The Future of Electric Cars – Both Near and Far

There are plenty of data points that suggest that electric cars are increasing in popularity and are likely to replace the current system reliant on fossil fuels. Exactly how they will evolve is difficult to predict. We’re talking about a significant paradigm shift, re-inventing everything we know about travel.

Electric car sales have risen dramatically over the last half decade and the trend looks to be one that will continue for quite some time, potentially reaching a turning point where electric vehicles become the predominant mode of transport around the world. While there were less than 500,000 electric cars on the road throughout the world in 2013, that number has increased to over 3,000,000 in 2017. During that time, many different things happened to cause the surge of people to switch from gas-powered vehicles to electric cars.

• The price of electric cars has fallen. With prices at the gas pump going up, electric cars are beginning to be looked at as a cheaper alternative to run. Yes, the purchase price of an electric car can be a little higher than its gas-powered predecessor, but that disparity has narrowed significantly over the last several years. Many countries have passed laws that offset the cost of purchasing an electric car to incentivize purchases.
• Over time the price has steadily gone down as technology has been invented that makes the cars easier and more economical to produce, faster to build between the start date and completion time, and more companies are making them than in years past, which has led to increased competition.
• Upkeep prices have dropped as well with the cost of batteries falling to more affordable levels. Electric car battery prices have dropped by 30-50% over the last four years and that trend looks to be continuing into the near future. With more technological breakthroughs, other components on electric cars have fallen in price as well.

The Future of Electric Cars

With the prices of electric cars dropping to the point that the average consumer can afford them, the trends show that the future for electric cars is a bright one indeed. People are starting to get used to the idea of having an electric car as their main vehicle and there are other reasons that manufacturers are confident, they will gain further popularity.

• They are better for the environment and leave a smaller carbon footprint. With the concerns of climate change becoming more and more apparent, consumers want to live their lives as environmentally friendly as possible. Purchasing and driving an electric vehicle is one big way of accomplishing this.
• With electric rates more stable than gas prices, the consumer can budget better on how much their transportation costs will be over a certain period.
• Maintenance costs are projected to become significantly lower than on a gas-fueled car. With electric cars, oil changes, exhaust issues, and spark plug changes are a thing of the past. That is not to say that electric cars don’t have to have maintenance performed on them, but it is likely that in the future the maintenance costs for an electric vehicle will be much less than what we spend on gasoline-powered vehicles.

Challenges

Although electric cars have grown in popularity and sales over the last several years, it will still be a while before they are a true competitor to gas-powered cars. There are many things that need to be worked on and built up for it to happen.

The prices will need to fall more so that the average consumer can purchase one. Companies like Tesla have made big strides in getting prices down and in the near future, electric vehicles will rival traditional cars when it comes to price. Electric vehicles like the Ford Focus Electric are bringing electric vehicles into the mainstream.

Infrastructure is also a significant challenge to overcome. As an electric vehicle only has a limited range, it needs to be recharged periodically if you plan to travel a long way. In many ways, this is similar to gasoline-powered vehicles, but it takes time and money to build a replacement infrastructure system of scale. Over time, there will be more filling stations that are set up for electric cars, batteries will have greater range, and the nationwide system will form into place. No, this won’t happen overnight, and it will take time.

With the electric car market growing and the push for cleaner and more environmentally friendly vehicles out there, there is little doubt that electric cars will be more common in the future and will probably become the norm.