Another consideration is infrastructure, including locations where EVs can be charged. Today, you see gas stations everywhere, but not charging stations. The early infrastructure has been focused on in-home charging and in some cases parking garages or retail points. While individual consumers are important in the long-term transition to EVs, the transition will be more concentrated in corporate fleets rather than passenger vehicles. Fleet transition makes sense from both an environmental and financial perspective; owners can buy in bulk, have predictable milage rates and can charge in a central location. All these factors plus government incentives will lower costs of fleet ownership and the cost of EV batteries.
Cross-sector collaboration will be key in leading the transition to EVs; governments and private industry must collaborate, with incentives driving both demand and supply. The ecosystem surrounding EVs is forming incredibly fast. With petrol-based vehicles, we had about 100 years to get our system in place, but now, you must convert to EVs in a fraction of that time. Governments will have to support through regulation as well as incentives to purchase or create new vehicles.
When it comes to the future of EVs, sustainability and financial viability must co-exist. Many of the business model challenges that EVs present to us today are based on the current state of technology, however, we are making enormous strides in the technology, application, and efficiency. By 2024, it is estimated that we are going to be at an 85% reduction of per kilowatt-hour costs for batteries.