The global population growth and increasing demand for oil in emerging economies due to industrialisation drove up the demand for oil. As a result, we saw an increase in the prices of oil a couple of years ago, which further led to electric vehicles as an alternative. Hence, now the question arises, even after the decrease in oil prices, are electric cars the future of mobility; specifically sports cars?
Why wouldn’t electric cars be the future of mobility?
The biggest advantage for a car enthusiast is the fact that rather than accelerating the car at every single gear until it produces the maximum amount of torque. Tesla Model S, for instance, produces 687 lb.ft of torque at 0 RPM. No need to wait for the turbos to get started. In fact, the torque is right on the pedals when accelerated. If an electric car can produce more power or even the same amount of power, a car enthusiast eventually wouldn’t care if it were electric or petrol. We are also well aware of Volkswagen’s recent emission scandal. With electric cars, there will be no such thing as emissions.
However, no gas or diesel in the system means no sound, which many car enthusiasts wouldn’t appreciate. Especially if you have anything above 300 horses inside the hood, you would want your car to remind that to everyone every time you rev. Also, charging electric vehicles is still an issue. For instance, the electric version of Mercedes SLS requires 20 hours of charging whereas; filling a tank in the petrol version of SLS AMG would take no more than 5 minutes.
Watch: Ferrari LaFerrari, McLaren P1 And Porsche 918 Spyder Go Head To Head!
Let us now consider the perspective of some industry giants on the future of electric cars. Mr Sergio Marchionne, the current CEO of Ferrari, claimed electric cars to be “obscene”, therefore Ferrari will never make one. Really? Similarly, to what the Ferrari’s CEO said Maserati’s Boss Mr Harald Wester also said that they wouldn’t want to make an electric vehicle but will eventually have to. Both Ferrari and Maserati’s CEOs do not appreciate the idea of electric cars and the similar ideology. It is of no surprise as Ferrari and Maserati both have a history of working together. However, Mr Wester does accept that Maserati will eventually have no other option but to produce electric vehicles.
Contrary to what Ferrari’s and Maserati’s CEOs said, Porsche Chairman of Executive Board Mr Oliver Blume claimed in an interview, according to Porsche’s newsroom, that Porsche Mission-E is due to come out at the end of the decade, which is not too far. In fact, Mr Blume also mentioned that Tesla had set a new trend of electric cars, and Tesla deserves respect for this.
As much as I hate to say it, in my opinion, electric vehicles are the future of the automotive industry. Also, based on the perspective of the three industry giants, and the many benefits associated with electric cars, it will be wise to say that if not now, somewhere down the line all car manufacturers will have to adopt the necessary technology required for producing an electric car to stay competitive. However, the conversation on the trends of the auto industry just doesn’t end here. In fact, it will be interesting to see the effect of ride-sharing, autonomous driving cars and even passenger drones on the automobile industry soon.
yahan pe phir bhi corolla aur civic electric hi chalni hain :p
In the short term future, only those countries are ready for electric vehicles which have small geographical area or pockets of dense population, no national security threats, and excellent electrical grid.
Electric vehicle does have the sound of the bearings of motor, sound of gearbox and wheel bearings, tyre noise, wind blowing in the wheel wells, so it is not completely noiseless, but it doesn’t have those awesome sounds of the engine.
The torque of electric motor is available from 1 RPM, not at 0 RPM.
Electric cars are the future. Coupled with democratized alternate energy sources you will be able to rely on them anywhere on the planet. They have lower running costs, mower maintenance requirements and are software upgradable. Traditional cars will start becoming obsolete within 10 years….. Even in Pakistan we would laugh at the idea of driving clunky CNG/Petrol crap and the time we used to worry about fuel prices or engine oil change or brake pads or radiator coolant. They will be a thing of the past just like Nokia 3310 🙂