The pros and cons of electric cars

EV sales increased by a third in 2017 but
do they beat combustion-engined vehicles?

In Depth

The most recent addition to the electric fleet is the critically
acclaimed Jaguar I-Pace. Elon Musk’s EV brand Tesla has also
drummed up huge interest in the industry since launching its Model
S saloon in 2012. 

Sales of EVs and hybrid vehicles increased by
34.8% in 2017, according to figures from the Society of Motor
Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).  

So what are the pros and cons of personal electric
vehicles? 

Pro: cheap to run

With no need to stop at a petrol station a few times a month to
fill up with fuel, electric cars are far kinder to their owner’s
wallets than combustion-engined vehicles. 

Charging an electric car at home will cost on average £3.64 to
fill an empty battery, The Sun says, while using a rapid charger on
the motorway for 30 minutes costs around £6.50. 

But electric car buyers are not just saving money on running
costs. The Sunday Times says EVs qualify for a
government grant of up to £4,500, which is taken off the cost of a
new all-electric vehicle.

Con: not as clean as some think

As the name suggests, a fully-electric car is propelled
exclusively by batteries and motors, meaning the car itself does
not produce any carbon emissions. But that doesn’t mean
electric cars are completely zero-emissions.

According to Autocar, the carbon footprint for electric cars
is only marginally smaller than that of its combustion-engined
counterparts. That comes down to the manufacturing process, as
“nearly half” of the CO2 produced during an EV’s lifecycle
results from the battery production.

However, based on the 300g/kWh of carbon gases generated during
electric energy production in the UK, the magazine says EVs “still
produce less CO2 during their lifetime than petrol and diesel
cars”.

Plus, CleanTechnica reports that the lack of
emissions produced by EV cars on the road makes up for the CO2
created during the manufacturing processing within the first six
months of being driven. 

Pro: almost silent running

One of the key characteristics of electric vehicles that
make them appealing to car buyers is their near-silent
powertrain. 

Starting an electric vehicle is a completely silent
process void of the rumble and vibrations of a combustion-engined
car, while tyre and wind noise is the only noticeable sound when on
the move. 

“Car lovers really like the silence”, says Massachusetts
Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Technology Review, but some argue that
“extremely quiet” EVs may be dangerous for pedestrians. This is
because people are used to “relying upon the sounds of vehicles”
when crossing the road. 

However, some manufacturers are coming up with creative
ways to warn pedestrians that a car is approaching while still
retaining an EV’s almost silent characteristics.

Nissan, for instance, created a synthesised noise called Canto,
Latin for “song”, for its all-electric IMx concept last October,
The Daily Telegraph says. 

Con: range anxiety is still an issue

Range anxiety, the concern that a vehicle’s power or fuel
capacity isn’t enough to handle long distances, is still an issue
for car buyers. 

Research by consulting firm Deloitte found that one third of car
buyers would prefer a car with a range of at least 400 miles,
Forbes reports, while “another third would
settle for 300 miles”.

On the surface, this doesn’t bode well for electric cars. For
instance, the £14,000 Renault Zoe had a range of around 250 miles
under the previous New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) system, says
Auto Express. 

While the newly released Jaguar I-Pace has a claimed range of 298 miles
under the more accurate Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test
Procedure (WLTP), it’s around £50,000 more expensive than the
Renault. 

The network of EV charging points is also “dramatically”
outnumbered by the number of petrol stations in the UK, says
Car magazine. 

However, the UK now has 13,000 charging stations, five
times the amount that was available in 2011 and that figure is set
to grow “at a decent rate” over the next few years, the magazine
says.