Several major world cities, including Paris, Mexico City, Madrid, Athens, Stuttgart and Oxford, have already decided to ban internal combustion cars within a few years, others are sure to follow. Policy-makers have woken up to electric vehicles as a way of solving the horrendous problem of urban air pollution. CREDIT: CHRIS RADBURN/PA ARCHIVE/PA IMAGES GOVERNMENTS AROUND THE WORLD ARE INCREASINGLY CONCERNED ABOUT AIR POLLUTION, AND SOME HAVE SET DATES FOR OUTLAWING PETROL AND DIESEL VEHICLES. ![]() Let’s bust a few more myths: there are no shortages of lithium, nickel, cobalt and copper that won’t be fixed by investment the ‘rare earths’ used in modern electric motors are not that rare putting the kettle on while charging an electric car won’t blow a fuse – your charger will just slow down for a few minutes the UK won’t need 30 new nuclear power stations to meet the additional electricity demand – National Grid estimates we will need around 5GW of additional peak power, an increase of just 10%.ĬHILDREN AT PRIMARY SCHOOL IN NORTH LONDON TAKE PART A CAMPAIGN AGAINST ‘DIRTY AIR’. What about charging time? The current generation of rapid-chargers already allow you to add 170 miles of range in 30 minutes the next generation will allow you to fill your car more quickly than you can empty your bladder and pick up a pint of milk. No technological breakthroughs are needed (although thousands of researchers are looking for them), just the same sort of scale-driven cost reductions that we have seen in flat-screen TVs, solar panels, even combustion engines in their time. ![]() Electric cars are already often cheaper than a petrol or diesel car if you include running costs, and that’s excluding subsidies.īy 2025 electric cars will start winning on showroom price alone. But soon that sort of performance will be affordable: battery costs have fallen 70% in the last five years, and the next ten years will see them fall another 70%. Tesla has shown that it is perfectly feasible to build an electric car with 300 miles driving range – as long as you’re not overly worried about price. So why do electric vehicles still make up such a small percentage of vehicle sales, less than 2% in the UK? Three reasons – range, charging time and infrastructure – but all of them will soon be history. They are also far superior as a platform for all the automation and communication technologies that are set to transform our driving experience and road safety. Electric cars are smooth, quiet, and quick off the lights. ![]() It costs less than half of its petrol or diesel equivalent refuel, and with a tenth of the moving parts, has lower maintenance costs. The top-of the range Tesla SUV accelerates faster than a Bugatti Veyron, but can also seat seven, carry as much luggage as a Volvo estate and pull a caravan. CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES/ JUSTIN SULLIVAN / STAFF THE TELSA HIGH PERFORMING ELECTRIC CARS ARE PRICEY, BUT IT WON’T BE LONG BEFORE THAT LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE WILL BE AFFORDABLE. TESLA CEO ELON MUSK LAUNCHES THE TESLA MODEL X CROSSOVER SUV IN 2015.
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