By now, everybody knows how harmful oil drilling can be for the environment.
The most prominent use of oil is as gasoline to run your car.
So, as a nature lover, one might think getting an electric car might be the answer to improving one’s carbon footprint.
But is it really the answer?
Types of Electric Cars
Although electric vehicles have been around for a while, their influence and popularity are currently expanding quickly. In the next ten or so years, the sale of new gasoline vehicles is expected to be banned in a number of countries around the world.
BEVs
Typically, when people talk about electric vehicles, they’re referring to battery-electric vehicles (BEVs). These are entirely electrically powered. They power the vehicle with an electric motor using a sizable battery pack. Consider the electric motor as the engine, and the battery pack as the gas tank.
Examples are:
Tesla 3 – Kia EV6 – Volkswagen E-Golf
Hybrid Cars
Hybrid cars also have electric motors, but they work together with gas engines to power the vehicle. A PHEV’s battery can be charged via a plug-in and is typically much larger than a hybrid’s battery pack.
This is the key distinction between a hybrid and a PHEV. The battery pack is recharged by the gasoline engine in hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), which cannot be plugged in.
Examples are:
Toyota Prius – Ford Escape Hybrid – Hyundai Ioniq
Cost
One of the most crucial factors is the cost difference between owning and operating an electric car versus a gasoline-powered vehicle. You’ll need to take into account a number of things, such as the price of the vehicle’s overall purchase as well as the cost of fuel and upkeep.
In general, the initial cost of purchasing an electric vehicle is higher. For instance, the starting price of the 2023 Kia Ev6 is $40,900, while the starting price of the comparably sized Kia Sportage with a gasoline engine is $25,990.
The upfront cost difference is thinning out, though, as electric vehicles gain popularity, and there are now much more affordable options to pick from. Depending on where you live, a tax credit for electric vehicles might also help you save money on your purchase.
Because they use less energy, electric vehicles are frequently less expensive to operate than gasoline-powered vehicles.
According to a 2018 study from the Transportation Research Institute at the University of Michigan, the average cost of operating an electric vehicle (EV) in the United States is $485 per year, as opposed to $1,117 for a gasoline-powered vehicle.
This study also assumes that all charging takes place at home. This cost will increase if you intend to use public fast charging frequently. If we go too far and assume that all charging is done at public fast chargers, the price will be close.
However, given the recent increases in gas prices, the difference might be greater now.
Because electric motors and batteries need less regular maintenance than gasoline engines do, electric vehicles also typically have lower maintenance costs. For instance, they don’t require routine oil changes.
Of course, both gasoline-powered cars and electric vehicles still need to be insured, have their tires changed, and have their brakes maintained on a regular basis. It is estimated that over the course of five years, the cost of maintaining an EV can be about a third less than the cost of maintaining an equivalent gas vehicle.
Are Electric Cars Slower?
The driving experience is where you can see the differences between gas-powered vehicles and EVs. You might be taken aback by how an electric car feels to operate the first time you get behind the wheel because electric motors operate so differently from internal combustion engines.
As a result, at low speeds, their acceleration appears more instantaneous than that of gas-powered engines.
EVs are frequently faster than gasoline-powered vehicles, but not always. This implies that while they can accelerate from, say, 30 to 50 mph much more quickly than gas cars, they frequently have slower top speeds.
Environmental Impact
The big question now is, is an electric car really better for the environment?
The main advantage of electric vehicles is the improvement in air quality they can bring to urban areas. Pure electric vehicles emit no carbon dioxide while driving because they have no tailpipe. As a result, air pollution has greatly decreased.
Simply put, electric vehicles make our streets cleaner, improving the quality of life for cyclists and pedestrians in our towns and cities. Just one electric vehicle on the road can reduce CO2 emissions by 1.5 million grams annually on average. That equates to four roundtrip tickets from London to Barcelona.
The carbon emissions of an electric car are between 17 and 30% lower than those of a gasoline or diesel vehicle, even after the generation of electricity. Utilizing low carbon electricity also significantly reduces emissions from the production of electricity.
Now you understand that electric cars are actually better for the environment.
Are you ready to save our planet by driving an electric car?