Electric Vehicles will be at the heart of Frost & Sullivan’s upcoming annual industry event – – Urban Mobility 3.0: OEMs New Mobility Offerings and New Business Models Linking Web 2.0,’ which takes on 13 -14 June 2012 in London. The EV workshop will also debate the role of public transport, specifically bus and rail, and electric vehicles as a sustainable transport of now and the future. The European Union wants to ban automobiles from all cities by 2050, which has automakers scrambling to develop cleaner modes of urban transportation.
The latest analysis from Frost & Sullivan – 360 Degree Perspective Of The Central And Eastern European Electric Vehicle Industry – claims that the industry is expected to reach unit shipments of around 62,000 units by 2017, increasing from approximately 245 units in 2011, predominantly in developing urban areas as well as due to anticipated optimization of the supply chain and, therefore, substantial EV cost reductions.
“Rising personal incomes, the process of urban sprawl and changing mobility preferences in CEE are fuelling the demand for new sustainable solutions in personal mobility,” notes Frost & Sullivan Senior Consultant Vitaly Belskiy. “This will catalyze the development of the EV market until 2017.
However, the consultancy notes that the lack of government support – especially ‘soft incentives,’ such as the ability to use bus lanes and free parking – in the short-term is expected to restrain industry growth. Financial subsidies are not expected to have a strong direct impact on the industry, yet appear to be necessary in order to catalyze its development at the initial stage.
“When it comes to long-term development of charging infrastructure for EVs, CEE will have to face similar challenges to Western European countries – safety of charging process, network management and financial transactions services, among others,” cautions Belskiy. “However, setting up a charging infrastructure in CEE in residential areas, where most charging is likely to be done, will require specific solutions, and only around 7% of CEE’s population lives in houses, where garage charging could be an option.”
For more information, visit: www.gil-global.com/urbanmobility and www.automotive.frost.com.
