Electric vehicle sales to rev up in future, experts say at Chattanooga meeting

Staff photo by Tim Barber/ Fred Turner, left, and Annette Ronaszegi, right, listen as Jaguar of Chattanooga sales consultant Theresa Johnson reveals features of the 2019 Jaguar I-Pace electric vehicle Tuesday on the Southside.

By Mike Pare September 17, 2019 4 min read

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Electric vehicle sales

Staff photo by Tim Barber/ Fred Turner, left, is attentive as Theresa Johnson, sales consultant for Jaguar of Chattanooga, points out some of the features inside a 2019 Jaguar I-Pace electric vehicle Tuesday on the Southside.

Staff photo by Tim Barber/ Inside the Chevy Bolt EV/LT, Race Henderson points out the infotainment center, featuring a large full color display screen, to Frank Gibson Tuesday after an information session at Green/Spaces on East Main Street.

Staff photo by Tim Barber/ Chevrolet representative Race Henderson, left, speaks to Helge Nestler about the new Chevy Bolt EV/Premier as Sam and Teresa Manning look at the rear of the vehicle Tuesday on a parking lot near Green/Spaces on East Main Street. The trim level Bolt is seen, at right.

Staff photo by Tim Barber/ Fred Turner, back right, waits as Theresa Johnson, sales consultant for Jaguar of Chattanooga, opens the door of a 2019 Jaguar I-Pace electric vehicle Tuesday on the Southside.

The next five years will be very interesting for electric vehicles.

Many of the red stop lights that motorists see when thinking about buying an electric vehicle will turn green over the next five years, some experts said in Chattanooga on Tuesday.

“In the next five years, all the promises [automakers] made in electrification will hit parking lots and showrooms,” said Bill Copeland, EPB’s strategic director for business intelligence.

Drew Frye, a TVA program manager for EV strategy, said at a panel discussion on battery-powered vehicles sponsored by the sustainability group Green|Spaces that there are a lot of electric cars slated to arrive in the market by 2024.

By the numbers

* More than 1.18 million electric vehicles were on the road in the U.S. as of March 31, 2019.* Total sales of electric vehicles for 2018 were up 81% compared to 2017.