Are Electric Cars the Future?
May 4, 2023
With increasing concerns over the effects of carbon dioxide on the climate, fossil fuels and fossil fueled cars have come under scrutiny. In response to this, an increasingly large market for electric vehicles has cropped up in both the US and abroad. This has taken the form of new companies such as Tesla and Vinfast, but also traditional companies such as Chevrolet, Ford, Nissan, and BMW, which have started to produce electric and hybrid vehicles.
Randal Voges, a renewable energy consultant at General Electric, shared his opinion on the applications of electric vehicles and renewable energy saying, “Electric cars do not have the performance characteristics of conventional vehicles,” and stated, “the rule of thumb is that you use electricity for energy when you are stationary, and fossil fuels to get between spots.” Evidently Voges thinks electric vehicles have not reached a point where they can be considered comparable to conventional gas cars. Though the future of transportation cannot be predicted, in the eyes of this expert, it seems gas is still king when it comes to automobiles.
Many are still open to the prospect of electric vehicle ownership however, such as senior Rhianna Smith. Smith, who currently owns a gas car, says she would like to own a hybrid in the future. Smith liked the idea of using less gas, but was cautious about purchasing a fully electric car. Among her chief worries was not being able to find a charger when needed, especially when driving long distances. “It’s nice to have gas as a backup,” said Smith.
Junior Pranay Pentyala, whose family owns both an electric and gas car also shared this view saying,”I would buy an electric car, although the cost of the car itself is expensive, the cost savings for gas prevails over time.” Pentyala, similarly to Smith, shared concerns about the range of electric vehicles, but was hopeful for the future saying,”Once they [electric cars] reach the same 500 mile range, I definitely see popularity increasing.”
Pentyala’s hopefulness seems well placed however, with the World Economic Forum reporting that, “Advances in battery technology have seen the average EV range more than double in the last decade, from 138km (86 miles) in 2011 to 349km in 2021. This compares to 665km for an average fossil-fueled car in the US.”