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Limited maximum range (or call it range anxiety if you will) and the high purchase price - these are the two things that stand in the way of a mass EV adoption at the moment.
The former will be more difficult to address and, unless there is a major breakthrough in battery technology really quick, it will most likely be solved through faster charging times and a better network of charging stations. The latter, however, that could be fixed as soon as next year, Swiss investment bank UBS believes.
According to Forbes who quotes a report issued by the bank, electric vehicles should reach price parity with their fossil fuel-powered counterparts no later than next year in the European market. But there is a catch, albeit not a big one.
UBS wants us to look a bit different at what parity means. More to the point, it says we should expect the initial purchase price of EVs to remain greater, but to a smaller degree. But when you factor in all the other costs that come with using a vehicle over time - fuel, maintenance -, the EV would come level.
That actually sounds plausible, especially if you consider the government EV subsidies that are in place in most countries which can lower the price by up to $10,000, depending on the market. But the rest of the UBS report is even more optimistical.
For instance, it has raised the forecast for global EV sales to 3.1 million (from 2.5 million) for 2021, and to 14.2 million by 2025. It also says that Europe will lead the way by that time with 30 percent of the vehicles sold on the Old Continent being electric.
The forecast isn't so favorable to the current leading EV markets, China and the U.S. UBS thinks that costs for battery-powered vehicles and traditional ones will level in 2023 in China - five years later than in Europe - and two years sooner than in the U.S., which will have to wait until 2025 for that.
Given Europeans have a lot shorter distances to travel than both U.S. and Chinese citizens, there might be some truth to what UBS foresees for the future, but it surely isn't reflected in the current reality. Right now, EV sales in Europe account for nearly one percent, and even though they are heading up, the spectacular growing curve still isn't in sight.
According to Forbes who quotes a report issued by the bank, electric vehicles should reach price parity with their fossil fuel-powered counterparts no later than next year in the European market. But there is a catch, albeit not a big one.
UBS wants us to look a bit different at what parity means. More to the point, it says we should expect the initial purchase price of EVs to remain greater, but to a smaller degree. But when you factor in all the other costs that come with using a vehicle over time - fuel, maintenance -, the EV would come level.
That actually sounds plausible, especially if you consider the government EV subsidies that are in place in most countries which can lower the price by up to $10,000, depending on the market. But the rest of the UBS report is even more optimistical.
For instance, it has raised the forecast for global EV sales to 3.1 million (from 2.5 million) for 2021, and to 14.2 million by 2025. It also says that Europe will lead the way by that time with 30 percent of the vehicles sold on the Old Continent being electric.
The forecast isn't so favorable to the current leading EV markets, China and the U.S. UBS thinks that costs for battery-powered vehicles and traditional ones will level in 2023 in China - five years later than in Europe - and two years sooner than in the U.S., which will have to wait until 2025 for that.
Given Europeans have a lot shorter distances to travel than both U.S. and Chinese citizens, there might be some truth to what UBS foresees for the future, but it surely isn't reflected in the current reality. Right now, EV sales in Europe account for nearly one percent, and even though they are heading up, the spectacular growing curve still isn't in sight.
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