Awaken by the worries of conventional and unconventional pollution case due to over use of fossil fuel, natural resource supplies and energy means. It is time to look for alternative sources of energy to fuel our modern life and its amenities. The need for a new energy source is both because of a scare of depleting natural reserves and to reduce the atmospheric pollution. Governments of many countries have already started taking steps in this direction. In America, for example, The Obama administration has, set forth a goal of having one million electric-powered vehicles on U.S. roads by 2015, while some others have also proposed a medium-term goal where electric vehicles would consist of 20% of the passenger vehicle fleet by 2030 or approximately 30 million electric vehicles to contribute toward greener planet or reduce their carbon print. Many big automobile companies have also started taking steps in this direction by giving serious thought to development of battery operated vehicle or hybrid vehicles. Nissan Motor for example has already put a six billion dollars bet in the growing market for such vehicles.
To those worried about the over dependence of their countries on exports of oil from foreign countries, development and deployment of electric vehicles will be a huge respite. Implementing stronger efficiency standards and imposing higher taxes on motor fuels are some steps in the direction to reduce over dependency on depleting natural resources, but achieving even greater reductions will require changing the way people power their transportation system or use vehicle/cars/public transportation to travel. To those worried about climate change, greenhouse emission and depleting ozone layer, electric cars, or battery powered vehicles could increasingly be considered a boon. Finally, to countries and states which are increasingly trying to reduce their atmospheric carbon content or improve air quality standards electrification of transport system would serve as means to a purpose. These interests combined with the fluctuating oil prices which more or less guides the market index are a huge initiative for moving in the direction of electrification of the vehicular systems.
There are far many reason for developing and encouraging the use if Battery Operated Vehicles. However this paper primarily focuses on the reason why people in general would and would not adopt electric vehicle.
A very simple answer to the question of adoption/rejection of electric vehicle depends on the price and features of this vehicle. In other words the cost incurred by the user of such a vehicle and the switching cost (both quantitative and qualitative) to be incurred by the users of Electric Vehicle. The Electric Vehicle Deployment Act as put forth in US will bring down the per liter gasoline charges from $6 to $3 for the vehicles. In other words, the mileage as provided by one liter of gasoline will be worth $3 less for battery operated vehicles. With most of the governments inclined to promote the use and development of such vehicle, people might even get rewards and benefits for reduced consumption of gasoline.
Another question, which lingers is, what will standout benefits of driving Electric Vehicles be? Since only a very small fraction of American (or for that matter any country’s) population is inclined enough to pay a substantial premium for a greener atmosphere, electric vehicles have to launched and promoted at a reasonable price to suit the pockets of a considerable segment of society. This paper tries to describe the features which will push a choice towards electric vehicle.
There are two most common type of Electric vehicle battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). We will primarily be talking about BEVs. A battery electric vehicle (BEV) is a type of electric vehicle that uses energy stored in rechargeable battery packs. BEVs use electric motors and motor controllers instead of internal combustion engines (ICEs) for propulsion and rechargeable batteries in place of gasoline.
There are 4 prime criteria which govern the answer to this question: 1. Cost concern, cost owing to purchasing and operating electric cars 2. Switching costs? 3. Attributes and features offered by Electric cars? 4. Availability of adequate and proper infrastructure. The paper discusses all these concerns in detail.
A BEV is simpler to build and dos not use gasoline fuel to power up. All of the BEVs that will enter mass production or have been planned to be launched will be based on the simple theory that—the consumer basically place minimum price or base price for the main vehicle, however the thing that makes its operation costly is the maintenance and energy cost. However to ease down the energy cost, simple options for leasing the battery might also be an option.
The next primary concern is the availability of powerful battery and the cost and mileage associated with it. Batteries rely on primarily on the discharge of energy via chemical reaction. Short circuit, energy leakage and other electricity and charge related defects are therefore the primary concerns for development of battery for mass consumption as in electric vehicles. Also concerns regarding overcharging, undercharging, overheating, residual methods of charging, effect/dangers on collision are amongst next of the concerns. Manufacturers and developers have to reassure buyers of the safety and utility associated with BEVs. Also, because battery packs are suspected to be considerably expensive, manufacturers have to convince the users of the lifespan and usefulness of such a technology. In other words battery/power source is the main concern to create a niche for Electric Vehicle.
In summary, significant launch and penetration of Electric Vehicle in a automobile market dominated by gasoline vehicle will occur only if the electric vehicles are competitive in terms of price, utility, mileage, aesthetics, fuel utility and lifetime. Further factors which might accelerate the development of Electric Vehicle are 1. Exponential increase in gasoline prices 2. Considerable increase in cost owing to gasoline powered vehicle due to environmental reason, in the form of taxes and additional cost levied on users of gasoline powered, and 3. Considerable growth/development of battery technology to match the requirements put forth by the gasoline based vehicles.