “second” car..not as primary transport.
https://www.realclearenergy.org/2021/02/10/study_reveals_ev_secret_theyre_driven_less_659608.html?utm_source=rcp-today&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mailchimp-newsletter&mc_cid=2a57637d30&mc_eid=3efd0e9c7d

 

[Grantmac]

I'd argue that for an urban population that represents a year's driving.

 

[Hillhater]

Acording to the stats, here ..https://www.carinsurance.com/Articles/average-miles-driven-per-year-by-state.aspx
The averrage miles driven each year in Ca is 14,450
So yes, as i said , most of the EVs are being used as 2nd cars..urban trips..”Town cars”....not as “Primary” transport, which presumably is left to the peferred vehicle of choice,..those best selling SUVs and Pick up trucks. !

 

[jonescg]

Or more likely, those who can afford an EV can also afford to live closer to the city / work / amenities, and simply don't need to drive as far.

I've had my Ioniq for exactly 12 months and I've done 25,000 km.

Drive the wheels off it I say.

 

[JackFlorey]

California being the leader in EV use in the US, ....with 50% of EVs all US sales being there...... this study suggests that their use is very much as a “second” car..not as primary transport.

The opposite is likely true. The families I know who have EV's here use them as their daily driver - to commute, to shop, to get the kids to school. The gas SUV is reserved for the big family trips, which is why they see more mileage.

 

[jonescg]

^
Yeah true, if you have more than one car, the total mileage of both is the true number. Those with an EV and an ICE will simply split the mileage between them.

The average person might drive 14,000 km, but the average vehicle might only be driven 7000 km.

 

[Hillhater]

Yeah true, if you have more than one car, the total mileage of both is the true number. Those with an EV and an ICE will simply split the mileage between them.

The average person might drive 14,000 km, but the average vehicle might only be driven 7000 km.

But ine this case for the EVs the split would be 5000 vs 9000 for the ICE...as the EV data was actual milage of the vehicle.
AND ..that could only be true if there were a significant excess of cars to drivers. ..which in the case of CA doesnt appear to be true as the report stated 21mil licenced drivers and 27mil registered vehicles. However that 27m vehicles includes trucks, busses, delivery vans, taxis, and other similar commercial vehicles which would account for much of the difference.
So whilst its true that many households have multiple vehicles, they also have multiple drivers.
Either way, it seems the EVs are still only being used as 2nd vehicles

...I've had my Ioniq for exactly 12 months and I've done 25,000 km.

.....you know you are exceptional jonescg,..
..in this case you are way ahead of the average aussie car driver who only manages less than 13k pa on average :wink:

 

[Hillhater]

California being the leader in EV use in the US, ....with 50% of EVs all US sales being there...... this study suggests that their use is very much as a “second” car..not as primary transport.

The opposite is likely true. The families I know who have EV's here use them as their daily driver - to commute, to shop, to get the kids to school. The gas SUV is reserved for the big family trips, which is why they see more mileage.

Well it depends on your definition of PRIMARY .
I ride a bicycle more often than i drive a car.......but the bike is not my primary transport !

 

[jonescg]

The EV is also the preferred car to drive in many EV+ICE households. So even though I have a 90 km round trip to work with no public transport options, and my wife has the 44 km round trip with more transit options, guess who gets the EV...

My 1100 cc motorbike has been getting more love lately.

 

[Warren]

Can't speak for California. But out here in the country, in central Virginia, our 2017 Bolt is our only car. We averaged 12k miles a year until COVID hit. We drove 3500 miles in 2020.

 

[PRW]

statistics can be interpreted in many ways....

I would only buy an electric car if most of my journeys were short trips. Perhaps this is what influences the numbers - the majority of people who buy electric cars are those who don't need to do long trips, so the mileage overall isn't that high?

 

[neptronix]

Article states 'as of four years ago'.
As of four years ago, very few electric cars were on the market with ranges exceeding 100 miles.
Of course they were not driven many miles.

Yet another misguided hit piece from a conservative news outlet :lol:

I'm moving this to 'off topic discussions' because it's more of a political flamebait post than a technology post.

 

[Hillhater]

......
I'm moving this to 'off topic discussions' because it's more of a political flamebait post than a technology post.

..?? There was no mention of anything political in this thread ..until YOU raised it ! .... (..”conservative news outlet ?”)
You seem to have developed a hyperactive political gland lately.,...causing you to confuse politics with technical idealology .
But its your ball...take it and play where ever you want .

PS..when that report was compiled. The most common EV in Ca was most likely the Teslas S & X..with several hundred miles range each.
You might also consider that the “normal vehicle average” of 15,000 miles pa, is < 50 miles/day
...well withinn the abilities of any commercial EV
But the average EV mileage of 5300 pa implies a daily usage of <15 !

 

[neptronix]

Well this reads like a bit of a smear piece from a conservative leaning petroleum news industry blog known for writing lots of smear pieces against EVs. They also love publishing articles that are critical of the idea of global warming and try to manipulatively redirect environmentalist's arguments back at them.. are critical of any dollar spent on alternative energy.. etc etc. so.. huge politicalized bias from these folks.

I feel you may have posted it with the intent to rattle the cage here a bit.

I find the inaccuracy in using outdated research that doesn't match the reality of today more offensive than the political bent they have, though. :lol:

But really this is a politically motivated opinion piece and a better place for it is off topic discussion instead of the mainstream parts of the forum.

 

[Hillhater]

I would be the first to appreciate up to the minute 2021 data ( though Covid may well distort that)... but those kind of data analysis dont happen too often. Im sure Tesla may have a good data source, but that would be both hard to access and limited to only their vehicles. ( but still useful as a comparason)
So , unless there are other readily available sources , you take what is available.
You may not trust or believe the data....call it outdated, etc..but it does give an idea of likely EV usage compared to “average” vehicle use.
Unless and until other data sources indicate otherwise,..it is hard to dispute the data.

 

[neptronix]

It's easy to dispute the data.

The model 3 is one of the top selling cars in California and even the base model has pretty good range.
The picture of miles driven and even just electric vehicle adoption has shifted there over the last 4 years.
The article published today does not reflect the situation of today.

Here's the original paper:
https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w28451/w28451.pdf

It gets worse.
The miles per year figure was an estimate based on electricity usage and not actually measuring miles driven.
The study was more to criticize electric vehicles as part of California's climate strategy and used really poor methodology and outdated data.

A quick search of the 5,300 mile claim shows that conservative blogs have mostly picked it up because they like it when an academic unit publishes something critical of EVs.

I'd like to see actual measured data instead of estimates and speculation as well.

I doubt there's a trend of most people buying EVs and leaving them parked though..

 

[Hillhater]

Yes, it is easy to dispute the data,...
..the data collection was complex, and the analysis extremely elaborate with much opportunity for error ( either way )..... .....but until there is data that can be shown to be more accurate, then it cannot be contradicted..
Maybe a simple direct online survey of EV owner...
..as they discovered , the EV makers are reluctant to offer up the info.

And why do you consider the result to be critical of EVs ?
All it tells me is that EVs are used as “City Cars” ..which is where they are most practical and do the most good in terms of emissions
I suspect if they did a similar survey of small hatchbacks, or even expensive sports cars, they would get a similar below average figure.