Dr. Steven Chu, U.S. Secretary of Energy Electric cars have
traditionally been more costly to build and buy than their
gasoline counterparts thanks to their limited production numbers
and the high cost of battery packs. We already know that the
price of electric car battery packs are dropping faster than
analysts predicted they would, but how long before electric cars
become more affordable? According to U.S. Secretary of Energy
Dr. Steven Chu, affordable electric cars are around a decade
away. Speaking at an event in Dearborn last week, Chu said that
he expected U.S. automakers and suppliers to be testing electric
cars by 2020 that cost significantly less to manufacture than
today’s production electric cars. Three years after that, he
predicts, they will go on sale for prices of less than $25,000.
Of course, we're already seeing cars in Europe reach this kind
of price point: The 2013 Renault Zoe, for example, is predicted
to cost less than $25,000 when it launches later this year.
However, the purchase price