Photo: Ford
Californians are the most eco-minded Americans, or so many studies have found thus far. The state’s environmental record confirms their concerns for the environment, which is why many Californians have adopted electric vehicles. Owning an EV, however, presents inconveniences.
Be it a subcompact hatchback such as the Chevrolet Bolt or the Mercedes-Benz EQS full-size sedan, you can’t recharge these babies in five minutes. There’s also range anxiety, which stems from great disparities between the Environmental Protection Agency’s numbers and the real-world numbers.
EVs also cost more than ICEs even if you include the $7,500 federal tax credit, which makes them a little prohibitive to regular people who live paycheck to paycheck. The charging infrastructure leaves much to be desired in terms of connectors, memberships, charging rates, and the number of chargers, a collection of conditions that puts many potential EV buyers off.
And finally, charging at home is a hassle in and of itself. Bloomberg automotive analyst Kevin Tynan told Business Insider that a Ford Mustang Mach-E adds three miles of driving range after 60 minutes of charging from a household plug. Over the course of 12 hours, that’s 36 miles (58 kilometers) for an electric crossover with an EPA-rated estimate of 230 miles (370 kilometers) for the smallest battery pack and rear-wheel drive.
According to a study published in Nature Energy, roughly one in five EV owners switched back to gas-powered cars over charging woes. Of the people surveyed, more than 70 percent lacked access to Level 2 charging at home. As opposed to a standard outlet that puts out 120 volts of power, Level 2 charging is a little quicker to charge an EV thanks to 240 volts. Also worthy of note, Tesla's Supercharger network rocks 480-volt direct current.
The survey also found that almost two-thirds of EV owners don’t use public charging stations, which is a worrying proportion if you remember that California sets the eco-friendly trends for pretty much the entire U.S.
"It should not be assumed that once a consumer purchases an EV, they will continue owning one,” noted the authors of the study: researchers Scott Hardman and Gil Tal. "What is clear is that this state of affairs could slow EV market growth and make reaching 100-percent EV sales more difficult.”
EVs also cost more than ICEs even if you include the $7,500 federal tax credit, which makes them a little prohibitive to regular people who live paycheck to paycheck. The charging infrastructure leaves much to be desired in terms of connectors, memberships, charging rates, and the number of chargers, a collection of conditions that puts many potential EV buyers off.
And finally, charging at home is a hassle in and of itself. Bloomberg automotive analyst Kevin Tynan told Business Insider that a Ford Mustang Mach-E adds three miles of driving range after 60 minutes of charging from a household plug. Over the course of 12 hours, that’s 36 miles (58 kilometers) for an electric crossover with an EPA-rated estimate of 230 miles (370 kilometers) for the smallest battery pack and rear-wheel drive.
According to a study published in Nature Energy, roughly one in five EV owners switched back to gas-powered cars over charging woes. Of the people surveyed, more than 70 percent lacked access to Level 2 charging at home. As opposed to a standard outlet that puts out 120 volts of power, Level 2 charging is a little quicker to charge an EV thanks to 240 volts. Also worthy of note, Tesla's Supercharger network rocks 480-volt direct current.
The survey also found that almost two-thirds of EV owners don’t use public charging stations, which is a worrying proportion if you remember that California sets the eco-friendly trends for pretty much the entire U.S.
"It should not be assumed that once a consumer purchases an EV, they will continue owning one,” noted the authors of the study: researchers Scott Hardman and Gil Tal. "What is clear is that this state of affairs could slow EV market growth and make reaching 100-percent EV sales more difficult.”
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