41 Percent of Those Planning to Buy a Car May Go Electric, Study Finds
“This represents a breakthrough moment in consumer attitudes that could hugely accelerate demand for EVs and alternative powertrain vehicles,” the study concluded. “Previously, many consumers expressed generalized concerns over sustainability, but those concerns did not translate into action when it came to buying their next car.”
The study comes at what many are hoping to be the tail-end of the COVID-19 pandemic, during which consumers spent more time in their own neighborhoods. For many, quarantine offered some people a bittersweet opportunity to recognize the pleasure of having cleaner, less-polluted air and take inventory of the ways in which an individual can affect the environment. According to EY’s data, this pandemic-induced epiphany is the reason behind 78 percent of potential EV buyers’ willingness to ditch the carbon-burning engine and seek out a better solution.
Buying an EV is now easier than ever, but some consumers remain wary. Out of the consumers EY surveyed, 50 percent indicated cost as a potential barrier to purchasing their first EV, and 32 percent were concerned about charging infrastructure. Although many electric vehicles have a higher up-front cost than their carbon-burning predecessors, their total cost of ownership (TCO) is often lower thanks to fuel and maintenance savings. And while anything new can at first feel intimidating, implementing charging infrastructure isn’t nearly as complicated as it sounds.
In the US and UK, for example, you can generally install an at-home EV charger if you own your property or if you obtain permission from your landlord. Home EV chargers can go for as little as $199 for a lesser-known brand on Amazon or $700+ for the luxury brand Chargepoint. (Surprisingly, a Tesla Wall Connector sits in the middle at $500.) According to the US Department of Energy’s Alternative Fuels Data Center, an EV with a 200-mile/66kWh range would cost only $9 to fully charge at a cost of $0.13 per kWh. Compare that with a $3.50/gallon fuel cost and your average 25mpg carbon-burning vehicle with a 16-gallon tank (which costs $56 to fill) and the long-term savings are abundant—you have about $18 left in your pocket every time you recharge. If you drive enough to recharge even just twice a month, a mid-level charger will pay for itself in less than a year.
Of course, this only works if you drive a smaller vehicle. Delivery professions and trades that require hauling of larger goods or materials have far fewer options, as electric vans and pickups are only just entering the mainstream and carry hefty price tags, and long-haul electric trucks seem further away than ever. And if you live in a place like San Francisco that requires you to park out on the street, owning an electric vehicle may be more work than it’s worth. As such, EVs aren’t a blanket solution to transportation-related pollution, but rather a supplement to other environmental efforts.
EY (and likely many consumers) are hoping this marks a transformation in the way consumers approach personal transportation and the environment. Of those surveyed, 66 percent of consumers indicated they’d be making their purchase within the next year, which means both the auto industry and the planet could begin seeing changes very soon.
Continue reading
New Study Suggests Dark Matter Doesn’t Exist
Most scientists currently believe the iron grip of gravity is augmented by dark matter, an invisible material that makes up about 85 percent of the universe. A new study makes the case for an alternative model, one in which dark matter doesn't exist and gravity works a little differently than we thought.
Google Shuts Down Stadia Games Studio, Plans to License Tech
Google says this is just part of a larger strategy to strengthen its Stadia partnerships, but this feels like the beginning of the end for Google's game streaming platform.
Scientists Can Finally Study Einsteinium 69 Years After Its Discovery
In the remnants of atomic explosions, scientists found never-before-seen elements like einsteinium. Now, almost 70 years after its discovery, scientists have collected enough einsteinium to conduct some basic analysis.
Samsung Stuffs 1.2TFLOP AI Processor Into HBM2 to Boost Efficiency, Speed
Samsung has developed a new type of processor-in-memory, built around HBM2. It's a new achievement for AI offloading and could boost performance by up to 2x while cutting power consumption 71 percent.