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Shell CEO Predicts EVs Will Account for 40% of Market by 2050

 
1,289 views Mar 10, 2010

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It's not often that you hear about oil companies claiming that electric vehicles will make a significant impact in the future, and even less often that a major oil company claims that electric vehicles will soon makeup 40% of the automotive market, but this is exactly what has occurred.

Shell CEO Peter Voser said that he expects electric drive vehicles that make up for as much as 40% of the entire automotive market by 2050.  2050 may be a long time from now, but considering that Shell, owned by Royal Dutch, is a major oil company, admission of future EV success is a breakthrough.

CEO Voser said that increases in the cost of gasoline along with technological advancements in the EV field will soon lead buyers towards the new technology.  Voser added, "We think between now and 2050, we will go from 1 billion cars to 2 billion cars worldwide.  We think by 2050, roughly 40 percent of those 2 billion cars will be electric."

How does Shell prepare for a future with less gasoline powered vehicles on the road?  The company has already began several alternative fuel programs.  They recently launched a $21 billion joint venture working with ethanol fuel.  They have also concentrated efforts on biofuels, wind power, and other renewable energies.

The electric car is coming and even big oil is getting ready!

Source:  Wall Street Journal  via Edmunds





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Comments (3)

  1. By Chris O Posted: 3/10/2010 4:06am PST

    40% BEV's by 2040...Shell should be so lucky! What if batterytechnology improves by a factor three. A 60KWH/300 miles range battery would weigh in at 200kg, cost about $9K and last at least 3000 cycles, reducing batterycost to $0.01 per mile. I can't see ICE competing with numbers like that let alone a factor 5 or 10 improvement of battery technology over the next 30 years.
     
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  2. By Noel Park Posted: 3/10/2010 12:46pm PST

    If he is right and the number of cars in the world doubles in that time, we had all better hope that 40% of them are electric. Even then, the environmental impacts are going to be terrifying. Anyway, it looks like poor old Shell's market would grow in any case. If they can keep ratcheting up the price of crude and oil products as the supply shrinks, they should look to be incredibly profitable. But all credit to them for thinking about what their business model will be 40 years down the road.
     
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  3. By jeffhre Posted: 3/11/2010 11:55am PST

    Right Noel, exactly! Eric your posts as usual are amazing and informative, though you may want to strike through this line - How does Shell prepare for a future with less gasoline powered vehicles on the road? - since Peter Voser is predicting a doubling of the vehicle market through 2050.
     
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