But even here, in this wealthy, environmentally conscious city of 90,000 west of Los Angeles, only a core group of owners has switched from traditional gasoline-powered cars.
Less than 4 percent of registered cars run only on battery power, according to an analysis by the industry researcher Edmunds.com of data from R.L. Polk, which records vehicle registrations nationwide. Hybrids, which run on some combination of gasoline and battery power, account for 15.5 percent, the data says, but many of those are traditional hybrids, which do not require a plug-in cord for recharging.
RoseMary Regalbuto, a Santa Monica resident, bought a Ford C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid this year for the two-mile commute between her home and her office, where she is chief executive of Meals on Wheels West.
She wanted to reduce emissions and spend less on gas but said that going fully electric was too risky, especially for longer work trips to downtown Los Angeles or cities like Santa Clarita about 30 miles north.
“I wouldn’t necessarily be able to plug in on the other end,” she said.
The car gets 22 miles on a charge. Ms. Regalbuto has filled her tank only twice in the 2,200 miles she has put on the odometer, charging at home every other night. When she or her husband, who drives a Ford Fusion plug-in hybrid, run the air-conditioning at home while charging their cars, the fuse blows, she said.
For now, automakers’ push to sell electric cars “has sparked sales to early adopters but has failed to encourage mainstream consumers,” said Jean François Tremblay, director at Ernst Young’s Global Automotive Center.
Higher sticker prices (even after a $7,500 tax credit), shorter ranges and a lack of a national network of charging stations are among the reasons consumers are shying away from buying electric vehicles in favor of gasoline engines, Mr. Tremblay said.
For automakers, the reluctance underscores how difficult it will be for them to meet strict federal and state mandates on fuel efficiency and pollution over the next 12 years.
California’s law to reduce pollution, for example, requires that 15.4 percent of automakers’ vehicles be powered by alternative technology by 2025. As a result, some automakers are producing electric vehicles just for California and a handful of other states. That includes the electric versions of the Honda Fit and Fiat 500. And the federal government is requiring automakers to nearly double their vehicles’ average fuel economy by 2025.
Santa Monica would seem like the ideal market. With an average household income of more than $71,000, its residents can afford the higher upfront cost of electric cars. City officials have also tried to make it easy to own them. Four years ago, even before the all-electric Nissan Leaf was released, the city began a push to install public charging stations at its parking lots, shopping centers and streets downtown, where it offers electricity free. Today, Santa Monica has 42 charging stations, with 80 more on the way by early next year.
The city offers free parking to any vehicle displaying the state-issued sticker that allows access to the car pool lanes, and the Santa Monica city government has also made it easier for residents to install chargers at home by waiving electric permit fees and speeding up the approval process.
“We’ve worked to make it an over-the-counter process,” said Dean Kubani, director of the city’s Office of Sustainability and the Environment.
The city, known as a surfing haven, also has one of the strongest environmental records in the nation. In 1982, it created one of the first municipal curbside recycling programs, and it has led other California cities in a ban on plastic bags at drugstores and supermarkets.
“Santa Monica has a long history of progressive politics,” Mr. Kubani said. “It’s attracted the type of person who tends to support environmental policy.”
The efforts to encourage electric-car ownership are bearing some fruit here compared with the rest of the nation. The city’s registration rate of 3.6 percent for all-electric cars is the highest in the United States, outside of two towns in Silicon Valley. About 90 percent of the municipal fleet runs on alternative fuels, including natural gas, biodiesel and battery power.
Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/21/business/santa-monica-bets-on-electric-cars-but-consumers-are-slow-to-switch.html?partner=rss&emc=rss