Electric Vehicles (EV) have become a promising transport alternative to vehicles powered by fossil fuels. Utilizing electricity as automobile power input, EV have revolutionized transportation globally by significantly reducing GHG emissions and air pollutants. Unrestrictedly, automobility advancements did not stop at electrification but have pursued more mobility breakthroughs such as automated and shared mobility.Â
It’s no secret that electric vehicles (EVs) are going to be prevalent in our future. Every year, we are seeing more and more automakers add EVs to their lineup. Lets take a brief look at the importance of EV and where it is heading in the future.
Environment-friendly
The first reason to own an electric car is the fact that they are not harmful to the environment at all. They have a zero-emission rate (even hybrid cars leave a carbon footprint) and are ideal for urban environments where they aid in preserving the natural composition of the air and contribute to reducing noise levels.
Cost-effective transportation
Electric cars are entirely charged by the electricity you provide, meaning you don’t need to buy any fuel like petrol or diesel. Driving fuel-based cars can burn a hole in your pocket as prices of fuel have increased. With electric cars, this cost can be avoided as an average Indian can spend more than ₹75,000 on fuel each year. Though electricity isn’t free, an electric car is far cheaper to run.
Safe to drive
Electric cars undergo the same fitness and testing procedures test as other fuel-powered cars. In case an accident occurs, one can expect airbags to open and the electricity supply to be cut from the battery. This can prevent you (the driver) and other passengers in the car from serious injuries.
Low maintenance
The absence of a combustion engine also does away with the need of lubricating it. An electric engine has fewer moving parts as well as fluids (oil and transmission fluid) compared to a combustion engine running on petrol or diesel so they require minimal scheduled maintenance. This has also brought down the maintenance cost of these cars.
Are electric vehicles the future?
It’s difficult to predict when EVs will take over completely. However, it is safe to say that we are not far away from EVs ruling the roads on a global scale.
Regulatory pressure and the consumer pull towards EVs will make a massive difference in this uptake rate. But what makes the end of the internal combustion engine inevitable is the technological revolution.
Everyone needs to charge their cars easily and quickly whether or not they have a driveway at their home. This will take work and investment but will happen, just as networks of petrol stations rapidly appeared up to fuel cars.
EVs definitely has the potential to reduce emissions and help address climate change. However, it needs an effort across many different areas to create a sustainable future.
