Death spiral for cars. By 2030, you probably won’t own one

By 2030, you probably won’t own a car, but you may get a free trip with your morning coffee. Transport-As-A-Service will use only electric vehicles and will upend two trillion-dollar industries. It’s the death spiral for cars.

A major new report predicts that by 2030, the overwhelming majority of consumers will no longer own a car – instead they will use on-demand electric autonomous vehicles.

By 2030, within 10 years of regulatory approval of autonomous electric vehicles (A-EVs), the report says, 95 per cent of all US passenger miles traveled will be served by on-demand, autonomous, electric vehicles that will be owned by fleets rather than individuals.

The provision of this service may come virtually free as part of another offering, or a corporate sponsorship. Imagine, for instance, paying a token sum for a ride into town after buying a latte for $4.50. Or getting a free ride because the local government has decided to make transport easier.

Read the Giles Parkinson story on RenewEconomy - “Death spiral for cars. By 2030, you probably won’t own one.”

Batteries build to be the 'internet of energy'

Redflow chairman Simon Hackett says
 policymakers need to pave the way for
 batteries and the changing function of the grid.

Rather than facing a "death spiral", the electricity grid is set to become the backbone of the "internet of energy," with the help of batteries – as long as policymakers get on board.

The concept that the electricity network is set to become an expensive white elephant with everyone self-sufficient in producing and storing their own power has disappeared.

In its place is the conviction that the rise of batteries will help place the transmission and distribution system as front and centre of tomorrow's electricity supply system, connecting consumers in a smart network of generation and storage devices and allowing them to trade with one another, and control household appliances remotely.

Read Angela Macdonald-Smith’s story in BusinessDay in today’s Melbourne Age - “Batteries to help grid become 'the internet of energy'Batteries.”