Seen as the solution to environmental pollution, electric cars are all the range these days. Imagine a world where all cars and trucks are electric. Imagine the feeling of driving for miles without the guilt of polluting the environment. But, if EVs are the solution, why aren’t many consumers embracing it yet? Why aren’t major transport industries supporting it? Here’s why.
EV transportation will load electric grids and their generating capacity in nasty way.
Think of it this way, in a world where cars and trucks run on electricity, highways should be supplied with infrastructure that can meet the energy consumption of cars on those highways. This requires a massive shift from petroleum energy to electrical energy as well as a massive increase in the energy capacity of grids. No one is ready for that yet.
Charging can take several hours.
While refueling with petrol can take only a few minutes, recharging electric cars can take several hours. Most EVs in the market today need to be plugged in overnight to fully charge, even with rapid charging. So, if EVs are going to be the future, highway recharging stations will have to be really large in order to accommodate dozens of vehicles.
Short driving range.
Driving an EV around small countries and cities is not really an issue. But if you’re going to use your car for holiday trips or long-distance travel, range can be a real problem. A typical electric car available in the market today has a range of 100 miles, posing a problem if there’s no recharging station along the way. And even when there’s any, the long recharging time can be a great inconvenience.
There’s no infrastructure available yet.
It is a new technology, so that should be expected. But not everyone is willing to sacrifice convenience for environmental stewardship just yet. The shift from petroleum-based transportation to electronic transportation still has a long way to go.
On a positive note, auto executives agree that the problem on the lack of infrastructure have to be addressed in order to make electronic cars a success.
