All electric cars are not the same and why the call for ‘real’ electric cars should be resisted

Evert Geurtsen,Julian Wilford

doi:10.3390/wevj3040884

Abstract

Battery powered cars have many merits over traditionally powered cars: they are more energy efficient (i.e. less GHG emissions), less polluting and quiet.However, not all electric cars are the same and there is a ‘break point’ at a range of around 50-75 miles. Up to this range battery packs can be made affordable, compact and manageable in size and weight. Vehicles with this range are already produced today at affordable prices and do not need dramatic technology breakthroughs. Nevertheless, in the popular media and among commentators and politicians there is a sense that such vehicles are not an adequate replacement for traditional ICE powered car’s long range, fast refuelling and high performance. Such a view ignores the potential of small BEV’s to deliver adequately and economically on the actual mobility requirements of the majority of the population.In the United Kingdom the average car journey is only 8 miles long and the average speed is only 24 mph. This suggests that the capabilities of most current cars are vastly in excess of their actual requirement. This apparent paradox is easily explained by a brief look at the price list of a typical car manufacturer’s range. By the nature of the global, large scale car production process the marginal costs of extra performance, space and features is relatively small. The free market and consumerism do the rest.These economics do not apply to BEVs where the cost of the energy storage system imposes a large cost on vehicle size, performance, range and features. This paper concludes that smaller, short range BEVs are nevertheless such good match to actual consumer mobility needs and have so many societal advantages that the economics of carbon pricing and fuel price rises already make them cost competitive with traditional ICE powered cars in selected markets. As consumers re-evaluate how much they are prepared to pay for range and performance in particular, they are likely to opt for vehicles that match their actual needs at an affordable cost. Therefore small BEVs specifically should be encouraged as a means to create affordable and clean access to individual mobility in the shorted possible timescale.

Highlights

There is a wide-spread acceptance of the need to tackle climate change and electrification of transport is accepted as the only realistic solution to meet the GHG reduction required [1].The enthusiasm for electric cars has belatedly been adopted by the popular media and automotive commentators and led to a growing call for ‘real’ electric cars: all-electric cars match the range, performance and features of the current traditional car
Patterns of use suggest that short range battery electric vehicles make sense for society and for individual drivers/owners if the free market choice and rising CO2 pricing prevail
Average journey of 8 miles suggest that for the majority of car users a short range is required and no premium would be paid for the extended range capability that would remain idle for the majority of a vehicle’s life

Summary

Introduction

There is a wide-spread acceptance of the need to tackle climate change and electrification of transport is accepted as the only realistic solution to meet the GHG reduction required [1]. Approaching the development and popularization of the electric car as a plug-in version of current car will miss an opportunity to make fundamental improvements in congestion, transport efficiency, climate change and social access to individual mobility. From a societal and commercial point of view, such a vehicle should not be the priority of the industry or the politicians and risks being rejected by the market. In-depth studies of societal and individual mobility needs and preferences suggest that the solution is more likely to be found in small, short range city BEVs alongside other solutions: plugin hybrids, fuel cell hybrids, shared car use and integrated multi-mode public transport

Modern cars: the embarrassment of riches

The changed market economics of electric cars

Short range BEVs: less is more

Conclusion