Vehicle electrification is one of the top trends in automotive today. Prompted by policy shifts targeting gas and diesel vehicle bans and consumer desire for more eco-friendly transportation solutions, OEMs are working towards electrifying their vehicle portfolios.
Automakers that prioritize innovation and smart manufacturing can develop electric vehicle technology quickly and profitably. However, battery-powered vehicle design and production presents unique challenges, including limited driving range and charging issues.
Fuel efficiency
Vehicle fuel efficiency refers to the energy required to cover a set distance by an automobile. In the United States, this metric is commonly expressed as miles per gallon (MPG); countries using metric measurements typically measure fuel efficiency as kilometers per liter or liters per 100 kilometers (L/100 km).
An automobile’s efficiency is determined by several factors, including engine type and battery power capacity; weight of the vehicle; design/technology contributions to efficiency, and overall vehicle design/technology considerations. Electric vehicles tend to be more energy-efficient than their gasoline-fueled counterparts.
Electric vehicles offer several advantages over gasoline-powered engines in terms of thermodynamic efficiency, such as being able to convert chemical potential energy to kinetic energy more quickly or with lower losses than gas-powered models.
Electricity is an environmentally-friendly fuel that has lower emissions than traditional fossil-fueled sources such as natural gas or gasoline, so electrification offers several distinct advantages over these sources. Electricity’s emissions-reducibility has led to a goal set by GFEI of 50% decrease in average new light-duty vehicle fuel consumption by 2030 while simultaneously cutting carbon emissions in half.
Consumers and the environment both stand to gain from electric vehicles (EVs). They offer significant environmental and cost savings benefits in regions that rely heavily on renewables or are shifting towards increased reliance. Furthermore, EVs reduce local air pollution by replacing combustion engines with cleaner motors that recycle and reuse energy and batteries that store it back for later use.
Regenerative braking features in an EV are key to achieving good city fuel economy, enabling drivers to recoup lost energy during braking and use it to recharge the battery instead of burning through fuel – leading to reduced overall consumption, longer recharge times for battery and improved long-term vehicle performance.
Electric vehicles (EVs) currently make up only a fraction of the automotive market; however, that should change quickly in coming years. When compared with fuel-powered cars, EVs are significantly less costly to run, saving drivers up to 50-70% in annual fuel costs.
Reliability
Reliability is always a major consideration when purchasing any vehicle, but electric vehicles present additional challenges given their sophistication and complexity. Car buyers have traditionally relied on reviews, feedback from owners, and reliability surveys as indicators of a vehicle’s dependability.
Reliability in new vehicles depends upon a multitude of factors, but perhaps one of the most essential is how it handles driving conditions. Electric vehicle (EV) owners face two main issues when it comes to this aspect – limited driving range and battery issues can make long road trips much more challenging and less enjoyable than they should be.
Cost of repairs is another key consideration, with repairs costing three times what they usually would. Consumer Reports determines a vehicle’s reliability score by collecting information about 17 trouble areas such as engine performance and transmission transmission, electronics integration and owner surveys – these data sources make up its reliability score for each model. CR then rates its severity by assigning probability scores that suggest repairs will cost three times what annual repair costs would usually do.
Reliable vehicles are those without many issues with their powertrains, as well as ones which are relatively affordable to own and maintain, Fisher suggests. Those looking for an EV but concerned about ownership costs might want to opt for one with fewer parts, like hybrid or plug-in models.
However, he warns that these aren’t guarantees that there won’t be problems with your new EV; rather, selecting one with low rates of issues and which comes equipped with warranties or other safeguards is key.
Last but not least, brand history may also help inform your decision about an electric vehicle (EV). Japanese brands, like Toyota and Lexus, are known for producing reliable vehicles largely thanks to a cautious approach towards new technology.
Honda’s HR-V and Fit earned Excellent ratings in Consumer Reports’ recent tests, joined by Acura’s TLX and ILX (both scoring Very Good scores) as well as Hyundai Tucson and Elantra which both received Excellent rankings from Consumer Reports.
Safety
Electric vehicles (EVs) boast numerous safety features to make them safer for drivers, passengers and pedestrians. These features include blind spot warning systems that alert drivers of obstructions that might impede safe turns as well as rear view cameras that help drivers see into other cars when reversing or changing lanes.
EVs also come equipped with many safety features, such as airbags, seatbelts and antilock brakes – according to IIHS statistics, their crash rates are more than 40% lower than comparable gasoline-powered cars and trucks.
Electric vehicles (EVs) offer many safety advantages over traditional cars, including reduced fire risk. When compared with their conventional counterparts, EVs are 60 times less likely to catch fire due to battery chemistry and design; thus allowing for higher speeds without risking fire.
However, safety issues continue to arise as a result of EVs’ widespread adoption, particularly as batteries continue to advance. This includes issues surrounding battery safety, handling and storage as well as potential emergencies involving fire or similar threats posed by batteries.
*Battery Safety- Provide training on various types of batteries, their geometries and chemistries, the dangers associated with overheating, overcharging or burning them and proper storage and handling procedures of damaged ones (this may require using extinguishing agents in certain instances – both when stored onboard vehicles as well as bulk).
Recent battery fires and explosions, especially at major automakers, have brought safety of electric vehicles (EVs) back into focus. These incidents serve as a reminder that battery chemistry, cell design, and management systems play a significant role in mitigating risks associated with these technologies.
Effective efforts to develop and implement electric vehicle safety standards are essential to protecting all those involved in an EV accident, from training to education dissemination to research to the creation of a robust regulatory landscape that addresses such challenges. Such efforts must be founded upon credible information that makes EVs safer for the public.
Environmental impact
Vehicle electrification offers great potential to reduce emissions on a per-wheel basis compared to gasoline vehicles, helping cut emissions of harmful air pollutants such as ground-level ozone (O3) and particulate matter (PM2.5).
An electric vehicle (EV)’s environmental friendliness depends on various key elements, including its electricity grid mix and carbon pollution from electricity generation, driving patterns assumed and weather conditions.
Studies conducted by researchers have determined that electric vehicles (EVs) produce significantly fewer greenhouse gas emissions than their gas-powered counterparts, due to not producing tailpipe emissions when being operated.
However, it is also crucial to take into account emissions generated from electricity generation when charging an EV. Although these can be significant when generated through coal or natural gas power plants, their effect should decrease over time as more and more EVs join the grid.
Electric vehicles (EVs) can help reduce emissions of other air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds, helping reduce their presence in our atmosphere.
As previously discussed, air pollutants contribute significantly to smog and other forms of air pollution, so any reductions from electric vehicle usage could prove particularly helpful to residents living in areas with poor air quality.
Electric vehicles (EVs) can help reduce emissions by decreasing overall production of fuel and electricity. This is possible thanks to using renewable energy sources that tend to be cleaner than fossil fuels during production of an EV vehicle.
This strategy could have an outsized impact in regions where production of fossil fuels isn’t properly regulated or efficient enough. Doing so could help prevent climate change as well as environmental hazards like oil spills or airborne toxic substances from emerging, thus helping preserve our climate for the long-term future.