It’s almost Christmas. In the past you talked about frankincense, gold and myrrh. Now we regularly talk about lithium, cobalt and neodymium. The ingredients of your electric car. Everyone has an uncle who climbs on his hobby horse to orate about how his 2003 Suzuki Swift is better than all those EVs. Here are your counter arguments.
It’s almost Christmas. In the past you talked about frankincense, gold and myrrh. Now we regularly talk about lithium, cobalt and neodymium. The ingredients of your electric car. Everyone has an uncle who climbs on his hobby horse to orate about how his 2003 Suzuki Swift is better than all those EVs.
Here are your counter arguments.
‘Electric cars are too expensive’
EVs are sometimes more expensive to purchase than petrol cars. But you better find a better petrol deal than a Hyundai Inster with a €3K subsidy and a €3K discount.
Since this year, you have also had some choice below €30K and second-hand prices have also dropped considerably.
‘Charging takes too long’
A classic. Many people think that charging takes a long time because they are used to a five-minute refueling. But an EV is not a petrol car. Instead of going to the pump every week, you plug in your car at home in the evening and have a full battery every morning.
Even on a fast charger, it takes just 20 minutes to charge from 10 percent to 80 percent — perfect for a coffee break on a road trip. On balance, charging often takes less time than refueling.
‘I can’t charge anywhere’
Have you perhaps visited a website from America? Or rural Belgium? In the Netherlands you can really charge anywhere.
Admittedly, an EV is most convenient if you can charge at home or at work, but there are charging stations almost everywhere.
“What if the power goes out?”
Rain, snow, storms? No problem. Charging an EV is just as safe as refueling. Cold weather can cost you some range, but so can gasoline cars — it’s just that no one notices because they can’t keep up.
And in extreme situations such as an evacuation? Charge your car just like you would fill a gas tank. Is the power going out? Then the petrol pumps no longer work.
‘I want to drive kilometers to the south of France without stopping’
There are surprisingly few people who really want to drive hundreds of kilometers without a break. Most people rarely drive such distances without a stop. Modern EVs already have a good range, and if you need a break, your car will simply recharge in the meantime.
With modern electric cars you stop more often to urinate than to charge.
‘We don’t have enough power’
This is also incorrect. There is enough capacity for EVs at the moment and the supply is not growing so fast that a problem is on the horizon. Meanwhile, solar and wind energy are becoming cheaper and more efficient. EVs are extremely economical and use only a fraction of the total electricity production.
Moreover, you can charge your electric car at times when there is a surplus of cheap sustainable electricity. If EVs are charged at the right time, they solve peak problems.
‘EVs are bad for the environment’
This is simply outdated. An EV is much more efficient than a petrol car, even if the power comes from coal-fired power stations. After a few years of driving, the CO2 footprint of an EV is already smaller than that of a petrol car, and the electricity grid is becoming increasingly cleaner. Electric driving is only getting better.
In any case, you are right with these answers during Christmas, but to keep it fun you might just have to take a ride in your uncle’s Swift and then let him drive your electric car.
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Source: www.bright.nl
