At every turn, electric vehicles appear to be capturing the public's imagination.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Fed by the tweets and rants of Tesla founder Elon Musk and with exciting startups funded by Saudi royalty eager not to be left holding huge stocks of unloved fossil fuels when the music finally stops, the gathering impetus of electric car sales shows they can no longer be dismissed as the market's fringe dwellers.
To those with a keen eye to automotive history, the current (no pun intended) excitement around electric cars should be viewed in historical context.
This form of vehicle propulsion has been around a long, long time. Way back on April 29, 1899, Belgian race car driver and engineer Camille Jenatzy drove his electric-powered, torpedo-shaped machine called Le Jamais Contente (translated as Never Satisfied) to a new world record top speed of 105.9km/h.
The publicity of that feat generated (again, no pun intended) a flourishing electric vehicle manufacturing operation for Jenatzy. Around the turn of that previous century, steam, petrol and electric cars were all vying for a share of the small but burgeoning market for automobiles.
For well over a century there has never been any dispute that battery-powered electric vehicles can satisfy achieve all, if not more, of the performance and safety requirements of common combustion vehicles.
What killed off the electric car early was that it couldn't compete with the low cost, easy refuelling and convenience of the petrol-powered car. Henry Ford provided the nail in the coffin with his affordable Model T.
Yet, special purpose electric vehicles have always been around, surfacing in the strangest of places, and for particular needs. Three battery-powered Lunar Rovers have driven around on the moon on various expeditions. In France, kids as young as 14 are legally permitted to drive low-powered electric-powered machines called quadricycles. One is the Citroen Ami, which has a top speed of 45km/h and a range of about 70km.
Specialist electric car makers have come and gone with never any significant manufacturing volumes to note until US maker Tesla defied the odds, opened its own niche, and a band of true believers jumped aboard vigorously waving their cash.
Founder Elon Musk has been described by his rivals as an "industry disruptor" but where Tesla's electric vehicles were once scorned and dismissed by the motor industry establishment - no more so than in Australia - they are now regarded as a genuine threat. Musk used his controversial autopilot autonomous driving option like a publicity heat-seeking missile, and it worked.
The wheel has turned full circle; battery technology and investment is racing ahead, and it appears the market is finally ready for an electric transition.
Is it worth buying an electric vehicle now?
If your driving is mostly urban, predictable in nature and not too far in distance, then yes; provided you can afford one and a garage to recharge it in. The cheapest new electric car on the Australian market today is the Hyundai Ioniq, which costs just under $46,000.
That's a fair amount of cash for what is a fairly run-of-the-mill, ordinary-looking, five door, compact car, which in a petrol alternative of the same size would cost around $15,000 less.
And to risk stating the bleeding obvious: $15,000 buys a lot of petrol.
The rest - including the Mercedes, Teslas, Audis and the like - are well north of the Hyundai's price so you would need to be hugely committed to the cause, a so-called "early adopter", or a combination of either, to jump on board.
On the flip side, if all you need is something comfy, safe and electric in which to commute short distances around the suburbs, drive home and plug in again then there's a growing number of second-hand cars like the Nissan Leaf on the market which cost just mere cents to run per day.
Or am I better off waiting?
A lot of new electric cars are coming from well-known brands like VW, Honda and the like (market leader Toyota is betting on hybrids, but that's another story). However, it could be two to three years before this volume of competition hits the market and prices are squeezed downward.
Driving range is improving as battery technology steadily advances but the quick recharge that the cars need to be directly market-competitive with a petrol equivalent and as convenient to refuel is some years off yet.
There's a massive amount of open road and long distance travelling done in our country, and battery tech just doesn't yet suit this environment.
READ MORE:
Fast-charging, too, can lead to battery degradation but there is some significant work now being done on solving this issue. Some manufacturers now offer an ability to fast-charge, in part.
If you can afford it, you can buy the range you need, just not the fast recharging time.
Most of the Tesla models will drive for 500 kms or more before recharging.
Is an electric car going to save a heap of money?
Not up front in the initial purchase cost but over the longer term of ownership, absolutely.
Solar from photovoltaic panels fed into a household battery can now handle most car recharging needs but bear in mind that unless there's access to a purpose-built DC current to plug the car into, then recharging using a conventional 240-volt outlet is very slow.
Over three to five years of ownership, with just a few dollars of running costs each week, reduced registration fees and minimal maintenance, the savings quickly add up. The popular notion is that an electric car is maintenance-free, which is untrue. Parts still need lubrication, tyres replaced, and brakes checked.
What is an unknown quantity at this time is resale value.
Teslas have been around the longest and their prices appear to be holding up well.
However, those who know the market well believe this may be a result of the brand sitting in a "honeymoon" period, and the fact that there's precious few used models around so this artificially inflates their resale value.
If Tesla resale value tanks in the next two to five years, then that's going to be very bad for the reputation of electric cars.