The Obama administration will miss its goal of putting 1 million plug-in electric cars on the road by the end of the year, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said.
“We’re going to be a few years after the president’s aspirational goal of the end of 2015, but I think that we are within a few years of reaching that goal,” Moniz told the Detroit News.
That mark, which President Obama had set in 2008, has long been in doubt as electric vehicle sales have lagged expectations. The Electric Drive Transportation Association estimated sales hit roughly 280,000 through 2014, including 120,000 last year. Sales could drop this year since gasoline prices are hovering around $2 per gallon.
Automakers are still rolling out new electric vehicle models despite the lagging sales. Tesla Motors Inc., whose market largely includes wealthier customers, is set to unveil its Model III car in 2016. Chevrolet said earlier this month that it is planning a concept model called the Bolt that could travel 200 miles on one charge.
