Touring published their Electric Driving Monitorlast week. It shows that the price and range of an electric car are the biggest stumbling blocks for belgian people to purchase an EV. It is a fact; from 2035, only electric cars will be sold in the European union. But despite this new legislation, many people still do not see the electrical transition. There are misconceptions and myths surrounding EV's and electric driving and in this article we want to defuse these misconceptions and show why electric cars are a sustainable future-proof alternative to petrol or diesel cars.
5 myths about EVs
Yes and no. The driving range of electric cars used to be one of the stumbling blocks for many people, but that is no longer the case. The latest electric cars now have a driving range of up to 500 kilometers! Moreover, the average company car only drives 77 km a day. Which makes the range of most electric cars more than sufficient for daily use. For long trips, e.g. a trip to France, you only have to charge about 1 to 2 hours during the trip, which also gives time to rest, go to the toilet or something to eat and drink.
The driving range also depends a lot on the weather and your personal driving style. If it is colder, the car will lose driving range, among other things because the heating is higher and for this the car needs to use extra energy. But there are some best practices and work-arounds, such as using the seat heating instead of heating the car with air conditioning. What can also help, especially on the motorway, is to drive at a consistent speed, which means that the engine has to work less hard and therefore consumes less energy.
It is true that the capacity of EV batteries decreases over time, but the technology of car batteries has now improved to such an extent that it takes about 10 years before they need replacing. For example, well-known car brands, such as Tesla, are so convinced of the lifetime of their EV batteries that they give 8 years warranty on the battery!
The batteries of most electric cars can also 'charge smart', which ensures that the battery life is much longer and that it does not overheat. This technology has been used in your smartphone and laptop for some time.
At present, the purchase price of an electric car is generally higher than that of a petrol or diesel car. But we also have to take into account the total cost of ownership (TCO) And it's a lot lower for EV's. This is due to lower charging costs, lower maintenance costs and possible tax allowances.
In addition, producers will find ways to make the production of electric vehicles cheaper, which will reduce prices in the future. For example, Volkswagen has announced that they will start producing a fully electric car for 25,000 euros in 2025.
There are currently more than 500,000 (semi-) public charging points available in Europe. (Source: EV Markets Reports) and about 80,000 of these chargers are DC fast chargers that allow most EV's to be fully charged in less than 30 minutes.. With the Pluginvest charge@public charge card you can charge your EV at more than 275.000 public charging points across Europe.
There are also more and more charging points available at supermarkets, hotels, parking garages etc. This way, charging your EV is a lot faster and easier. Companies are also committed to providing enough charging infrastructure for their fleet. It is important to know that most recharges are done at home or at work.
This response needs to be nuanced. That is to say, in some cases, emissions from the production of an EV are higher than those from a petrol car. But electric cars are catching up quickly in terms of daily consumption and the emissions that are associated with it. Many brands already work with recycled batteries and raw materials and many charging points are fully powered by renewable energy, such as solar and wind energy (for example Fastned). If you charge your EV at home and use green energy sources, such as solar panels, the harmful emissions are significantly reduced.
Many people also have questions about the use of cobalt in lithium batteries; mainly due to the impact on the environment and the working conditions of miners. But there have been major changes here. Since 2020 there has been a cobalt-free version of an EV battery. Almost half of the Tesla vehicles produced in the first quarter of 2022, were equipped with cobalt-free batteries.It is expected that other car brands will soon follow.