Plug-Ins Account For Less Than Half of 1% of Auto Sales This Year

After the federal government spent billions of dollars on federal tax credits and subsidies to promote all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, they accounted for less than half of one percent of the 11.7 million light vehicles purchased in the U.S. during the last nine months.

In his 2011 “State of the Union” address, President Obama predicted that the U.S. would “become the first country to have a million electric vehicles on the road by 2015,” and backed up his prediction with $2.4 billion in federal grants to companies that produce lithium-ion batteries to power them.

But with 14 months to go, sales of the two top-selling plug-in cars are running far behind the president’s expectations. And despite receiving $99.8 million in stimulus funds, electric charging station manufacturer Ecotality filed for bankruptcy last month.

In April, the Congressional Research Service reported that “there is a gap between the Administration’s goal of having one million electric vehicles on the road by 2015 and consumer demand for such vehicles.” Read more >>