10 Frequently Asked Questions About Electric Vehicles
By: Electric Motoring W Dave Clark
Tags: FAQ, Electric Vehicles, Electric Car

Today, the electric vehicle market has been getting a lot of media attention and generating a lot of interest. But, there are still a number of questions and false perceptions about electric vehicles by the vast majority of the public. Much of this seems based on social media hype that may or may not be true. So, I wanted to discuss the 10 most frequent questions I get about owning an electric vehicle.

Without a doubt, YES. Driving an electric vehicle produces ZERO harmful emissions, which is one of the primary issues associated with internal combustion engine (ICE) cars where research has shown that one-fifth of all emissions in the United States, emitting around 20 pounds of carbon dioxide and other global-warming gases for every gallon of gas.

But, when the manufacturing process for production, transport, disposal, and other factors are taken into account there are currently still significant impacts on the environment. The largest of which is in the production of the battery packs, which requires mining for raw materials such as cobalt. You also have to factor in the recycling or disposal of the vehicle at the end of its life and the fuels used by the power-plants to create the electricity to power the cars. However, when you factor in the typical lifecycle of a vehicle, an EV still produces 55% fewer emissions than an ICE vehicle.

Many nations are quickly moving away from fossil fuels for energy production and leveraging alternative production methods. For example, at the beginning of May 2019, the United Kingdom became the first industrialized nation that has gone an entire week without the use of coal for energy production since January 1882. The UK also did this several more times over the following months, including 14 consecutive days later in that same month of May 2019.

If this trend continues, the difference in overall emissions for the life of a vehicle will only continue to become increasingly positive for EVs.

It is true that an EV currently costs more than a feature comparable ICE vehicle today. But that gap continues to shrink as the cost of batteries continues to decrease. According to a Bloomberg article in December 2019, the cost per kilowatt-hour in 2010 was $1,100. By the end of 2019, they were $156 and are expected to be around $100 by 2023, which is widely considered the price point where electric cars are equivalent to internal combustion cars in price. It is believed that Tesla and VW are already nearing that $100 per kilowatt-hour target.

But there are long term financial benefits that make purchasing an EV attractive. For example, in the United States, the Federal Government is offering a $7,500 tax credit for buying an electric vehicle. This does not reduce the initial purchase price of the car, but as long as you have a Federal tax liability of at least $7,500 you will get all of that money back when you file your taxes for the year in which you purchased the vehicle. This incentive is only good for the first 200,000 vehicles delivered by a manufacturer at which point starts to reduce in the 3rd quarter after reaching this delivery number. Currently, only Tesla has achieved this level of production and is no longer eligible for the federal tax credit.

In addition, many states also have incentives that vary greatly, which provide additional refunds/credits to lower the total cost of ownership of the vehicle. Check with your specific state for what is available, but the incentives range from a $4,000 tax credit for Colorado residents, a break on the licensing tax/fees for registration. Some states also offer rebates for home charger installations.

The savings in operating an electric vehicle is where most consumers really notice a difference. According to Energy.gov as of December 2020, the average per gallon of fuel is $2.16. Meanwhile, the average eGallon equivalent is $1.23.

Over a year, this means a typical car driven the US national average of 13,500 miles at 24.8 mpg, would be about $1,175. While an electric car getting 250wh/mil would be about $490 for the same 13,500 miles, a savings of about 60%.

Another cost savings advantage for an EV is that it does not require the same maintenance as an ICE vehicle due to having fewer mechanical parts. There are no oil changes and brake pads last 75% longer thanks to regenerative braking.

The average person drives less than 50 miles per day. With an electric car, you can fuel up every night at home while you sleep and have a full charge ready by the next morning. Do note that it is best to charge to no more than 90% on a daily basis and save charging to 100% only for long trips. On a 120v outlet those 50 miles, on average, would take about 16 hours which averages to about 2–3 miles per hour. But, if you install a 240v outlet that would take less than 2 hours or about 30–32 miles per hour.

This biggest issue is really only for when you want to go on long distant trips, which for most people only occur 2–3 times per year. The reality is that it will take longer to fuel an EV than a gas-powered vehicle today. But, the time difference is decreasing rapidly with advancements in battery technology and new “fast charging” Direct Current charging stations such as with Tesla Superchargers and Combined Charging System or CCS locations such as on the Electrify America charging network.

These types of charging stations can deliver 150–350 kW of electricity reducing the time to charge to about 15–20 minutes to get to 50% battery capacity or 30–40 minutes for 80%. Yes, this is longer than a gas fueling session, but when traveling long distances most people are often ready for a rest and food stop anyway after a couple of hours of driving. Often, this takes the same amount of time needed to charge the car. Over the last several years, we have seen charging times reduce by 25% and I would expect to see that trend continue to where you will one day be able to fast charge a car from 10 to 90% in about 15 minutes, maybe less.

Like your phone, most EVs use lithium-ion battery technology but it’s the chemistry within the battery that makes the difference. Smartphones typically use a combination of Lithium-Cobalt Oxide while EVs typically use a combination of Nickel-Cobalt-Aluminum. So what does that mean? Each battery type is designed for so many charging cycles from completely empty to full. For most smartphones, they have been designed to maintain at least 75% of their charge after about 400 complete cycles, which typically takes 2–3 years. While EVs chemistry is designed to provide the same 75% charge potential after about 1,500 cycles which typically lasts 8–10 years or about 250,000 miles.

EV manufacturers are continually working on increasing the number of cycles to maximize the longevity of batteries and using new chemistry types to extend their life. Tesla recently announced they are working on next-generation battery technology that they are trying to achieve a battery life of 1,000,000 miles or 4,000 charge cycles.

Currently, with today’s technology, it just wouldn’t be feasible as the math and physics don’t work because of energy density which calculates how much solar energy shines on a surface relative to how much is consumed. 1 kilowatt (kW) of solar energy falls on a square meter of the Earth’s surface on a clear day, but only about 25% of that solar energy can currently be converted for use as electricity. The average car may have approximately 3 square meters of “solar panel space” which would translate into about 5–6 kilowatts of energy. That would provide at best 20 miles for the entire day if you do not drive it at all, there are no clouds and you are not blocked by other things like trees, buildings, bridges, etc. It just is not currently efficient or effective.

The answer to this question varies depending on the EV being discussed. The key to EV travel distance is the level of efficiency and the size (kW) of the battery pack. For example, as the best selling EV in 2018 and 2019, the Tesla Model 3 has an advertised range of 322 miles for the Long Range vehicle. To be able to achieve that you must keep the amount of energy being used at about 230 wh/mile based on its 75kW battery pack size. In comparison, the 2020 Hyundai Kona Electric states they can go 258 miles with a 64 kW battery pack which equates to maintaining the efficiency of 248 wh/mile.

However, if you are a sporty driver, like to accelerate rapidly, brake aggressively, or do not use regenerative braking you will see that energy consumption rise dramatically, and decrease how far the car can go. Weather conditions also become a factor in real-world EV max range, as wet roads, windy conditions and cold temperatures all play a factor in how efficient an EV will be, sometimes by as much as 25–50%.

Some studies in recent years have shown that EVs and hybrid cars can increase the risk of striking a pedestrian while driving at lower speeds — especially if the pedestrian suffers from visual impairments. It is important for EV drivers to ensure you are aware of any pedestrians and be ready to react as necessary if they enter the driving line.

In 2010, the United States Federal government proposed legislation that would require electric vehicles and quiet hybrids, to add sound when vehicles are traveling below 18.6 miles per hour. The implementation of the legislation had been delayed numerous times but was finally required to add sound to at least 50% of electric or hybrid vehicles by September of 2019. Beginning with 2020 model year vehicles, 100% of EVs must produce a sound. The rules don’t specify any particular sounds, so automakers may be allowed to program a few different sounds that can be selected by the owner.

Batteries are usually recycled into other metal products such as rebar or angle iron and/or shredded and sent to steel mills for reuse.

In some cases, car manufacturers are developing in-house recycling processes and recover critical minerals such as lithium and cobalt along with the recovery of metals used in the battery cell, such as copper, aluminum, and steel. All of these recovered materials will then be recycled for new battery cell production.

In short, the primary difference between a hybrid and an EV is that the hybrid car derives some of its power from a conventional internal combustion gasoline engine. Meanwhile, the EV gets all of its power from electrical sources, typically batteries.

Hybrid cars, also known as Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles or PHEV for short, have small batteries intended for city driving and usually only work up to a maximum of 50 miles before the gas engine would be used. Hybrids do provide increased miles per gallon as compared to fully gas-powered cars and provide a good alternative to those not ready for the transition to a fully electric vehicle.

No. Electric cars have the benefit of nearly instant torque from their single gear electric motors and provide outstanding acceleration and response, making them extremely fun to drive.

Because EV’s do not emit any sounds like the growl and aggression of a V8 engine people often overlook how quick and exhilarating they are to drive.

Some examples of 0–60 times for a few EVs:

Tesla Model S Long Range w/Ludicrous Mode — 2.4 seconds

Tesla Model 3 Dual Motor Long Range — 4.4 seconds

Audi E-Tron — 5.5 seconds

Jaguar i-Pace — 4.5 seconds

Chevy Bolt — 6.5 seconds

BMW i3–6.8 seconds