Tuesday, August 14, 2018

Range anxiety

Lots of potential EV buyers worry about range anxiety  Most of the time, of course, we actually drive short-ish distances.  In the USA, for example, 95% of average car trips are shorter than 30 miles (48 kms).  So a battery allowing for 100 miles range would cover your daily commute plus a detour to pick up the kids and buy groceries, even without chargers.  You'd charge your car up overnight in your garage. 

Source: Energy.gov


If you are spending $40K or more on an EV, then yes, you do want a decent range.  And for that you'd prolly buy a Tesla, because Tesla has lots of battery grunt plus it has far and away the best supercharger network, not just Tesla superchargers but also "destination chargers" at hotels, motels, restaurants, etc.  But if what you mostly need is a small, cheap car to whizz around the city in, then a long range is not essential.  As battery costs fall, the number of different EV models will grow fast, and you may be sure that there will be some very cheap EVs available which will cater for 95% of your trips.  Like the charming Microlino for example.  And as the number of EVs on the road expands, the number of chargers will expand too.  Those driving small cheap EVs will just have to stop more often to recharge when they do travel long distance. 

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