Consider the number of days per year that you actually drive more then 200 miles in a day. Is it better to scale up your "daily driver" to meet the 'worst-case' requirement, or to scale it to meet the typical requirement, and then rent a gas-guzzling SUV for the few days a year where you really need range?
It's sort of like selling your 172 and buying a Pilatus because you've always dreamed of taking the whole family on vacation, then you find that with everybody's schedule, this dream trip only happens once every 2 or 3 years, and now you're taking your Pilatus to a neighborhood pancake fly-in every Sunday.
-harry
Good point, Harry.
In my own case, I fairly regularly go over 200 miles/day, but that's a function of both my job and my far-flung family. But in the case of family, I could use the mobile charger while I was there. I don't drive 3-4 hours, show up, and leave. I usually stay overnight (or at least for the day) before turning around.
Still, there's a sense in which the most gain would be derived by those who put on the most miles, so aiming for longer mileage between charges and/or the development of rapid charging technology still has very practical value. Furthermore, the improvements that could be developed in terms of battery life and motor efficiency have application beyond pure-electric vehicles (for example, plug-in hybrids).
An increasing number of NYC buses use hybrid technology, and some in that sector are considering whether that technology could be refined so that the buses run on electricity most of the time, with their fossil-fueled engines only being started when needed.
The NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission is another agency that is heavily promoting and incentivizing the development of alternative-fuel vehicles, from what I've read. The peculiar life of a NYC taxicab makes electric and other alternative-fueled vehicles very attractive, but also presents unique challenges. NYC taxis usually put on between 65,000 and 100,000 miles a year, and many are operated around the clock by different drivers. This presents a problem because the long downtime for charging makes electricity less practical.
One solution that has been tossed around would be designing the vehicles with batteries that can be quickly swapped out, so one can charge while the other is on the road. This solution would, however, add quite a bit to the cost of each car, and would likely require heavy machinery to do the actual swap. This pretty much limits its usefulness to fleets.
Still, it's good to see that some companies and agencies are aggressively pursuing alternatives. My personal belief is that what will eventually emerge is a technology that incorporates developments from multiple strategies, such as a hydrogen-electric plug-in hybrid.
Rich