Earlier this month at the Geneva Motor Show, Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn mentioned that, in his mind at least, electric cars were at least 15-20 years away. Now, Volkswagen of USA head Stefan Jacoby has been quoted as saying it will take even longer. Specifically, it could be as long as 35 years before EVs take a significant percentage of market share away from the tried-and-true internal combustion engine.
Why? To answer, Jacoby asks a question: “What would happen if 50 million new electric customers would plug their electric cars in an electric socket? There is no country on earth that is really properly prepared for electric cars.” Further, Jacoby suggests that emerging markets like China and India will take the longest to eschew fossil fuels.
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