The prices of electric cars are rapidly increasing, but some important unresolved questions remain, including low temperatures. In fact, a particularly cold climate tends to cause various problems, including a reduction in autonomy, charging below the expected standards and difficulty opening the doors.
If the critical issues just highlighted were already known by sector experts, now the general public is also starting to take note of them. In fact, in the last few days, the cold waves, guilty of affecting the United Stateshave created a lot of inconvenience for owners of electric cars due to the low temperatures.
The effects of frost
A Chicagofor example, temperatures reached i -30°C, and this has led to numerous sore points. Firstly, the battery tends to discharge more quickly and, therefore, autonomy decreases. By how much? The value is not at all negligible, as admitted by Tesla, which estimated a loss of 40% attributable to the intense cold. Secondly, shortcomings emerge in the charging stations, unable to function properly.
And drivers suffer a lot, without seeing the famous “light at the end of the tunnel”. The last point, which objectively takes on marginal importance compared to the first two, concerns opening the doorswhich is complicated by the ice.
The technicians, including those at the service of the manufacturers, are perfectly aware of the system flaws. They also take care of taking away your peace of mind battery, made up of cells containing lithium ions. Under certain climatic conditions, ions tend to move more slowly, hence thelower efficiency. Furthermore, the chemistry of the battery suffers from the rigors of winter, which can be translated into one reduced duration. Finally, the heat pumps used to heat BEV accumulators struggle to function properly, with repercussions on the refueling process.
Possible effects on sales
Such a situation not the best commercial for electric cars, with a fragmented diffusion throughout the world. If in China or in the Scandinavian countries, for example, they have widely taken hold, elsewhere the situation is different, including in Europe. The industry of the Old Continent suffers from an initial inability to understand the importance of the ecological transition.
Instead of taking action in time, local companies procrastinated and are now paying the price. In recent days we have told you about the serious mistake made, with particular reference to the cost of BEVs, which is still out of reach for an ordinary family.
Without wishing to diminish the effort made by Citroen with the e-C3, presented in recent months, or by Dacia with the Spring, an access threshold of around 25.000 euro remains important. Even more so, they fuel skepticism as serious problems as those found in the United States. Currently, companies are trying to define valid countermeasures, starting with the development of batteries that are more resistant to low temperatures.
Their insulation would, in turn, provide a valuable contribution to the change, in the same way as the installation of columns capable of better withstanding the frost. Identifying answers is an absolute priority, otherwise those who live in areas characterized by harsh winters could be less inclined to make the green turn.
2024-01-18 09:05:00
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