Fully Electric Vehicle Availability Will Benefit General Motors

Much excitement has

of Tesla's

Model S, set for release throughout the end of 2012. The Model S is reported to begin $100 South of $50,000 before taxes, which by comparison to other vehicular options is decent when considering fully electric vehicles. Yes, General Motors'

(starting at $39, 145 before $7500 in available tax credits) is a gas/electric hybrid, but still remains a popular contender in the realm occupied by the

(starting at $27,700), Ford's

(starting at $39,200) and the

(starting at $96,895). As we can see, all electric/hybrids from publicly traded companies start significantly less than the privately-held Fisker offering. So, just how available will the Model S be? Chevrolet's Volt have gained popularity that has spread widely across the United States (here in Michigan just about every color option offered can be seen daily) whereas Ford has yet to release the Focus Electric and the Nissan Leaf has been reported to have a

. Nissan's poor Leaf sales reflect the trends in "fully electric" vehicle sales, a market that many automakers (Ford, BMW, Honda

, Toyota

, Mitsubishi and General Motors) have all tried to dominate with their vehicle offerings. Fisker has dealerships now (only one is available in Michigan) but with the hefty price tag, the Karma model is not a hot seller. Fisker has also follow suit with the numerous

that have been publicized heavily as of late. Consumers typically gravitate towards the gas/electric hybrids, so as to not get caught traveling and in need of a plug-in to charge their vehicle and instead opting for the safety and reliability of gasoline-powered engines. This, along with the availability of fully electric vehicles, will send consumers to General Motors, Honda and Toyota, all of which manufacture gas/electric hybrids such as the Volt, Insight and Prius, respectively. Toyota now offers options in this market, the smaller Prius C, regular Prius, Prius V and Camry Hybrid, all of which achieve high-30s to low-40 miles per gallon. The attractive Honda Insight offers a body style that emulates the Prius with an attractive interior made of fine materials and colorful dashboard backlighting and liquid crystal displays, as does the two-door CR-Z, which emulates Honda's retired CRX model of the late 1980s. The Volt being the only domestic hybrid has gained the loyalty of consumers looking for these options in a vehicle manufactured state-side, which shows in the car's

. As the gas/electric market gains traction, more options will become available that will help dilute Toyota's share in affordable product offerings near-term. Long-term, as electric vehicle options (including gas/electric) become more plentiful, strategy planners and optimists within the automakers predict that more than half of all new car sales will be a hybrid of some sort within the next 10-12 years.