The market for electric cars is constantly growing, but so are concerns about owning one. However, there are a lot of misconceptions. Here are 6 myths about electric vehicles and cars that are not true and why!
1. EVs Are Slower Than Petrol And Diesel Cars
There actually isn’t much of a difference between the top speed of petrol and diesel cars compared to electric cars. EVs do actually accelerate faster, as the engine isn’t required to ‘rev up’. You will get the maximum torque the second you press the accelerator.
The performance of EVs can be better overall than their petrol and diesel counterparts. This is because electric cars don’t need as long to “warm up”. The average 0 to 60 mph time for an electric car is less than 6 seconds, whereas the average 0 to 60 mph is around 9 seconds in a petrol car.
2. EVs Are More Expensive Than Petrol or Diesel Cars
Currently, this is technically true. However, this is due to the new technology. But as EVs become more mainstream and sales continue to increase, you should see a drop in prices.
Earlier this year, Tesla announced a price drop for the Model 3s and Model Ys by up to £8,000. This price drop varies depending on which model you pick.
3. EVs Batteries Won’t Last As Long & End Up In Landfill
The batteries found in EVs aren’t all that different from the batteries that are found in phones. A lot of electric car manufacturers give a long warranty period, usually around 10 years or 100,000 miles. However, it’s believed that a lot of batteries could last even longer or even outlive the car.
However, if the battery doesn’t last quite that long, EV batteries still shouldn’t end up in the landfill. These batteries can either be recycled or used as energy storage for businesses or homes.
4. The National Grid Won’t Be Able To Cope as Sales Increase
With the increase in sales of EVs, the national grid is going through changes to help cope with the extra demand for electricity. Not everyone will be swapping in their petrol and diesel tomorrow and it will take a few more years for EVs to become more mainstream. This gives electricity companies time for the required changes to be made to the national grid.
The Government introduced the Electric Vehicle Smart Charge Points Regulation. This regulation ensures that EV charging stations will have smart functionality. This means allowing charging to happen when there is less demand on the national grid or when it’s more renewable. This doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to charge your car whenever you need to. It just means that charging may be paused during the peak house when the grid is at its highest capacity and when energy is more expensive.
5. Electric Cars Don’t Go Far Enough On A Single Charge
When electric cars first started to come out, some only had a range of 100 miles. However, as the technology has continued to evolve, EVs now have an average range between 200 to 300 miles. Although the average journey length is around 37 miles per day when a long journey is required there are plenty of miles that can be covered before needing to stop. 15 to 20 mins in a service station can be enough time to add a few hundred miles to your EV, depending on what you are driving.
6. Electric Cars Break Down More Often
Research shows that combustion engines actually break down more than electric cars. This is because electric cars have fewer moving parts and require less maintenance.
According to LV, “11% of breakdowns are caused by batteries being out of charge” and 37% of breakdowns are for “flat tyres or wheel issues”. The tyre issues are due to the weight of the battery, which can increase the weight of the car by 50% compared to traditional petrol or diesel cars. Batteries for EVs are currency being worked on and will become lighter, bringing down the weight of EVs.
Hopefully, this has cleared up some misconceptions about electric cars. For more information and news, check out our blog. Interested in upgrading to a new electric car? Check out the Toyota bZ4X, Toyota’s first electric car, and enquire today!
Photo credit: https://unsplash.com/photos/xJLsHl0hIik
