Electric cars are just a fad – they’re never going to replace the internal combustion engine; history has proven that already – the first electric production vehicle actually pre-dates the accepted 1886 Karl Benz creation ‘Benz Patent-Motorwagen’ by two years, and people soon realised that range was limited, as was power and the ability to recharge on the go.
There’s been over a century of development with ICE (Internal Combustion Engine), this has led to more power, greater reliability, less emissions and lifecycles that never seem to end – what can electric cars claim? A ‘good’ one (read: expensive) can just about make it from London to Manchester before you’re in for a long wait while it recharges.
The electrical myth
That sort of thinking was commonplace a decade or so ago; electric vehicles were an expensive toy that seemed to be the vehicle of choice for those that could afford to be principled, that didn’t really need a car for daily transport, or for those that wanted to make a statement.
Today, that has changed somewhat; electric vehicle sales are on the increase, the technology powering them has taken giant strides forward, and prices are almost comparable to their fossil-fuelled counterparts, in fact I’d hazard a guess that across the complete lifetime of vehicle ownership, they’d work out cheaper.
Whether you’re for or against, the electric vehicle movement is happening, and most industry experts say that they’ll be dominant in the next decade – the internal combustion engine development cycle is already slowing, most manufacturers shifting their focus to the cleaner, and let’s be honest, corporate image enhancing BEVs (Battery Electric Vehicles).
BEVs in numbers
With that said, there’s still a surprising amount of misinformation doing the rounds when it comes to electric cars and hybrids; LV= surveyed 2,004 UK adults to try and paint a picture of electric car usage, and the results were surprising.
One in ten people believe that a full electric vehicle can’t be used in the rain due to risk of electric shock, nearly double that figure believe that you can’t use a car wash (presumably for the same reason) and somewhere between the two are the people that think electric cars aren’t allowed to be driven on a motorway.
Amongst the ‘uninformed’ opinions, there were some very real concerns relating to battery range, pricing and manufacturing methods (51% of respondents said they’d worry about running out of charge), but the largest number of interviewees (55%) thought that electric vehicles just couldn’t compare with the outright power of diesel and unleaded.
Car utopia
While it seems that the ‘motor vehicle’ has been made scapegoat for a number of environmental issues, and the motorist being made to quite literally pay for the damage caused by them is a common theme, we shouldn’t believe that electric vehicles will be the saviour of the planet – consider it more as a sticking plaster fix, even more so in the short term.
Many environmentalists forget that the national grid will struggle if every motorist adopted an electric vehicle overnight, that the charging infrastructure simply isn’t in place, or that it’s necessary to use (and therefore mine) precious elements like cobalt for batteries, which is in short supply.
There’s also a question over what’s going to happen to the thousands of batteries when they’ve reached their end of life, and that while the vehicle itself may be emission-free, the process to make it or charge it isn’t – you’re simply shifting the emissions to a different part of the supply line.
There’s no doubting that a number of points raised by motorists are very real; range can be lacking under certain circumstance, charging still takes longer than refuelling, extreme temperatures can have an affect on range, but a great many of these ‘problems’ are fast becoming non-issues, and we shouldn’t forget that serious development of electric vehicles has only been happening for around 15 years.
Electric development today
Within those 15 years, we’ve seen ranges extended from less than 50 miles to hundreds of miles, battery prices falling from around £750 per kWh to approximately £150 per kWh, charging times lessened with many manufacturers offering an 80% charge within 30 minutes, and of course, huge infrastructure developments and investments so that the actual act of recharging is more available.
Realistically, buying an electric vehicle is a real alternative for many people if they’re already in the market for a new(er) car, and with government incentives available to help with the purchase price and the installation of a charger at home, not only is it a realistic alternative, but a viable one.
What do you think of electric vehicles? Is it something that you’re interested in? Or are you in the 18% that have said they’ll never own one? Let us know in the comments.
We already own one and look forward to their development. They’ve nearly caught up Ice’s in just 15 years !!
2.5 years after switching to a full EV as my sole vehicle, I’m never going back. I’ve driven up and down the country with no problems in a car with a modest 100-mile range, charging on the motorway in the time it takes to nip to the loo and have a Greggs. The monthly payments are less than I used to spend on petrol+tax, and once I’ve paid it off, I’ll be driving for pennies in a car that is more reliable than any I’ve ever had in the 25 preceding years
“One in ten people believe that a full electric vehicle can’t be used in the rain due to risk of electric shock, nearly double that figure believe that you can’t use a car wash (presumably for the same reason) and somewhere between the two are the people that think electric cars aren’t allowed to be driven on a motorway.”
I really despair of the British Public. No wonder we’re in the Brek*hit mess.
I drive an EV and voted for Brexit. I despair at people conflating the two. Is it some sort of subliminal virtue signalling?
Bruce, How much of the disinformation comes from social media where more than a few people believe anything that is fed to them this way.
Living in a street of terraced houses, I can never be sure of a parking place in from of my house, sometimes I may be 50 yards away, so much for being able to charge my car….
Ian, not all of us want to have to stop every 100 miles to spend 30 minutes charging up, a tank full of fuel takes me at least 500 miles, so I stop when I want to not when the car tells me it needs rechanging. Then there’s the problem of the queue at the charging points….
Electric is OK for townies and those who need to feel superior with their EV, but out in the sticks is a no brainer and will be for some years to come.
I thnk you’ll find it’s the politicians who have made a mess of Brexit, due to Westminster being full of predominantly remain MPs. Not everyone who voted out is thick, as I think you’re alluding to! I would agree, though, that the British public do have some strange ideas! I laughed out loud when I read the comment about not driving an electric vehicle in the rain. That is funny!
I would prefer an electric car but the range is still not sufficient for my long commute. I make do with a hybrid instead.
My partner and I can’t wait to get into e-motoring. However, it is abundantly clear that this is not yet the right time. Production of electric cars is still too low and therefore little reason for the purchase cost to come down. As you say, it is a new technology and I have learned to my cost not to be the first one in. That way, you have to help sort out the problems and you have to pay top dollar for the privilege. Mobile telephony was a good example. The first analogue mobile phones in the mid-80’s were not portable but bolted into your car, there were very few phone sets available and they cost not far short of £2,000! E-car prices will go down, batteries will become smaller, better and ecologically more acceptable and there will be sufficient charging points just as there are enough mobile telephone masts today. It will probably happen faster than the mobile phone industry took but we are still about 24 months away.
John
You were doing well in your praise for the developement of the EV, then you went and spoiled it. your comparison with mobile phones is just about spot on……. Except your statement about having “enough mobile telephone masts” this statment is wrong, across the UK we still have huge areas with little or no mobile coverage. The industry tells use that the cover 90% of the poulation with excellent signals but that ids poulation not geographical area, some of us are badly neglected. And this at the point where we are about to jump to 5G. It will be the same thing with charging infrastructure, fine if you live in and around major conurbations and arterial routes near big populations but I am willing to bet that the outlying rural areas in all 4 of the countries that make up our nation will, yet again be forgotten/undersupplied and treated as insignificant. for outlying populations being able to rely on EVs is a while off yet.
I would like to know how all the components for Electric cars come together and were they come from before I look at this as a Challenger for conventional transport (Batteries motors so on) just like to see how green they are.
The logical rebuttal would be – how green is any other car to produce and run?
Of course all manufacturers will vary (for petrol, diesel and BEV) and if people are considering or concerned about the raw material acquisition for batteries they should also be concerned about the methods and resources required to drill for oil, transport and refine it and transport, store and pump it to be burned in vehicles. It all counts, and must be considered, but I think it’s easy to forget because it’s established and we all take it for granted.
People with genuine concerns should seek the information. It’s very easily discovered and digested (with links to source research). I recommend taking a look on YouTube.
The detractors of electric vehicles are part of the same group of UK citizens who embarrass you when you go abroad on holiday. Unfortunately there a large number of them.
I drive a diesel and petrol vehicles and have no issue with electric vehicles. I will have one when they become more affordable and the range and charging infrastructure is better developed.
As an aside and off topic. Electric vehicle owners should pay VED Tax like the rest of us, as their vehicles tear up the roads and pollute with tyre rubber and brake dust like ICE vehicles do.
No argument with most of what you say. But successive governments have decided that the VED is based on the pollution cars emit. The zero VED is supposed to encourage uptake of EVs and will come back for all vehicles in time.
The other thing I have to take issue with is the brake dust, all EVs have regenerative braking and their brakes last many times longer therefore putting out far less dust than ICE cars. Unless I have to emergency brake my EVs brakes don’t cut in until I’m down to 6mph, all the rest of the energy used in slowing down the vehicle goes back into the battery.
Tyre rubber yes, brake dust, less so due to regenerative braking. Brake pads last a lot longer on electric vehicles.
That was from a discredited report. In fact my ev produces less brake dust than an ice vehicle due to using the regen braking effect of the motor. 70k miles before needing new brake pads is not unusual on an ev. So much fake news reports out there by oil industry sponsored articles.
The answer to all the problems with electric cars is replaceable batteries, rather than trying to recharge a fixed battery.
Battery swapping is very expensive and has lots of associated issues, imagine you have a brand new car and new battery, would you want that swapped out for an old one?? Rapid and hyper fast charging is coming in. Tesla already do 120kw rapid chargers and Audi and others are rolling out 350kw charging network across Europe. This will reduce charging time at motorway services dramatically.
No reason it should be expensive. The Indians are already doing it for tuktuks, and it lends itself to automation.
The batteries would be owned by the power company and rented by the motorist (much like gas cylinders). This would have the additional advantage of reducing hugely the initial cost – i.e.capital requirement – to buy an elect ric car.
Well that news has put paid to my plans – I was going to buy the mother-in-law one and send her out in the next downpour!
When I can get get from London to Keswick (330m) as quickly as in petrol car I will consider it.
You can now with some EVs. Real driving ranges of 250 miles are possible, and on a 330 mile trip you should stop for a comfort break (highway code states every 2 hours) and in a 20 min stop you can typically get another 150 + mile charge
When we all get electric vehicles how much will the cost of electricity go up. This all started with the hole in the ozone layer. Never mentioned by governments that if you keep shooting rockets to the moon and wherever that they must leave a hole in the ozone layer
The cost of electricity will go down – because if there are millions of batteries plugged into the grid, it becomes more stable. Also refineries use huge amounts of electricity. I have solar panels which are going to charge my next EV.
1 in 10 people must a bit thick!
Petrol and diesel vehicles have electrics in them. Battery, starter, alternator, sensors, etc which are susceptible to driving through a flooded road but are ok in the rain.
I already own a hybrid vehicle and would change to all electric if only the purchase prices were more favourable.
The biggest domestic charger you can get is 7kw (which takes 30 amps mains). Anything bigger than that requires the power company to run in a new 3-phase supply from the mains in the street.
At 7kw, a full charge on a Tesla 3 takes over 10 hours, which is a full overnight. As batteries get bigger to extend range, charging times get longer.
The usual supply cable for your whole street is fused at 300 or 400 amps. So just 10 EVs in the whole street use all the available power — nothing left for cooking, lights, heat pumps, showers etc for anybody else.
That’s why Gov is so keen to con us all into having smart meters. They can impose local power cuts and limits on individual households.
I worked 30 years in the electricity industry. I’m planning to open a candle factory now — we’re all gonna need it.
This is what I said about the electric ice cream Vans when some one said lamp posts could be charging points. Only if you up graded the wiring an put new lamps in. Think you’re 400amp per street is low mind. Each house has 100amp fuse here.
I have been to a couple of major manufacturers showrooms asking for information and both were very sketchy on what was available. They were able to give me costs of purchase but not ongoing costs. I will wait till the next time my car is up for renewal and do a bit more research beforehand.
I drive a hybrid (Volvo V60 PHEV) because all of my holidays are in the UK towing a caravan.
When an EV can match both range and towing power then I shall probably switch.
Well they’re already there on towing power. EVs are very torquey and that torque is available from 0rpm.
The range will take time though.
Judging by many of the comments here, there is a lack of knowledge about electric vehicles. It’s not surprising given the amount of misinformation out there. I can recommend the YouTube videos by Dr Euan McTurk. Episode 3 of ‘Plug Life Television’ is very comprehensive and dispels many of the ongoing myths.
It would be nice if we could all have electric vehicles but how would these problems be overcome?
in no particular order.
1. range on a charge
2. time it takes to charge
(the queue at the pump for fuel sometimes takes 10 minutes and 2 minutes to fill up so how long will the queue be for charging points ?)
3. cost to buy electric (will old fossel fuel car have no trade in value ?)
4. how to charge at home (we dont all have a garage!) maybe drop a lead from the top floor window of flat or up to the next street where I park ?
5. keep warm/defrost windows in winter? (use the battery and shorten the range ?)
6. battery life (number of charges it will take)
will it cost as much as a new car to replace the batterys ?
7. how will the electricity to charge all these vehicles be generated ? (gas oil coal?)
8. disposal of the old batterys at end of life?
9. time and energy used to install all these chargers across the country/world and who pays for them?
I hope someone can solve all these issues as we need to do something, but its not as simple as just going electric!
Seems impossible, too many insurmountable problems for the poor old UK to solve. Norway may have some of the answers though as already 58% of their new car sales are electric.
1. range on a charge
150 to 300 miles depending on how much you want to pay for the car. Range is affected by speed, weather, terrain, etc. This is the same as any vehicle but is more noticeable on an EV due to how efficient they are at moderate speed and even charging the battery back up when going downhill. For me I can do a full weeks commute on one charge.
2. time it takes to charge
(the queue at the pump for fuel sometimes takes 10 minutes and 2 minutes to fill up so how long will the queue be for charging points ?)
So this depends if you have home charging or not, for me I can plug in at night and have a full charge by the morning and use off peak electricity to do so (5p per kWhr which translates to something like 1.5p per mile).
Non-rapid charging cars like the Renault Zoe can add around 70 miles of charge in one hour, typical 50kW Rapids will give about 150 miles of charge in an hour, the new generation of cars and chargers can get nearly 300 miles of charge in an hour.
But the key difference is that you don’t have to stand next to your car whilst it’s charging, so you can go grab a coffee, use the toilet, etc.
It’s a different mindset and has a different set of pros and cons, for me I am glad I don’t have to take a detour to go and get petrol once a week.
3. cost to buy electric (will old fossel fuel car have no trade in value ?)
The current forecast is for EV’s to have price parity with ICE cars by mid 2020’s, one of the reasons I bought electric was because I didn’t want to be stuck with a worthless Petrol car in 5 years time.
4. how to charge at home (we dont all have a garage!) maybe drop a lead from the top floor window of flat or up to the next street where I park ?
Some people can make not having a home charger work, but I wouldn’t have bought one without offstreet parking.
5. keep warm/defrost windows in winter? (use the battery and shorten the range ?)
From experience this is not an issue, also you have the great advantage of being able to pre-heat the car, so last winter I never had to scrape any snow or ice of my car.
6. battery life (number of charges it will take)
will it cost as much as a new car to replace the batterys ?
All EV’s come with 8-year 100,000 mile battery guarantee (they have to in order to be eligible for the grant), they will lose some capacity over time, but experience has shown that they last a lot longer than initially expected (which is why a lot of old EV’s are currently going up in value).
7. how will the electricity to charge all these vehicles be generated ? (gas oil coal?)
If I assume you are talking about the UK then its mostly a mixture of Gas, Nuclear and Wind, with a tiny amount of coal.
8. disposal of the old batterys at end of life?
At the end of useful life for a car they still have an economic value for static storage.
9. time and energy used to install all these chargers across the country/world and who pays for them?
Either the taxpayer or companies who want to attract the business of EV drivers. I imagine they will be profitable in some locations, but I don’t think anyone is going to be making a fortune out of a charge point.
It doesnt suprise me that 10% of people think that electric cars don’t work in the wet, a youGov survey showed that 2% of people think the earth is flat.!!!! Just hope that the 2% are part of the 10%, otherwise 12% of the population are total bozos.
Have got hyundai ioniq hybrid which I am enjoying the car
They are just as bad for the planet, don’t be fooled
There are many ignorant people in this world today and number is continually getting bigger hour by hour
I am hoping to get my first EV In the next couple if months (leased).. I am keeping my petrol car initially for long journeys until I am experienced in planning trips and use of public chargers. I would hope to go fully electric once I can obtain one if the new cars coming to market I. 2020/21 with longer ranges and rapid charging capabilities. The public infrastructure needs to be increased in next five years but I expect the bulk of my journeys will easily be serviced from a home charge.