Oregon Transportation Electrification Initiative: Opportunities for University/Industry Collaboration and Support Final Report Prepared for: Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium (otrec) Prepared by
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- Table 4-1: What barriers are keeping the EV industry from growing in Oregon (Q-7)
- Table 4-2: What barriers are you facing in growing your company (Q-8)
EV Industry Support NeedsThe next series of questions were aimed at identifying gaps in resources and barriers that stand in the way of the Oregon EV industry as a whole, as well as the challenges for individual businesses. In Question 7 (Table 4-1), 42% of respondents gave their opinions when we asked, “What barriers are keeping the electric vehicle industry from growing in Oregon?” In Question 8 (Table 4-2), 40% of respondents provided written comments when asked, “What barriers are you facing in growing your company?” Both of these questions were intentionally left open-ended (e.g., respondents wrote in their responses) so as not to narrow the discussion to the conclusions OTREC and DO leadership had surmised from their specialized perspectives. Eighty-four percent of the EV entrepreneurs offered the following answers and several of the non-business owner participants chimed in. Topping the list to industry growth for the respondents was the lack of accessible capital for business development (this was by far the highest ranked problem for individual businesses, although secondarily identified as a problem for the industry as a whole). Oregon has few venture capitalists interested in EVs, and loans, grants and subsidies are not providing enough money to EV entrepreneurs that could be used in expanding their businesses. One respondent also pointed out there were few contract opportunities for Oregon EV companies. Table 4-1: What barriers are keeping the EV industry from growing in Oregon? (Q-7) 
Source: OTREC EV Industry Needs Assessment Survey, CPW July 2011 Note: Approximately 40% of the respondents answered these questions. Approximately 60% did not offer their opinions. Numbers marked indicate the opinions of 19 participants. The second hurdle named most frequently was the issue of awareness. Business owners felt that Americans in general are not aware of the benefits of electric vehicles, the advantages of EVs over internal combustion engines (ICE), their ease of use and their availability. Supporting this concern, business owners cited the lack of EVs as mainstream considerations in personal transportation, the lack of EVs in car dealerships and the lack of successful EV companies competing in the markets aimed at the majority of transportation consumers. The fact that gasoline prices remain artificially low and that the costs of carbon emissions remain externalized exacerbate the awareness issue. Consumers also have limited financial incentives to adopt EVs in Oregon and the lack of demand puts the onus on the EV industry to create demand. While the Federal government still offers tax rebates for purchasing electric vehicles, 51 the Oregon Legislature eliminated the State tax credit for consumers during the last legislative session. The tax credits for businesses purchasing electric vehicle fleets will end in Oregon at the end of this year as well. Several respondents cited the cost of EVs and batteries as barriers, and the loss of incentives will worsen this issue in getting EVs into the hands of mainstream car buyers. The third ranked problem for EV expansion was the confusion of regulations, changing policies, codes, possible road use taxes as well as the unclear tax credits and incentives. One respondent specified local and payroll taxes and requirements for base-rate wages that increase overhead as problematic. Joined with this is a perceived deficiency of support infrastructure and the lack of a realistic, outcome-based strategy to catapult the EV industry into the conventional market place. Several respondents brought up issues of the lack of industry wide cooperation and collaboration. They have the sense that everyone is acting on their own while trying to appear that they are part of “the group.” Both in this survey and in the interviews that were conducted with subject experts, the difficulty in finding skilled workers came up several times. Despite Oregon’s employment problems, finding workers with experience in EV technology, or even with the basic skills and capacity for applying those skills to EVs, is difficult. Table 4-2: What barriers are you facing in growing your company? (Q-8) 
Source: OTREC EV Industry Needs Assessment Survey, CPW July 2011 Note: Approximately 40% of the respondents answered these questions. Approximately 60% did not offer their opinions. Numbers marked indicate the opinions of 19 participants.
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