Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA), Honda Motor Co Ltd (ADR) (HMC): When Will Americans Buy Electric Cars?

Meanwhile, the mass-market automakers are trying to get traction with simpler offerings aimed at green-minded commuters. (Or at least to placate regulators in states like California, which requires automakers to offer a zero-emissions vehicle.) So far, though, that market traction hasn’t been happening — except for the Leaf, which is selling in numbers close to Tesla’s.

Do we still think that battery-electric cars are the future?
Just a few years ago, many observers expected battery-electric cars to have strong sales by now. But those sales haven’t materialized, in part because consumers have adjusted to higher gas prices and in part because a lot of those observers anticipated breakthroughs in battery technology that haven’t happened — yet.

So do battery-electric cars have a future here? Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) seems to have found a solid niche market for the moment, but whether it will be able to ultimately achieve the 500,000 yearly sales volumes it hopes for remains to be seen. And the Leaf has a following, albeit a small one by Nissan’s usual standards.

But outside of areas like Silicon Valley and MetroWest Boston, where green-minded gadget geeks tend to congregate, battery-electric cars haven’t made much of an impression on American car buyers. And I don’t think that’s likely to change unless the technology makes a big leap forward.

The article When Will Americans Buy Electric Cars? originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by John Rosevear.

Fool contributor John Rosevear owns shares of Ford and General Motors Company (NYSE:GM). Follow him on Twitter at @jrosevear. The Motley Fool recommends BMW and General Motors. It recommends and owns shares of Ford and Tesla Motors.

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