Natural Gas, Electric Vehicles Vie for Different Market Sector Niches

摘要

Pundits often pit natural gas and electric vehicles in a seeming duel over which will gain a bigger share of the transportation market. But according to Raymond James analyst Pavel Molchanov, it's "not a question of either/or." "We don't think that either EVs or NGVs are inherently superior versus the other - it all depends on the context," he wrote in a report last week. Today, natural gas vehicles (NGVs) and true electric vehicles (EVs) recharged by an outside power source are hard pressed to make much of a dent in the overall transportation sector because of market and psychological constraints. EVs account for 0.3% of new car sales, while gasoline-electric hybrids, like the Toyota Prius, have captured 3% of the market.