Introduction 3 5. Charging Infrastructure—this factor is somewhat of a chicken and the egg scenario, no one wants to invest in a charging network that does not get used, but without a charging network consumers are not likely to purchase vehicles that need to use them. These are, in my opinion, the five keys issues that need to be resolved in order to ensure that electrification technology will get more deeply integrated into the transportation and station- ary base architectures. Some of these, such as cost, are hurdles that will be achieved through increased volumes in the applications as well as in advancements in technology.
But cost and volume are directly correlated to consumer awareness and having a charging infrastructure that matches consumer demand, along with having a higher number of available electrified applications. If we think of the typical automotive consumer, we find that we have become much more dependent on the technology of our vehicles but at the same time our understanding of how that technology works has declined. In other words, most consumers do not care or even understand what is under the hood, only that it will get them everywhere they need to go. For the early adopter consumer, factors such as the “green” factor and the environmental factor tend to be important purchase factors.
But for the mass market consumer, these become what I refer to as hygiene factors. The term is taken from the field of organizational psychology and motivation, where it was first used by Frederick Herzberg. Herzberg described the phrase hygiene factor in terms of motivation as a factor that if absent will cause dissatisfaction, but if present by themselves will not cause satisfaction (Herzberg, Mausner, & Snyderman, 1959). Batteries and battery-powered vehi- cles fall into this category for the mainstream consumer.
Having an advanced battery will not be a reason for a mass market consumer to purchase, but the performance improvement as seen in fuel economy will make it more competitive with other options. In order to make the shift from the early adopter to the mass market user, the technology needs to be able to offer a financial payback, internal rate of return, or significant improvements in fuel economy. In other words, the consumer needs to know that the invest- ment will offer them a financial benefit in reduced fuel costs.
In addition to this, the mass market consumer needs to know that the technology is “bullet proof,” they do not want to invest in early stage technologies since there is not a lot of proof that it works. The mass market consumer is also not willing to give up any performance or range of the vehicle. This one is of extreme importance in the growth of electric vehicles, as mass market consumers will require a vehicle that can offer them the same range as the traditional vehicle.
Evolving Vehicle Technology Needs Increasing levels of vehicle electrification such as electric heating, ventilation, air condition- ing; electric power steering; electric oil pumps; electric fuel pumps; and more in-vehicle