Why electric vehicles are better than gasoline cars – My two-cents!
Electric vehicles are getting increasingly popular particularly in the developed countries where most of the top manufacturers including General Motors, Volkswagen, Renault, Honda and others have started shifting towards making more electric cars. Back in 2010, there were only a handful of electric car models. In 2018, in the span of these eight years, the variety in EVs industry has greatly increased, and there are dozens of models available in the market.
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General Motors announced last year that they would make 100% of their cars electric by 2023. Other manufacturers such as Volkswagen, Renault and Honda also have plans on electrifying many of their models. Some countries like China, Britain, France, Norway and even India have plans on banning the sale of ICE (internal combustion engine) cars in future. So why all this hype about EVs? Are they any better than conventional internal combustion engine cars? Let’s find out.
Cost of electric cars:
Although the initial cost of electric vehicles is more than the gasoline cars, but considering the operating costs during the lifecycle of EVs, it turns out to be actually cheaper than conventional fossil fuel powered cars. Firstly, the EVs are highly energy efficient. For instance, the energy consumption of the 2018 Nissan Leaf 147hp according to EPA is 17.2 kW.h/100km for city driving which equates to 53km/l. Compared to that the fuel consumption of a 2017 Toyota Corolla Altis 132hp is around 12.5km/l for the same commute. So EVs are at least four times more energy efficient making them much cheaper to run. Furthermore, unlike gasoline cars, the EVs don’t require regular maintenance as they contain far less moving parts which further reduces the operating costs of the vehicle. Also with the plummeting battery costs, the cost of EVs is expected to go further down since almost half the cost of the vehicle goes into the production the battery. Since 2010 the battery costs have fallen by over 80% and still going down due to large-scale commercialisation. Experts believe that by 2025 the price of electric vehicles will be comparable to gasoline cars.
Performance of EVs:
There is a misconception among people that EVs are slower and offer poor performance than ICE vehicles. Ironically, it’s actually the opposite. One of the reasons for their increasing popularity is not because they are just environmentally friendly (which they are) but it’s because the performance of these cars is much better than the gasoline cars. Firstly, electric cars have instant torque which basically means that peak torque is achieved at zero RPM. This results in more acceleration and much better driving experience. Secondly, the regenerative braking makes the vehicle highly energy efficient through which the electric motor recharges the battery by using the momentum of the car without having to use the actual disc brakes. This also prolongs the life of brake pads. EVs, also don’t require regular maintenance making them very convenient for the users.
Zero emissions:
EVs produce no emissions. This is becoming increasingly important especially in urban centres where the air quality keeps on getting worse because of the emissions produced by ever-increasing traffic which lead to respiratory diseases. As a result, the emission standards for gasoline vehicles are also getting stricter which is becoming quite difficult for the manufacturers to meet and is proving to be uneconomical. Hence the solution is to produce zero emission vehicles, i.e. electric vehicles.
Future of electric cars:
Electric cars are not just better than ICE cars; they keep getting better each year. With plummeting battery costs each year the cost of electric vehicles will be comparable to ICE cars in the near future after which point market saturation of EVs is expected to reach. Moreover, the increasing air pollution in urban areas also calls for environmentally friendly vehicles to curb the air pollution to acceptable limits.
It is only a matter of time when people will start importing electric vehicles in Pakistan as well. We already have a bunch of Chinese electric cars as well as a Tesla in Pakistan. Besides, the government needs to make these electric cars more lucrative for people to opt for rather than the conventional cars in future.