economics
The development of renewable energy, the construction of a new infrastructure to support electric vehicles, and the efficiencies of electric power for transportation provide significant economic opportunity for the countries and the individuals willing to take on the challenges.
Over the past 35 years, global demand for oil has increased at an average of about 1% per year, despite periodic price surges and their debilitating effects on consumer budgets and national economies. While analysts identified $440 billion in oil payments by the US in 2008 as the largest transfer of wealth in human history, global oil trade totaled nearly $3 trillion in the same year. A shift to an electric transportation system based on renewable energy would inevitably result in a significant reduction in oil demand and potentially create one of the economic opportunities of the 21st century.
Expansion of renewable energy is just one opportunity for the creation and realization of value. Investment in EV components, infrastructure and systems - including batteries, charge spots, battery switch stations, grid technologies - provide opportunities to create a range of new construction, engineering and management jobs.
The shift to EVs also provides an opportunity for transportation cost savings. Due to the efficiency gains offered by EVs and the stable cost of electricity relative to that of oil, EVs promise to deliver transportation cost savings to consumers. This is best exemplified by the per-mile or per-kilometer cost of transportation in an EV sedan, which can be up to 70% lower than that of a gas-powered one in some markets, even when factoring in the amortized cost of the battery.