While there is no doubt that electric cars receive more publicity than they ever have before, there is growing concern that the sector may be losing momentum in the short to medium term. As a consequence governments and car manufacturers around the world are now looking at new ideas to kickstart the revolution and attract the attention of consumers across the globe. So what will kickstart the electric car revolution?
Journey capacity
Time and time again the issue of journey capacity is never far from the headlines and when you bear in mind the vast majority of electric vehicles today can do no more than 100 miles per full charge, this concern is justified. However, many motorists seem to forget that on average very few of us will do in excess of 80 miles per day, therefore one charge per day will be more than enough to cover our average journey.
It is perhaps the use of electric vehicles within the business arena and for leisure time, where we will on average travel more than 80 miles per day, which is perhaps foremost in the minds of consumers at the moment.
Increased journey capacity
There is no doubt that great progress has been made with regards to journey capacity for electric vehicles but there is also no doubt that further progress needs to be made. The Nissan Leaf will be updated and re-released in 2013 with an extended journey capacity approaching 140 miles per charge. This has been achieved by using the latest battery technology, improved aerodynamics as well as efficiencies with regards to the electric engine itself.
If we can get towards the 200 miles journey capacity per full charge then we are certainly in a different ballpark and this would open up a whole new market for electric cars. Until we get there the chances are that many consumers will, rightly or wrongly, be concerned about reduced journey capacity and more importantly the lack of electric car charging stations around the world.
Charging stations
Despite the fact that the cost of electric vehicles is significantly greater than that of more traditional vehicles this is perhaps not the major problem in the eyes of consumers. Those who have traditional fuel vehicles will never likely be more than just a few miles away from a garage or petrol station where they can refuel and extend their journey capacity. The same cannot be said with regards to the electric charging station networks available at the moment which are at best few and far between. Will this change?
Finally governments and car manufacturers around the world are now coming together to create a viable investment programme for charging stations around the globe. This will likely see hundreds if not thousands of electric car charging stations introduced over the next few years which will take away one of the headaches which is concerning consumers.
Public relations
Whichever angle you look at the electric car market there is no doubt that the public relations situation has been a disaster for many years now. Indeed the stigma of the earlier electric car market still hangs over the much improved sector like a bad smell. We need investment in public relations, we need good news from the industry and we need to see savings set out in a very simple format so that consumers can understand what they are buying into and what they can expect to save. Until the message is received loud and clear by consumers across the UK and across the world what chance does the industry have?
Conclusion
While the electric car market today is very different to that of 20 years ago or even 10 years ago, there is still much work to be done and indeed changing public opinion will not be easy and it will not be cheap. Governments, car manufacturers and green campaigners have all come together to applaud the potential for eco-friendly travel but for some reason consumers have not yet grasped this potential.
The next couple of years will be vitally important to the electric car market, the next couple of years should see with the worldwide economy improve and funds become available to consumers. It will be interesting to see whether this stabilisation of the worldwide economy will lead to better sales in the electric car market and indeed more interest in general.
For more information on electric vehicles please visit the electricforum.com where you can discuss your questions and queries with the 5,400 strong community.
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