Drivers worry about electric vehicle “range anxiety”

|

Electric cars are gaining popularity in the United States as more drivers show interest in electric-powered vehicles. Just like any new emerging technology, however, there are significant growing pains that have slowed adoption down, but those barriers are beginning to crumble.

A particular gripe among drivers is electric vehicle (EV) range — and charging capacity — at a time when commute distances can be nightmarish. EV owners find purchasing a home charging unit to be a costly, confusing task. As electric vehicle sales increase, the variety in the selection of home charging units is expanding — good news with more vehicle choices expected right around the corner. An at-home charging-unit costs around $1,200, with hardware costs typically ranging from $200 to $800, with professional installation often required.

California leads the nation in support for EV technology, though sales are ballooning in select markets across the nation. Drivers are still suffering from “range anxiety,” unsure if they’ll be able to complete their daily commute on a single charge. Here is what Tony Canova, COO of charging technology firm Charge-Point, said in a statement published by Autoweek:

HOW TO: Change system date in OS X ...
HOW TO: Change system date in OS X from Terminal

“The life of an EV driver is distributed charging. We’ve all gotten used to living in a world where a gas tank is 15 to 25 gallons. We haven’t figured out yet that a car just needs enough juice to live your life.”

To reach 526 million EV vehicles on the road by 2040, an estimated $2.7 trillion will need to be invested to boost the current EV ecosystem, according to Morgan Stanley. Currently, there are more than 16,000 public EV stations — with a heavy concentration along the east and west coasts.

Expansion of EV charging stations in public areas and company parking lots has helped pique driver interest, but fast-charging technology is still developing. To help during this transition period, select “corridor” cities will see additional recharging units a much needed focus point to open the floodgates to widespread adoption.

In North America, there could be 39 plug-in hybrid electric models with 44 full EVs to choose from by 2020, according to a Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) report. Driver mindset will change, as more drivers become familiar with EV and hopefully we see price stabilization also on the horizon. Until then, it shouldn’t be uncommon to see many people patiently wait to see how the market matures.

What do you think about the current and future state of EV adoption? Let us know in the comments below or on Google+, Twitter, or Facebook.

[button link=”http://autoweek.com/article/green-cars/where-are-you-going-plug” icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Source: AutoWeek[/button]
Previous

Essential Phone review: A premium phone at a mid-range price

The Samsung Galaxy Note8 will soon be available in Deepsea Blue

Next

Latest Articles

Share via
Copy link
Powered by Social Snap