Problems With Electric Vehicles:
Like most tech geeks, you probably think that the rise of the electric car industry is a good thing. They’re better for the environment, and by the same token, much cheaper to insure than even the most efficient of gas-powered cars. Unfortunately though, there are a range of obstacles standing in the way of the young electric car industry, that will take some time and work to overcome. Here are three of the biggest ones.
1) The Lack of Charging Points:
If there’s any hope of electric cars becoming a common sight in suburbs and cities, there needs to be a lot more charging stations. Large cities in particular present the biggest issue. When you look at the concentration of charging stations in Sydney or a similar sized settlement, any driver who gets an electric would also need to invest in a parking garage space where charging points are installed. That’s several hundred dollars a month, on top of insurance and car payments. In the US, electric cars aren’t really selling outside of California in any considerable quantities, and this one practical issue is a major reason why. All over the world, there needs to be a massive improvement in the charging infrastructure for EVs to be a practical option for most drivers. In most countries, this is going to hinge on government intervention.
2) Affordability of Cars:
As if the poor charging infrastructure didn’t make driving an EV expensive enough, the affordability of the cars themselves is also a big issue. Let’s say that you live in close proximity to a free public charging station, and rarely have to make trips of over 50 miles. This makes you an ideal modern EV customer. The only issue here is that you’ll probably only be able to afford two or three models, and not the most desirable ones, either! We’re talking about the boring models that Elon Musk said would be so bad for public opinion of electric cars. Of course, this is all before maintenance. Getting a typically straightforward log book service, or change of an engine component, becomes much more complicated when it involves an electric vehicle, and likely more expensive. A lot of us want to see a greener world with more electric vehicles, but first of all we have to be able to afford them!
3) Limited Range:
If you can comfortably afford a Tesla, then you’re certainly one of the lucky ones. These vehicles allow at least 208 miles of range to play with on the roads. If you need to set your price range lower, then you’re going to have to deal with the extremely limited range of the Nissan Leaf, or the BMW i3. In ideal conditions, a Leaf can do 84 miles. That’s enough to get to the beach and back, provided that you don’t have to take any detours, ascend any steep hills, or get stuck idling for too long! When you boil it all down, you either need to splash out for a Tesla, or use your EV for very short trips.