One generation of a car model is produced for about seven years, and about the same amount of time is left before the majority of manufacturers will offer only electric vehicles. In addition, the European Parliament recently voted on the decision that from 2035 only zero-emission cars will be allowed to be sold in Europe.
A good example of what changes are coming is the French manufacturer Peugeot. The company working as part of the Stellantis group has announced that, starting from 2030, it will offer only electric models to the European market, but already in 2024, its entire range will be electrified.
The scale at which the transition to electric drive will take place is illustrated by the Stellantis strategy announced last year: the group, which, in addition to the leading European brand Peugeot, also includes Citroen, DS, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Lancia, Opel, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and several others, motor vehicle four specialized global platforms will be used for production. It is planned that up to two million cars per year will be produced on each.
In order to create adequate production capacity, three so-called battery gigafactories will start operating in the European Union and the United States by 2025, and their number will increase to at least five by 2030.
In order to promote both car electrification and the development of related services, Stellantis plans to invest 30 billion euros by 2025. Also, the group predicts that the cost of batteries will decrease, more precisely, that in 2024 it will have dropped by 40 percent compared to 2020, and other electric drive components will also become cheaper.
Peugeot will play a significant role in car electrification, because in 2021 the French manufacturer took second place in the table of European sales results, second only to Volkswagen, but it was fifth in the top of the market electric car segment.
The large influx of electric models will bring about significant changes in people’s daily lives, and above all they will be pleasant and profitable. Some are already quite widely known, for example, these cars run on relatively cheap energy, have lower tolls, and their drivers can use free parking spaces. More changes are expected in the next ten years.
Price equalization with an internal combustion car
Several car market players have made predictions about when the prices between internal combustion and electric cars could equalize, and 2025-2026 has been announced as the long-awaited turning point.
First the pandemic and now the war in Ukraine has caused enormous uncertainty, so some deviations from these forecasts are possible, but in reality, it is more important now to understand what factors are influencing the course of events. In 2025, the last emission standard – Euro7 – will enter into force, and although it has not yet been adopted, it is clear that it will make the already complex internal combustion cars even more complicated and more expensive. Currently, manufacturers are creating new models in order to switch to fully electrified production in 2030. At the moment, companies seem to be pulling in two directions, and large investments in technology naturally make machines more expensive. As soon as the resources are consolidated, the costs should fall and, accordingly, the prices as well. I would like to add here that, if the purchase is calculated together with the full operating cycle, the difference can be more or less compensated already now.
Kārlis Mendziņš is the creator of the electromobility website Uzlādēts.lv
Much cleaner air
If you compare internal combustion and electric cars, the situation is, so to speak, binary – the former have emissions, the latter do not. So simple. So, every electric car that replaces an internal combustion analogue saves the generation of carbon dioxide, nitrogen compounds and small particles, but these are compounds that threaten human health and cause atmospheric warming.
Uzladėts.lv creator Kārlis Mendziņš
He believes that skepticism about the negative effects of air pollution and the benefits of electric cars is caused by a lack of personal experience and information, but the perception could be changed by some experimental solutions, such as emission-free zones determined by municipalities in their territory.
For now, the issue of pollution caused by tire wear and brake dust remains unresolved. It is true that electric cars do less harm in this regard as well, because when regenerative braking is used, the service brakes are worn less.
Uzladėts.lv creator Kārlis Mendziņš
A quieter city
Cars make the most noise during acceleration, that is, when the engine revs up, and since there are many intersections in the city where you have to brake, it is practically impossible to maintain a steady speed. In addition, even the most modern engines have their share in noise pollution. Compared to internal combustion machines, electric cars produce minimal noise, and this is especially evident in densely populated areas where driving speed is low.
City dwellers who live along major streets, in effect urban canyons, are forced to accept a constant background of noise. Now and then an opinion is expressed that it is necessary to put up with it – they say, the city cannot be quiet in principle. But this is a wrong approach: in those parts of the city where car traffic is limited or prohibited, the environment is significantly calmer. Therefore, when the share of electric cars in the transport structure will be much higher, the noise level will significantly decrease, and together with improvements in traffic organization, the environment will become quieter and more pleasant.
Uzladėts.lv creator Kārlis Mendziņš
On the roads outside the city, the effect of electromobility is smaller, because there the main source of noise is the contact of the tires with the asphalt and the splitting of the air.
Engineers can make cars a little more aerodynamic, but radical improvements in this area are no longer possible. Therefore, the ball is currently more in the court of the tire manufacturers. If they manage to come up with something truly innovative, it will also become quieter near the main roads.
Uzladėts.lv creator Kārlis Mendziņš
Each individual energy producer
Due to high electricity prices, the number of individuals and companies installing solar panels is increasing rapidly. And while they are not free, the savings later offset the initial investment as there is no cost to generate solar energy, and the energy produced can be used to charge an electric car.
Concerns about unpredictable prices and proposed support mechanisms have maximized interest in solar panels. To be fair, we must admit that such energy harvesting is not and will not be available to everyone, but for example, it is a great opportunity for owners of private buildings and territories. In addition, an electric car can also be used as an energy store and source in certain situations. I think that in the coming years, we will see innovative solutions that will allow smart integration of renewable energy systems, housing and machines, and all this will be both simple and self-explanatory.
Uzladėts.lv creator Kārlis Mendziņš
Always updated car
Today’s smart devices have become the standard for communication and multimedia capabilities, and it is precisely these that, in certain aspects, show some things in machines in a not very good light. For example, the graphics, response time, and functionality of the multimedia system are often not quite up to par. In addition, if there are more or less objections to the operation of the system at the time of car purchase, there is no doubt that after a few years it will seem morally obsolete.
The new generation of multimedia systems cannot be directly linked to electric cars, it is rather a story of the convergence of two development vectors. But manufacturers finally seem to have realized that they shouldn’t offer second-rate hardware and software in their machines. The positive future scenario would be that car systems follow smart devices – firstly, they are powerful enough to fully function for several years, ideally for the life of the car, and secondly, software updates provide the latest functionality and design.
Uzladėts.lv creator Kārlis Mendziņš
For example, the Stellantis concern has established a strategic partnership with Amazon, the world’s leading provider of cloud computing services. This means that the software in the Peugeot family will be able to be restored seamlessly and remotely, providing the driver and passengers with all kinds of connected services and the integration of different services.
