Are oil companies trying to kill the electric auto?

Bob McCool
Executive Vice President
Americas Marketing & Refining Division
Mobil Oil Corp.
Fairfax, Va.

Oil companies and automakers are trying to kill the electric car. They're afraid of the competition, say some who would mandate the sale of electric vehicles.

Can this be true? Are oil companies and automakers trying to kill the electric car? Are they afraid of the competition?

Speaking for Mobil, the answer is "no." We do not fear the electric car. We are not trying to "kill it," as some proponents of the electric car would have you believe.

The issue for us, as we have often publicly stated, is government mandates and subsidies.

We have no problem competing with electric powered cars or any other transportation fuel in a free and open market. But we do object to the government mandating unproven technology and subsidizing our competition with public tax money.

To prematurely force this or any other product on the consumer distorts the marketplace, is not a cost effective use of society's limited economic resources, and is counterproductive to the best interest of the consumer and business.

No potshots

Having said that, does that mean we'll sit by and let supporters of electric cars or any other fuel take shots at us? Absolutely not.

The fact is today's cars, taken in combination with today's gasoline, emit 97% less tailpipe emissions than cars of the 1960s. And in spite of this year's unusually hot summer, the air quality trend line continues to improve.

Will we point out the shortcomings of a competitor who benefits from government mandated sales requirements and public tax subsidies? You bet we will. For example, here are a few recent findings by nonoil sources:

The U.S. General Accounting Office identified five major barriers to the immediate implementation of electric vehicles: inadequate battery technology, limited infrastructure (i.e., recharging), uncertain safety, high price and uncertain market potential. Additionally, the study found that electric vehicles would increase sulfur dioxide emissions in the U.S. 300-760% and potentially increase greenhouse gas emissions 5%.
The Reason Foundation, a public-policy research organization, reported that state mandates aimed at expanding the number of electric vehicles on the roadlike the ones in California, New York, and Massachusettscould damage the automotive industry, lower personal income, depress economic growth and result in higher prices, energy rates, and/or taxes to fund government subsidies.
Ford Motor Co. recently reported that in winter field tests, its electric Ecostar experienced as much as a 40% loss in driving range.
A Massachusetts Institute of Technology study evaluates the mandate policy for electric vehicles and concludes that the commitment to electric vehicles is motivated by faith rather than rational analysis.
A Carnegie Mellon University study concluded that producing and recycling the lead acid batteries used in electric cars would discharge large quantities of lead into the environment, an amount that would outweigh the benefits already achieved by the removal of lead from gasoline.

These reports raised technical, safety, economic, and environmental concerns regarding electric vehicles. But if you still want to buy one, go ahead. That should be your decision as a consumer in a free and competitive marketplace, not one that's mandated by government and paid with the assistance of tax dollars.