Year Number of Alternative-Fueled Vehicles in US 2000 394,664 2001 425,457 2002
ID: 3348613 • Letter: Y
Question
Year
Number of Alternative-Fueled Vehicles in US
2000
394,664
2001
425,457
2002
471,098
2003
533,999
2004
565,492
2005
592,125
2006
634,562
2007
695,766
In 2008, the price of gas dropped drastically and hit a low average of $1.59 for the nation. What effect do you think this will have on the alternative-fuel car sales, if any? Do you think that this would affect the number of alternative-fueled vehicles used in the United States? Do you think that it would follow the same pattern as before 2008? Write 2 or 3 sentences explaining how you think the new vehicles will affect the number of alternative-fueled vehicles in the United States. (18 points)
Search online to find some evidence for or against your opinion in part e. Give the information that you found and state the URL to the data. Was your prediction correct or incorrect? Why do you think that happened? Write 2 or 3 sentences summarizing the information that you found and explain why you think that happened. Be sure to answer each question. (18 points)
Year
Number of Alternative-Fueled Vehicles in US
2000
394,664
2001
425,457
2002
471,098
2003
533,999
2004
565,492
2005
592,125
2006
634,562
2007
695,766
Explanation / Answer
The alternative fuels are a substitute for the conventional gasoline and diesel powered vehicles. Today there are several options, including CNG, electric and hydrogen powered vehicles. They are not only meant to be a low cost alternative, but also reduce the carbon footprint and reduce dependence on conventional fuel resources.
Let us analyze the given data first.
There is an average year on year increase of about 8.5% in the number of alternative fueled vehicles in the US between '00 - '07. If the gas prices drop, we should expect the sale of these vehicles to slow down. Hence, it is expected that the sales in 2008 should be less than 108.5% of 695,766, viz. about 754,906. However, the actual data is obtained from the following link
https://www.eia.gov/renewable/alternative_transport_vehicles/pdf/attf_V1.pdf
which shows that the combined sale of these vehicles rose to 775,667 in 2008 and 826,318 in 2009, viz. an increase of about 11.5% and 6.5% respectively. Thus, the trend has remained approximately the same, and there has not been a drastic reduction in the sale of such vehicles, quite contrary to what we expected.
This shows that gasoline price is not the deciding factor for the adoption of alternative fueled vehicles in the US. It is possible that consumers are conscious of reducing their carbon footprint. Another very plusible concern could be the overall cost of maintaining a gasoline/ diesel vehicle over its life of 10-15 years, as against the same cost for an alternative fueled vehicle. Perhaps such vehicles provide higher efficiency and performance, hence the reduction in gas prices was not a strong enough reason for them to give up the other driving benefits. To summarize, it is the underlying technology of these vehicles that supersedes any cost benefits of conventional gas powered vehicles.
Year Alternative-Fueled Vehicles in US YoY % Increase 2000 394,664 2001 425,457 7.80 2002 471,098 10.73 2003 533,999 13.35 2004 565,492 5.90 2005 592,125 4.71 2006 634,562 7.17 2007 695,766 9.65 8.47Related Questions
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