The Future Is Electric – The World Is On The Verge Of An Automotive Revolution: CURRENT is helping Los Angeles customers find the right EV for their lifestyle

Globally, at the end of 2010, there were 25,000 electric cars on the road. At the end of 2011, there were 80,000 – more than three times that amount. At the end of 2012, there were 200,000 – 2.5 times more. And at the end of 2014, there were 405,000.  Translation: the number of EVs sold doubles or triples each year. Meaning: sales are exponential.

The almost perfect exponential curve means the future growth of EVs is highly predictable. Worldwide EV sales during the next 5 years are projected at $4.2 billion dollars. The University of California Berkeley predicts that if gasoline rises to $5.50@ gallon, 45% of all new car sales in 2020 will be EVs.

The USA fleet of plug-in electric vehicles is the largest in the world, with a 43% share of global sales as of September 2014. Since 2008, about 319,000 plug-in electric cars have been sold in the country through the end of April 2015. Bloomberg News reports that over 100,000 electric vehicle units were sold through August 2014 in California. The state not only has more plug-in electric vehicles than any other American state but also a greater amount than any other country. The United States Department of Energy calculates that 50% of all electric vehicle sales in the USA take place in California.

In September 2014, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law SB1275 (the Charge Ahead California Initiative) setting a goal of at least 1 million zero-emission vehicles on the road in California by 2025. California’s Clean Vehicle Rebate Project offers major incentives for the purchase or lease of new, eligible zero-emission and plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles ($1500 to $2500). Los Angeles is one of the leading USA regions in plug-in electric vehicle adoption, averaging between 700 and 1,000 CVRP rebate requests per month (as of May 26, 2015).

California is also home to more charging stations than any other state. As of July 28, 2013, it had 6,239 private and public charge points. Many of these are in the Los Angeles Metro area. Data collected by R.L. Polk indicates San Francisco and LA make up 35% of the country’s EV sales. UCLA’s Luskin Center For Innovation study on EV usage indicates LA is one of the nation’s leading EV markets and has the potential to easily become THE leading market; it currently ranks #2 in the USA after San Francisco, but is quickly catching up. LA will boast 9% of total USA EV car sales in 2015 and 11% in 2020. Pike Research predicts that between 2011 and 2017, over 96,000 EVs will be sold in Los Angeles. Luskin Center estimates: 1 out of 10 cars purchased in LA in 2015 will be EVs. Los Angelenos will purchase 229,000 electric vehicles by the end of 2020. EV rebates per ZIP code strongly indicate the Wilshire Corridor and LA’s Westside contain dense amounts of EV purchasers.

39% of California EV owners have installed solar power to help charge their vehicles; 16% plan to install solar power. These strong indicators show that consumers are adopting what CURRENT calls The EV Lifestyle, which includes EV ownership, purchasing a charger to power-up your plug-in and, for a growing number of EV owners, installing a solar power system to provide inexpensive electricity for your EV and home. CURRENT is a convenient, 1st-choice, go-to nexus for consumers to purchase these 3 renewable energy products.

Since the start of the current generation of plug-in vehicles in the USA, no single month has ever failed to deliver an improved result over the year prior. Ever. On May 21, 2015, J.D. Power and LMC Automotive released a New Vehicle Sales Report, stating that “high gas prices are contributing to increased hybrid and EV sales, which have accounted for 9.8 percent of all retail new-vehicle sales in California in May, their highest level since August 2014. Hybrid and EV sales represent 3.5 percent of all retail sales in May, up from a low of 2.9 percent in February. In August 2014, hybrid and EV sales made up 4.3 percent of nationwide sales and 10.5 percent of retail sales in California.”

Want more convincing proof that California is, and will continue to be a huge EV market? The California Energy Commission has counted the number of electric vehicles on the road in California and has made sales estimates from 2012 through 2024 based on EV rebate program data and projected county populations. Its Low Scenario forecasts 209,950 units by 2018 and 1,024,129 units by 2024. Its High Scenario predicts 1,460,707 units by 2018 and 3,675,315 units by 2024. High or Low, that’s a lot of Plug-Ins! Additional indications that the world is on the verge of an electric vehicle revolution:

• By 2017, at least three major electric vehicle manufacturers, Chevrolet, Nissan and Tesla, will offer one or more EVs with a range of 200 miles. The Chevrolet Bolt, the next generation Nissan Leaf and the Tesla Model 3 will be a huge win for the environment and consumers; Chevrolet, Nissan and Tesla all say their cars will cost less than $40,000 for customers to lease or purchase. The Tesla, Nissan and Chevrolet EVs will cost around $30,000 (after State and Federal rebates of $10,000 are subtracted). Bringing to market three affordable 200-mile range pure electric EVs simultaneously, within a 12-month period, will be a game changer. EV range anxiety will cease to exist. More and more consumers will adopt The EV Lifestyle.

• Nissan says it is trying to establish the Leaf as a sub-brand and hopes to add further variants to the Leaf line. CEO Carlos Ghosn says he wants to make 20% of his company’s vehicle sales electric by 2020 and have EVs make up 10% of Nissan’s global sales.

More game changers:

• BMW has announced it plans to make plug-in versions of all it’s core models. The success of its i3 and i8 models has encouraged the company to introduce its hybrid plug-in technology to other formats: first up is the 3 Series.

• Tesla’s Gigafactory, scheduled to be completed in 2017 or early 2018, is designed to reduce cell costs of lithium ion batteries much faster than the status quo, and, by 2020, produce more lithium ion batteries annually than were produced worldwide in 2013. By the end of the Gigafactory’s 1st year in operation, it plans to reduce the kWh cost of battery packs by more than 30%. By 2020, it will produce enough batteries for 500,000 cars per year.

• Faraday Future, an electric car venture with backing from Chinese billionaire Yeuting Jia, is investing $1 billion to build its first manufacturing facility in Las Vegas to make what it touts as "cars of the future."

Revolutionary breakthroughs in battery technology are accelerating electric vehicle innovation, reducing costs and improving performances. Recognizing this, car manufacturers are pledging more and more of their resources to create efficient, affordable plug-ins in large quantities.

Despite the introductions of fantastic new EVs, many auto dealers are conflicted about how to sell them. As Elon Musk says, “simple math shows no traditional dealer is incentivized to sell an electric vehicle with the same enthusiasm as the rest of their inventory.” Consumers are still confused about issues of cost, using chargers, range anxiety, rebates and EV maintenance. Dealers and EV buyers need a way to overcome the perceived pain of the EV purchase and lease process. CURRENT acts as a go-between for consumers and car dealers, brokering the sale from start to finish. CURRENT takes clients on test drives, uses its dealer relationships to get them the best price, and educates them about owning and operating an EV.

The CURRENT brokerage/concierge service is an innovative new way to help customers embrace The EV Lifestyle. CURRENT offers the major plug-in brands for sale and lease, providing a means for consumers to save thousands of dollars on fuel and maintenance costs.

Current’s one-of-a-kind comprehensive program of selling the top EV brands AND fully integrated charging systems AND solar power systems, has positioned it at the forefront of 21st century EV businesses. At present, no other dealership or concierge service in the world offers this complete one-stop-shop package of car, charger and solar power.