Busting electric vehicle myths
There’s a lot of misinformation out there and in the automotive world, myths around electric cars are as prevalent as ever! Let’s look at the top EV myths and see if we can bust them.
"A fully electric car emits as much CO2 as a diesel or petrol car"
The reality is that even if electric cars power by the most carbon-intensive electricity in Europe, they still emit lower greenhouse gases than a standard diesel car. In 2021, BloombergNEF researched the lifecycle emissions of electric vehicles, looking at CO2 emissions produced in the manufacturing of EVs, batteries, transport for sale emissions and charging with carbon intensive electricity.1 Bloomberg found the lifecycle emissions for a medium segment EV were between 18% and 87% lower in the five countries looked at.^2 ^
"An EV's battery wears out quickly"
If you think an EV battery wears out quickly, you’re wrong! The electric motor and the battery are wear-resistance and need almost no maintenance.
Vehicles with an internal combustion engine are worn out after about 200,000 to 300,000 kilometres. However, with an electric car you can drive 200,000+ kilometres without losing much of your battery capacity. The smart charging technology ensures a long battery life for vehicles. For example, with fast charging, the battery can be charged quickly up to 80% but at that point the charging speed will decrease to maintain battery life.
"There are not enough charging points"
As of 2021 there were roughly 375,000 public chargers in Europe, almost tripling in a 5-year period.3 While these chargers are heavily concentrated in a few European countries, the number of points continues to grow each year. Charging stations are constantly being installed both in public places, at workplaces and at people’s homes. European governments will be working on improving charging infrastructure with the 2035 ban on the sale of new internal combustion engine vehicles on the horizon. Most charging happens at home and at the workplace with up to 90% lease driver charging sessions occurring at the same locations. Only a small percentage charging on the road at public chargers.
"I can't go on holiday with an electric car"
A new electric car will typically have a range of between 350-450 kilometres with some now having a range of over 600 kilometres. So, for every day commutes the range is more than enough. When you start looking at longer road trips you will need to do a bit of extra planning up front to calculate when and where you will need to charge. For long journeys, it’s recommended to take 15-minute break every 2 hours to rest and avoid fatigue. This break can be a great opportunity to stop and charge your car while you recharge yourself. You can read more tips about taking your EV on holiday here. The latest generation of EVs supports faster charging, with a stop at a fast charging only takes about 15-25 minutes
"It takes a long time to charge an EV"
Most of your charging, around 90% while happen at work or at home when the car is stationary. At a standard charging station (at home or on the road), depending on the car, it takes between 4 to 8 hours to fully charge. If you need to charge faster, then a fast-charging point is a good option. With a fast charger you should only need to charge for around 15 -25 minutes.
"You don't hear an electric car coming"
Electric cars don’t have a combustion engine and so can be very quiet compared to what you might be used to. Many drivers find this silent driving very peaceful, but others have the worry that if pedestrians, cyclists or other road users don’t hear an EV coming this can be very dangerous. Car manufacturers have thought of this, and many electric cars have an artificial noise option. When a car is driving less than 19 km/h or backwards this artificial noise turns on to make pedestrians and other drivers aware there’s a car coming. Since July 2019, all new electric cars in Europe always have this feature. Our advice is to make use of it. It helps to reduce accidents. And no, the noise that your car is going to make is not any strange sound, it is simply a mimic of internal combust engine vehicles.
"Electric cars don't have enough power and can't go fast"
Electric cars reach the same top speeds as internal combust engine cars.** Electric motors have a very quick acceleration, even faster than most fuel engine cars**. All you need to do is to push down your pedal and the electric engine instantly delivers maximum power you will accelerate quickly. Internal combustion engines cars have to reach a high revolutions per minute (revs) before they can drive with peak power but for an EV this is almost instant. Keep in mind just like fuel engines driving at a higher speed, will consume a lot of energy which leads to more frequently.
"There is more of a future for hydrogen cars than electric cars"
At this moment the production process of hydrogen as a fuel source is far less efficient than electric cars. The sales of zero emissions vehicles is almost only battery electric vehicles.
However, some OEMs also invest in hydrogen and battery electric cars will both be produced in the future. Mercedes-Benz already made a first step in this path with the GLC F-Cell.
"Electric cars are too expensive"
In many European countries electric cars cost the same or are even cheaper than their internal combustion engine (ICE) counterparts. This is looking at the total cost of ownership, which includes: energy/fuel, depreciation, maintenance, and taxes. Each year, as more EVs are released across all vehicle segments, electric cars will only become more affordable.
These are only some of the EV myths we’ve come across at LeasePlan in our electrification journey. With any new technology there’s bound to be misconceptions about how it works but as more people make the switch to EV these myths will eventually disappear.