These days, numerous well-known technologies are about to be replaced with new ones. This thing happens in almost every single sector of activity, being caused by one important thing: efficiency. None wants to keep on spending huge amounts of money on different products, which cannot deliver what we are looking for. Similar to many other domains, which are slowly turning these days into new fields, the automobile industry is also changing. Numerous studies predict the fact that more and more people will opt for electric cars in the near future. Is this statement well founded?
Electric Cars: From A to Z
The electric vehicles enjoyed a great popularity between the middle of 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Those days were marked by electrical automobile propulsion, which used to provide an easier operation and higher level of comfort than the gasoline cars. However, the numerous advancements in combustion technology together with quick refueling times, mass production of vehicles on gasoline, great range of models, and other elements have led to reduced prices of the gasoline cars and obviously, the decline of the electric propulsion cars. Until now.
Lately, more and more studies have shown that gasoline has a really harmful impact over the environment. Furthermore, the gasoline production is much more reduced than a few years back, which has already led to some truly high prices. These things together with the peak oil issues and advances in battery technology have renewed our interest in electric vehicles. Moreover, these vehicles are much cheaper to maintain and more environmentally friendly than the gasoline cars.
Electric Cars and Their Efficiency
A great thing about the electric cars is the fact that they are truly efficient. However, we cannot deny the fact that there are a few positive and negative points that relate to these cars. The following paragraphs explain a few of them.
- Price: For the moment, the electric vehicles are more expensive than their gasoline counterparts are. The first reason why these cars are more expensive than the others relates to the fact that the car batteries come along with some truly high price tags. A recent survey shows that about 76% of Britons and 65% of US citizens are not interested in paying more for an electric car. As well, these cars operate with the help of a few additional parts, such as electric vehicle charger, which also implies some expenses. This is because if the electric vehicle charger gets broken, it must be replaced with a new one.
- Running and Maintenance Costs: Some people worry about the maintenance costs. As the running costs mainly relate to battery replacement, the overall maintenance costs for an electric vehicle total a much lower amount when compared to a gasoline vehicle. This thing means that an electric vehicle is much more efficient than one on gasoline. For instance, Tesla Roadster comes along with a large battery pack, which lasts for 7 years and costs $12,000. If the person is going to drive 40 miles every day for 7 years, the battery consumption is about $0.18 per mile. Furthermore, the companies that deliver batteries and electricity to recharge them anticipate that they will be able to develop some better systems and electric vehicle charger models, which will lower the costs to $0.05 per mile by 2016 and $0.02 by 2020. Similar estimates have also been presented by Nissan for its Leaf, BMW for i3 and i8, Renault, Volkswagen, and others. These figures show us that that the electric cars are more efficient than the gasoline ones.
- Fuel: In order to compare the “fuel” costs, Tesla issued a report, which shows that driving a Roadster 40 miles every day ranges from $0.56 to $3.18. The cost varies so greatly because it depends on the time of day the driver chooses to recharge his car. Comparing this data to the details of a gasoline gas, we can easily observe that the cost is more than double. This is because driving a gasoline car 40 miles takes 1.6 gallons of fuel. At a cost of $4/gallon, the total cost would be of $6.4. Once again, the electric cars show a higher efficiency than the internal combustion vehicles.
What Is Next
Besides the aforementioned points, we must also admit that the electric cars do not produce any harmful pollution. For this reason, they are generally referred to as zero-emission vehicles. In conclusion, the world is going to change regardless of whether we like it or not. But, the good news is that it is headed in the right direction.
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