In line with their commitment to addressing global warming and climate change, many governments are requiring that future vehicles sold within their territories be electric. Accordingly, there is a growing demand for electric cars.
A technical report by J.P Morgan projects that electric vehicles will account for 30% of all vehicles sold globally by 2025. Tesla, the leading electric vehicle brand based on sales, made $53.82 billion in revenue in 2021, representing a 28.31% rise from that of 2019. Therefore, electric vehicles seem to be the future of transportation and the automobile industry.
In this article, we provide 5 factors you should consider before buying an electric car.
What you should consider before buying an electric car
1. Range
The distance you routinely cover should be considered when trying to buy an electric car. The earliest models of electric cars could only travel as far as 100 miles before their batteries run down. Latest, more expensive models can now cover up to 500 miles, helping to address the range anxiety issue. However, these models are equally more expensive.
2. Electricity and charging infrastructure
Electric vehicles are to be charged like your phones, laptops and tabs. In many developing countries, stable power supply is a luxury. Therefore, intending buyers in these countries have unique, genuine concerns – additional costs from fueling power generators.
Combining prohibitive electricity bills with the high cost of diesel will dramatically increase the total cost of ownership (TCO) in these regions.
The availability of charging infrastructure is another issue to consider. It is better to have an outdoor charging point of, at least, 240 volts at home. Otherwise, you will require regular access to public charging stations.
Sadly, public charging stations are rare in many developing countries. The U.S. is the leading provider of public charging stations with about 50,000 available and a plan for 500,000 charging stations by 2030.
3. Maintenance
Maintaining electric cars requires specialist knowledge. Because they are new innovations, maintaining electric vehicles could be very challenging, as conventional auto-mechanics do not have the requisite knowledge of these recent automobiles. That means most owners would take their cars to their manufacturers for maintenance.
A similar issue is the lack of spare parts in the market for the replacement of damaged components.
4. Traffic
If you regularly encounter traffic on your route, this will have unfavourable implications. The longer your electric car stays in traffic, the faster the battery is drained.
In addition, charging the battery too frequently will drastically reduce its capacity and you will have to replace it much earlier than you bargained for.
5. Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
Generally, electric cars come with higher costs. First, they are more expensive, say two to three times the cost of gasoline-powered vehicles. Second, electric cars are more expensive to maintain. Third, they will depend on the availability of diesel or petrol to get charged in many developing countries struggling to have a stable power supply, which also comes with financial implications.
Final thoughts
The gradual transition from gasoline-powered vehicles to electric cars is one of the several efforts being made to address climate change. Nevertheless, this solution is equally accompanied by other challenges as identified.
Things are expected to improve as some of these challenges are gradually being addressed, particularly those relating to the range, cost, charging infrastructure and spare parts of electric vehicles.
However, developing countries have unique issues that slow down the electric vehicles revolution, especially in relation to leadership, economy and infrastructure.
Image source: Pixabay
