Electric vehicles are no longer the object of lust for technology enthusiasts. At present, all the preconditions for talking about a strong development of the electric car market in the coming years, the car dealer “Norde” is convinced “Renault“and” Dacia “showroom manager Alexander Parshkov.
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According to him, with each new generation of electric cars, the technological solutions used are becoming more convenient, and prices are becoming more affordable for buyers. It is therefore worth talking about breaking myths and stereotypes about electromobility.
“About ten years ago, an electric car was a very expensive” weird “that stopped after a hundred kilometers. Today, a good electric car is characterized by a large battery, low energy consumption, fast charging, quiet and dynamic driving. It can drive several hundred kilometers calmly,” admits .
The average mileage with one charge increases significantly
Many electric cars can already cover more than 300 km, and it is estimated that in 2025 the average mileage of a new electric car with one charge will be 400-600 km or even more, but its battery will have an average energy capacity of 70-90 kWh. But even today, one of the most popular electric cars in Europe – the French Renault Zoe, which has a 52 kWh battery, can drive up to 395 km on a single charge in a standard cycle. The standard cycle means that 57% are driven in the city, 25% – in the suburbs; but 18% – on highways. And electric cars, unlike internal combustion cars, consume less energy in city traffic than on the highway.
The possibility to drive several hundred kilometers on a single charge means that an electric car is no longer a typical city car in terms of its technical characteristics, as it was often thought, Parškovs emphasized.
The production of electric car batteries has become nine times cheaper
Batteries have undergone the greatest changes to make electric vehicles accessible to a wide range of people. With the use of more modern technologies, their price has decreased almost ninefold in nine years – from 1,037 euros to 160 euros per kWh. By 2024, the price per kilowatt-hour of a battery is projected to be lower than 90 euros. This is one of the most important aspects that has allowed carmakers to reduce the prices of electric vehicles.
In addition, if in previous years there was a lot of thought about increasing the energy capacity of the battery, now the problem of how to extend their life is now being addressed. For example, how effective would it be to replace individual cells so that you do not have to replace the entire battery for as long as possible.
In Latvia, by 2025, promises 1000 charging points
If the first-generation electric car almost had to be charged all night, then medium-fast, fast or accelerated charging is now available. Modern smart chargers in the AC charging station can charge up to 80% of the battery in 30 minutes. Fast charging is also available on public charging networks. In Stockholm, on the other hand, near Arlanda Airport, there is even a two-kilometer road section with built-in automatic electric car charging.
It is planned that the number of charging points in Europe could increase by 945 thousand in the coming years. In Latvia, the public network is still relatively small – 80 fast charging stations with a maximum charging capacity of 50 kW, as well as a few dozen AC medium fast charging devices located near cafes, services, office buildings or shopping centers (eg “Akropole”, IKEA , “New Teika”, etc.).
The average capacity of fast chargers is 7-22 kW, which usually allows you to charge an electric car in 3-4 hours, depending on the available charging capacity and the capacity of the electric car battery. The stationary charging station “Wallbox” is used for the charging solution. It is most often attached to the wall of a building or garage or to a pillar in the yard. When purchasing an electric vehicle with a large battery capacity, it would be useful to install such a charging station in your private home, so that, if necessary, you can fully charge the car at night.
Interestingly, several studies conducted both in Latvia and elsewhere have concluded that at least 50% of electric cars are charged at home. Of course, it is very easy to do for homeowners, but, as Parškovs admits, if an apartment house has underground parking, then often manage to agree with the manager on the installation of a socket. Also, sockets are installed by parking managers at the initiative of customers.
“Until the end of next year CSDD plans to complete the network of charging stations by installing another 69 fast charging stations, thus ensuring even coverage of the network of fast charging stations throughout the territory of Latvia. Since the end of last year, JSC “Latvenergo“has started offering electric car charging services in the” Elektrum “network and plans to significantly increase the number of charging points in the future, anticipating that there will be at least 1,000 public charging points in Latvia by 2025,” says Pauls Beinarovičs, CSDD Information Technology Department, Electromobility and Radar System Development Division the host.
The range of electric cars is growing exponentially
On the one hand, interest in electric transport is fueled by the commitment of European countries to make transport climate-neutral by 2040 or 2050 by reducing harmful emissions from new cars to zero, and by a number of national support measures (subsidies) for their purchase. On the other hand, manufacturers are paying close attention to the development of electric and hybrid cars, there are already several hundred different models available in Europe, and they are very technologically advanced.
For example, Renault plans to have eight fully electric models, 12 hybrid cars and plug-in hybrids in its product line by 2022, giving customers more and more choice. To date, Renault has sold more than 300,000 electric cars in Europe, and Renault Zoe sales have increased by 50% in the first half of this year.
“It is already clear that consumers in Europe have embraced electric cars as a viable means of transportation for the future. This is evidenced by the fact that the electric car segment has seen much smaller sales than conventional car sales in the last six months. I think this trend will become more pronounced in the coming years. In Latvia, “emphasizes the manager of” Norde “trade showroom.
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