EV myths
This is a page about EV myths. This is a page about EV myths. This is a page about EV myths.
This is a page about EV myths. This is a page about EV myths. This is a page about EV myths.
Although, in most cases, electric cars are still more expensive to purchase than petrol cars, this is rapidly changing. Battery electric cars will be cheaper to buy in Europe than fossil-fuel vehicles by 2028 at the latest, according to recent research by BloombergNEF. 2 The price gap is being reduced and closed thanks to falling battery costs, new vehicle architecture, and dedicated production lines for electric vehicles.
T&E monitoring shows that carmakers plan a dozen affordable EV models (below 25,000 euros), such as the Cupra Raval and the new Renault R5, in the next few years.
The price of second hand electric cars is a key aspect of car mobility affordability given that today, almost eight out of ten EU citizens buy their car second-hand. At current rates of electrification, 33 million households in the EU will have access to second hand electric cars by 2035. But if the leasing sector accelerates its uptake of EVs, this would increase by 56% – up to 51 million households.
The reasons why EVs are less prone to catching fire compared to ICEs are mostly linked to their design features, which include:
Any vehicle, regardless of its power source, can be susceptible to fire under certain conditions such as severe accidents or mechanical failures. However, the design and technology in EVs aim to mitigate these risks to a significant extent.
When an EV does catch fire, it is more difficult to extinguish. As a result, fire safety staff will need to be specially trained and equipped as the popularity of EVs increases.
The risk of a battery depleting when a battery electric vehicle (EV) is stuck in the cold is quite similar to the risk of an internal combustion engine vehicle (ICE) running out of fuel. The main difference is that ICEs use fuel to run the engine and produce heat while EVs use electricity from the battery to run the heating systems.
It is accurate to say that the cold has an impact on the battery performance. For instance,
Autoevolution states that a Tesla Model Y battery went from 91% down to 58% after 12 hours of sitting in the cold with a warm cabin. However, most EVs are built with efficient battery heating systems that keep the battery at an optimal temperature range. In the longer term, technological
advances such as solid-state batteries that do not contain liquid and won’t be so sensitive to cold are being developed.
If temperature was a problem, the EV uptake in cold countries would be slow. Norway, on the other hand, is at the forefront of running EVs in cold weather, with 83% of battery electric vehicle sales in the first half of 2023.
The A/C system in an EV is powered by the battery, which means that using it will consume more energy and reduce the vehicle’s range. The issue is similar for ICEs, as the energy required for air conditioning adds to the internal combustion engine's load: an air conditioning system can increase fuel consumption by almost 20% due to the additional load on the engine.
EVs have efficient cabin cooling systems and the use of efficient heat pumps brings benefits in terms of energy efficiency in cold weather. Kia also states that EVs are more effective at remaining cool in intense heat as very little energy is wasted as heat and the car does not have a high-temperature exhaust under the chassis.
The repairability of EV batteries depends on two main elements: the access to the repair and dismantle information on the battery, and the way the battery and the EV are designed and assembled.
The first point is already addressed with EU Battery Regulation 2023/1542 as companies are obliged to make available information relevant to repair.
The second point can vary depending on the design of the EV models, but the proposed new End of Life Vehicle Regulation would require batteries to be removable and replaceable by professionals.
Consequently, batteries will be easier to repair and maintain over the lifetime of the vehicle, even in the event of an accident.
Insurance is typically related to the catalogue price and the weight of the vehicle and is therefore slightly higher for EVs (12% higher according to Leaseplan). Moreover, as most EVs have only been on the road for a short time, insurance and leasing companies still face some uncertainties on the evolution of the state of health of a battery.