Can 2020 Be The Year Of Electric Vehicles?

In 2020, the growth momentum of electric cars may reach a new peak, and once it starts, it will be unstoppable. Not only is Tesla but many other companies such as General Motors, Kia, Hyundai, Audi, Porsche etc. are looking forward to launching e-vehicles this year.

Electric vehicles will have a few major advantages this year

Attractive and Affordable Choices

As many manufacturers are launching new electric vehicles the options to choose the car that suits your needs will increase. Several attractive, long-range and affordable vehicles will be unveiled and launched, including Mahindra eKUV100, Tata Nexon EV, MG ZS EV, Mercedes-Benz EQC, MINI Electric, Audi e-Tron, Volkswagen ID4, Porsche Taycan, Nissan Leaf, Volvo XC40, Polestar 2, Xiaopeng P7, Tesla Model Y and Tesla Roadster.

Range Will Increase To More Than 250kms

The most common fear of potential e-car buyers is the getting stuck in the middle of nowhere with no charging location in sight. E-vehicle currently present in the market can reach a range of 250-500 kilometres on a single charge. Now, many of them launching with better performance, electric cars will be ideal for city commuting even with air conditioning for hot as well as cold weather. Though you can always plan in advance and stop over at charging points on longer routes and off-road trips. The new models are also expected to have lesser charging time so that owners need not spend an hour on charging locations.

Reduced Maintenance Cost & Cost of Ownership

Electric vehicles have low maintenance cost as they do not require regular replacement of oil, engine filter, air filters, spark plug etc. They have lesser moving parts which reduces the service cost to about one-third of that of a gasoline-powered vehicle. It will also increase the intervals between services. That said, with increasing fuel prices you can calculate how cost-effective it can be to own a battery-run engine.

National Interest

Every nation is trying to promote e-cars by improving infrastructure and providing subsidization for buyers. Given that many manufacturers have sped up their e-vehicle business in 2020, we can safely assume there will be more in-house manufacturing units will further lower the prices. Countries with developed infrastructure need not worry. As according to German website Statista, there are 20,000 charging stations and 57,000 charging plugs across the United States. Also, as mentioned by Autoblog, 1.9 percent of buyers chose an EV, whereas only 1.1 percent chose to manual transmission vehicles.

Improving Battery Life Of Electric Cars

Batteries tend to lose their ability to hold charge, electric car batteries are no different. But is it that easy? According to tests by Plug in America, a US electric vehicle promotion organization, the Tesla Model S’ battery will lose only about 5% of its original capacity during the first 80,000 kilometres. Nevertheless, the batteries will weaken but it will be gradual and will hardly be noticeable. At present, the battery packs of Tesla’s domestic models are guaranteed for 8 years, and almost the same duration with other brands.