The Arrival of the Electric Car: Buyer's Guide, Owner's Guide, History, Future [3 ed.] 1468605011, 9781468605013

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The Arrival of the Electric Car Buyer’s Guide, Owner’s Guide, History, Future

The Arrival of the Electric Car Buyer’s Guide, Owner’s Guide, History, Future BY CHRIS JOHNSTON AND ED SOBEY

Warrendale, Pennsylvania, USA

400 Commonwealth Drive Warrendale, PA 15096-0001 USA E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 877-606-7323 (inside USA and Canada) 724-776-4970 (outside USA) FAX: 724-776-0790

Copyright © 2023 SAE International. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, ­mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of SAE International. For permission and licensing requests, contact SAE Permissions, 400 Commonwealth Drive, Warrendale, PA 15096-0001 USA; e-mail: [email protected]; phone: 724-772-4028. Library of Congress Catalog Number 2022950489 http://dx.doi.org/10.4271/9781468605020 Information contained in this work has been obtained by SAE International from sources believed to be reliable. However, neither SAE International nor its authors guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein and neither SAE International nor its authors shall be responsible for any errors, omissions, or damages arising out of use of this information. This work is published with the understanding that SAE International and its authors are supplying information but are not attempting to render engineering or other professional services. If such services are required, the assistance of an appropriate professional should be sought. ISBN-Print 978-1-4686-0501-3 ISBN-PDF 978-1-4686-0502-0 ISBN-ePub 978-1-4686-0503-7 To purchase bulk quantities, please contact: SAE Customer Service E-mail: Phone: Fax:

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Publisher Sherry Dickinson Nigam Product Manager Amanda Zeidan Director of Content Management Kelli Zilko Production and Manufacturing Associate Brandon Joy

This book is dedicated to Skye and Spencer.

It always seems impossible until it is done. —Nelson Mandela

Contents

Foreword

xiii

Introduction and Key Takeaways

1

Key Takeaways

3

CHAPTER 1

What Are We Talking About? Cars Powered by Batteries, Hybrids, Fuel Cell Cars, or Others

7

BEVs

8

How Does an EV Work?

10

Types of Battery-Powered EVs

10

Hybrid Electric Vehicles

13

Parallel Hybrid Series Hybrid or Range-Extender EVs PHEVs Hybrids with Lightweight Electric Motors Other Hybrids

16 17 19 20 21

Fuel-Cell Electric Vehicles

21

Lithium-Ion Batteries

24

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Contents

viii

CHAPTER 2

Is an Electric Car Right for You? What Is Different about Owning and Driving an EV?

27

Charging Your EV

31

Cost to Charge

37

Tax Credits and Incentives

38

Warranty

38

Insurance

39

CHAPTER 3

Advantages of Electric Cars

41

EVs Are Greener

41

Carbon Footprint Comparison

43

Performance

44

Efficiency

47

Low Cost of Ownership

48

Reliability

51

Regenerative Braking

52

One-Pedal Driving

54

Computer and Controls

54

CHAPTER 4

Why the Revolution Is Happening Now? 57 Price

58

Range

60

Importance of Design

64

Connectivity

68

Contents

ix

CHAPTER 5

How Did We Get Here? A History of EVs 71 CHAPTER 6

EV Myths and Misconceptions—What Some People Want You to Believe about EVs Is Not True

85

Myth 1: EVs Do Not Have Enough Range to Be Viable86 Myth 2: EVs Are Not Safe to Drive

86

Myth 3: EVs Are Not Greener than Gasoline- or Diesel-Powered Cars

88

Myth 4: EVs Are Slow

89

Myth 5: EVs Are Expensive to Maintain

90

Myth 6: There Are Not Enough Public Charging Stations

91

Myth 7: EV Batteries Do Not Last and Will Cause a Recycling Problem

91

Myth 8: EVs Are Too Expensive

94

Myth 9: The Electrical Grid Cannot Support Millions of EVs

95

CHAPTER 7

News Flash! Accelerating Innovation Government Mandates

97 98 100

Modernized Power Grid and Renewable Energy

101

Electric Motorcycles

105

Commercial Segment

105

Contents

x

CHAPTER 8

EV Buying Guide

107

Lease or Purchase

107

Audi

109

Audi Audi Audi Audi

Q4 e-tron and Q4 Sportback e-tron e-tron and Sportback e-tron e-tron S and Sportback e-tron S e-tron GT

BMW BMW i4 BMW iX BMW i7

Cadillac Cadillac Lyriq

Chevrolet Chevrolet Blazer EV Chevrolet Equinox EV Chevrolet Silverado EV

Ford Ford Mustang Mach-E Ford F-150 Lightning

Genesis Motor Genesis GV60 Genesis Electrified GV70 Genesis Electrified G80

GM

109 111 113 115

117 117 119 121

123 123

125 125 128 130

132 132 134

136 136 138 140

142 GMC Sierra EV

142

Hyundai Motor Company

144

Hyundai Ioniq 5

144

Jaguar Jaguar I-PACE

147 147

Contents

Kia Corporation Kia Niro EV Kia EV6 Kia EV9

Lexus Lexus RZ450e

xi

149 149 152 154

156 156

Lucid Motors

158

Lucid Air

158

Maserati Maserati Grecale Folgore Maserati GranTurismo Folgore

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz EQB Mercedes-Benz EQE Mercedes-Benz EQS

Mini

160 160 162

164 164 166 168

170 Mini Cooper SE

Nissan Nissan Ariya Nissan Leaf

Polestar Polestar 2 Polestar 3

Porsche Porsche Macan EV Porsche Taycan

170

172 172 175

177 177 179

180 180 181

Rivian Automotive

184

Rivian R1S Rivian R1T

184 186

Subaru Subaru Solterra

188 188

Contents

xii

Tesla Tesla Tesla Tesla Tesla Tesla Tesla

190 Model S Model X Model 3 Model Y Roadster 2.0 Cybertruck

Toyota Toyota bZ4X

Volkswagen

190 193 196 198 201 203

205 205

208

Volkswagen ID.4

208

Notable Exceptions

211

CHAPTER 9

Technical Definitions and Explainers End Notes Index About the Authors

213 219 227 231

Foreword

E

lectric vehicles (EVs) are fascinating. In fact, I would bet they are just as fascinating to drivers today as they were when the first ones were invented over 100 years ago. I know that this topic does not get boring because I have written thousands of articles about EVs over the last decade and a half. I have covered everything from the very beginning of Tesla to the work that the EV activists from Plug In America did to turn California into the EV leader it is today to the slow but steady progress EVs have made toward the mainstream. In fact, let me double down on that bet: I think EVs are more fascinating now than they were a century ago. And everything I have seen points to another 100 years of fascinating, zero-emission rides. Personally, it has been fascinating to cover advances in EVs for everyone from The New York Times to Car and Driver to blogs dedicated to green transportation. The news never ends, which is exciting. I remember the days when we talked about the first-generation Nissan LEAF being able to go over 100 miles on a charge if the driver was careful and the conditions were right. And now here we are wondering if the 200+ miles in the Polestar 2 will be enough. Of course, it is, but not everyone “gets it” at the same pace. Over the years, I have learned there are three main types of people who develop an interest in EVs, but people can easily fall into multiple categories. A friend once jokingly called the first group “cashed-up greenies.” These are people who are willing and able to spend a bit extra to put their environmental values into action. Especially in the 1990s and 2000s, buying an EV—or converting a gas vehicle © 2023 SAE International

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Foreword

to battery power—was an expensive proposition. But these early advocates quickly discovered there was more to driving electric than doing less damage to the environment. Which is why so many of them joined the second category: the performance folks. It is thrilling to be behind the wheel of an EV, and the first time I drove a Tesla Roadster back in 2008 or so, it blew my little blogger mind. The thrill of instant torque is no joke, and automakers are finally starting to realize this side of EVs in the way they market and sell their vehicles. Looking at you, Porsche Taycan. Which brings us to the third category: you, i.e., everyone. Yes, despite the prevalence of internal combustion vehicles on the road today, the segment of the population that can afford an EV is growing. Prices are coming down, used EVs are a real option and there are a number of programs in the United States focused on getting zero-emission EVs into the hands of average drivers and car shoppers. Two of the big issues that may have kept buyers away in the past have changed in the last few years. Range is less and less of an issue and more and more body styles are going electric. You can buy plug-in sedans, wagons, SUVs, and pickup trucks in North America right now. While this book focuses on the EVs you can buy in North America—where more than three dozen are available—the number of EVs available in other parts of the world, including China, is mind boggling. I have rarely been as amazed walking through an auto show as I have in Shanghai or Guangzhou in recent years. There I saw not just a fair number of models I had never heard of but entire brands that were new to me. It was, well, fascinating. Those experiences were also proof that something big is happening. EVs have not seen the constant development that gasoline and diesel vehicles had throughout the 20th century, thanks to the cheap reliability of fossil fuels and the never-ending challenge of convincing people to try something new. Thankfully, now that the EV R&D “dark ages” are coming to an end and automakers around the world are charging up their EV programs, there is no doubt that we are about to see massive, valuable change in our transportation landscape.

Foreword

xv

All signs point to 2023 being a transformational year for EVs. This book is a guide to the fascinating world that is coming. Read it and be ready. Sebastian Blanco Freelance Writer @SebastianBlanco sebastian-blanco.com Sebastian Blanco has been writing about electric vehicles since 2006. The New York Times, Forbes, Car and Driver, Automotive News, Reuters, Autoblog, InsideEVs, Trucks.com, and NPR’s Car Talk listen to his advice and publish his articles. Since the launch of the Tesla Roadster, he has been America’s voice tracking the shift away from gasoline-powered vehicles to electric vehicles.

Introduction and Key Takeaways

W

e wrote the first edition of The Arrival of the Electric Car to be a comprehensive, fact-based encouragement for people to switch to battery electric vehicles (BEVs). A major motivation was the sense that the industry was at the cusp of an inflection point. As luck would have it, our timing could not have been any better. Our book was published in November of 2020, and in February 2021, seven electric vehicle (EV) commercials during the Super Bowl accounted for a record $6.5 million in ads spent for thirtysecond commercial spots. Even more compelling, EVs accounted for 7.2% of global car sales in the first half of 2021, up from a meager 2.6% in 2019 to a 177% increase in two years. This uptake is unprecedented in the history of the automotive industry. At the end of this introduction, we list some of the most compelling things you will read in our book. When Chris first sat in an electric car, it was clear that it had not been designed in Detroit or Bavaria. It was clean and modern looking but also comfortable and inviting. During the first drive, he was delighted by the silence and how well he could hear the stereo. Most of all, he was shocked by the acceleration. It was not just the acceleration, but the instant response—something that you simply do not experience in a gasoline-powered car due to mechanical lag. He felt much more in control because of how smoothly it accelerated and how well the power steering responded.

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The Arrival of the Electric Car

Now, after three years of owning it, he still looks forward to every drive. The transition from his beloved gasoline-powered car to his EV brought to mind the change from using a BlackBerry keyboard to an iPhone screen. At first, there was a little apprehension, but after a day, there was no way he was going back to the old phone. Now, the thought of having to go back to gas stations or the hassle of oil changes makes him cringe like the thought of having to go from a smartphone back to a flip phone. Many EV owners tell the same story. They tell us the price is right. The driving range is not a concern. They love the modern design. They have made the switch, and they are not going back. All of us are witnessing a once-in-a-lifetime transformation. For over 100 years, gasoline and diesel fuels have powered ground transportation throughout the world. Now that is changing, and 2023 is the year when most people will recognize that change is happening. Ed, at first, approached driving an EV with some apprehension. He did not get the concept of one-pedal driving: “You’ve got to have a brake!” Also, the instantaneous and lightning quick acceleration grabbed his attention immediately. We should note that his EV does have an actual brake pedal even though you  can perform “one-pedal driving.” Now, as the one-year owner of an EV, he loves driving it. When forced to drive a gasoline-powered rental car, he misses both the one-pedal driving and acceleration.

For me, driving an EV without using the brake pedal is a challenge. I try to complete each trip without touching the brake. Very quickly after buying an EV my skill level increased so I could lighten the pressure on the accelerator at the right moment to coast to a stop at traffic lights, Ed reports.

Buyer’s Guide, Owner’s Guide, History, Future

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I think I’m a better driver when driving an EV. One safety aspect I hadn’t considered before owning an EV is acceleration. Entering an onramp in a cluster of other cars, I can accelerate away from them and get into open space on a highway. So far, I haven’t gotten a speeding ticket. I tend to leave more space from the car ahead of me so I don’t have to touch the brake pedal. I can make up the distance instantly when the light changes due to the superior acceleration, Ed reports. We wrote this book to share our excitement and what we have learned about EVs. Our goal is to be objective, nonpolitical, and data-driven. What would you expect from authors who are an engineer and a scientist? Although we describe EV variants like hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) and fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEV), this buyer’s guide is focused on the North American mass market for BEVs, also referred to as “pure EVs.” In 2020 and prior, there were a handful of EVs on the North American market. With more than 25 massmarket EVs from which to choose, 2023 promises to be another breakout year.

Key Takeaways Here are some of the most compelling things you will read in our book. Treat this section as a sneak preview. •• Cost of Ownership: A gasoline-powered vehicle will cost

almost eight times more to operate and maintain than a comparable EV. EV owners never have to buy gasoline and never have to get oil changes. Their brakes last about 170,000

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The Arrival of the Electric Car

miles. They do not have to pay for tune-ups, replace spark plugs, water pumps, and fuel pumps, or a variety of other maintenance items. •• Reliability: Due to their engineering simplicity, EVs are

far more reliable than gasoline-powered vehicles. EVs have far fewer moving parts in their drivetrains than cars with internal-combustion engines (ICEs). More parts, and especially more moving parts, mean more potential points of failure. When it comes to batteries, Consumer Reports estimates that EV batteries should last 200,000 miles.

•• Why Now? Why are we seeing an EV revolution now? EVs

have overcome their three major challenges of range, price, and styling.

•• Preparing to Own an EV: It is easier than you think to

prepare your home to charge an EV.

•• Comparison of Carbon Footprints: An oft-mentioned

narrative is that the carbon footprint to manufacture EV batteries is so high that it negates the environmental benefits of purchasing one. The reality is that, over a 200,000 mile life, the average light-duty gasoline-powered vehicle has a carbon footprint that is more than two and a half times larger than the average light-duty EV.

•• History: We included a chapter about the history of EVs

because it is so interesting. For example, the first six recorded land-speed records of any vehicle were all held by EVs. An EV was the first vehicle of any kind to drive faster than 100 km/h (62 mph). Also interesting, starting in 1912 Baker Electric Victoria was used by five first ladies of the United States (US).

•• Safety: For a number of reasons, EVs are the safest on the

market. Replacing the gasoline drivetrain with electric enables designers and engineers to make EVs much safer with respect to the likelihood of a rollover and crash survivability.

Buyer’s Guide, Owner’s Guide, History, Future

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•• Traditional Auto Manufacturers: All major automotive

manufacturers are “betting the farm on EVs.” For example, this is the first time in 55 years that Ford is using the Mustang badge (their most valuable) on a new car, and it is an EV.

•• Gasoline-Powered Cars Use a Lot of Electricity: In addition

to the fuel that they burn, gasoline-powered vehicles use about the same amount of electricity as EVs. Yes, you read that correctly. Gas vehicles use about the same amount of electricity as EVs. This is because extracting, refining, and distributing gasoline or diesel fuel is an energy-intensive process.

1 What Are We Talking About? Cars Powered by Batteries, Hybrids, Fuel Cell Cars, or Others

W

e focus on BEVs, which are often referred to as “pure EVs.” They are called pure EVs because they do not use gasoline or diesel fuel in any way. However, there are other types of electrified vehicles which, in our opinion, are interim steps to finally achieving mass-market BEVs. Because the various names can be confusing, we summarize them below. Why do we focus on BEVs and not the other types of electric cars? BEVs are more efficient. When you have to generate electricity with a relatively small fossil fuel engine, you introduce inefficiencies. It is much more efficient to generate electricity at a power plant and deliver it to your home or charging station to power your car than it is to transport gasoline or diesel fuel to your car and generate electricity in it. The mitigation of climate change and air pollution is the second reason we focus on BEVs. Pure EVs do not emit climate-changing, lung-searing pollution. It is easier to control pollution at the powergenerating station than it is on millions of cars densely packed in a city.

© 2023 SAE International

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The Arrival of the Electric Car

Under the Hood: The American Lung Association analysis shows that rapidly changing from ICE to EV will save Americans $1.2 trillion in health benefits and $1.7 trillion dollars in environmental cost savings by 2050. Some 100,000 lives will be saved, and 2.8 million asthma attacks will be avoided. A healthier population also means that 13.4 million fewer sick days will be used by 2050.

Hybrids and other technologies were a logical choice when batteries were not able to deliver adequate driving range. That has changed. Now you do not need to buy an engine and all its associated components in addition to buying an electric motor. Nor do you need to pay the maintenance for two systems. The revolution has come and BEVs have won.

BEVs BEVs are 100% powered by rechargeable batteries. Their main components are batteries, one or more motors, and a motor control system that manages torque, traction slip, and regenerative braking. All vehicles in our Buying Guide are BEVs. Cars designed as BEVs differ significantly from vehicles powered by ICEs. Vehicles need to be designed as BEVs to get all the advantages offered by a pure electric drivetrain. Some manufacturers have converted existing gas-powered chassis to electric drive. A current example is the Kia Niro, which is available in either gas powered or electric. Without making major modifications, they removed the ICE, transmission, and other associated components and replaced them with batteries, an electric motor, and the necessary EV electronics. Because conversion vehicles were not designed specifically to be BEVs, they will not be able to fully leverage the features of a specifically designed BEV. For example, a vehicle specifically designed to be an EV will tend to have its batteries placed lower in

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the car. Batteries are heavy so placing them lower gives the car a lower center of gravity. A lower center of gravity makes a car more stable and safer because it is less likely to roll over. Placing the batteries beneath rather than in front of the car opens up space for secure storage. This space is ideal for concealing small items and increasing the overall carrying capacity. When we park at a forest trailhead to go for a run or hike, we can empty everything that is visible and lock it securely in the front trunk. Without the digital key or my cell phone, no one can open the front trunk (Figure 1.1). This front trunk also provides a larger crumple zone in the front of the car. In a collision, the trunk absorbs much of the shock, reducing the likelihood or severity of injury for the passengers.

 FIGURE 1.1   Where did the engine go? Under the hood of an EV, there is

Around the World Photos/Shutterstock.com.

enough room for a front trunk, or “frunk.”

10

The Arrival of the Electric Car

One reason we are sold on BEVs is that they offer the possibility of the least environmental impact. Looking strictly at vehicle operation (it is difficult to compare environmental footprints in manufacturing), if your regional source of electricity is green, your automotive energy use is green. If coal fires your electric generation, then your electric vehicle is spewing coal smoke and carbon dioxide (CO2) back at the electric generating plant. That smoke may be generated many miles from where you live, but it is entering the atmosphere and increasing greenhouse gases. The shift from atmospheric pollution inside a city to some rural generating plant may be a positive occurrence, but it is not the game changer we would like to see with electric cars.

How Does an EV Work? The energy needed to drive an EV is supplied by a charging station, either at your home or along a road. As you plug the car into the charging station, electricity flows into the car battery. The energy stored in the battery is direct current (DC), like the energy stored in a flashlight or television (TV) remote control. Most EVs do not use DC so the current has to be converted to alternating current (AC). Most of your appliances at home, the refrigerator, washing machine, and TV, use AC power. So EVs need a device, an inverter, that converts the DC power stored in the battery into AC power. The inverter is pretty efficient and only loses a couple of percentage points of power (Figure 1.2). AC power comes out of the inverter into the traction or drive motor. The motor converts electric energy into spinning kinetic energy, and this drives the wheels. Some EVs have a gearbox that allows the wheels to turn faster than the motor just like ICE cars do.

Types of Battery-Powered EVs How many motors do you think are in an EV? Quite a few if you count seat control, wing mirror control, and all the other convenience motors. But how many traction motors—motors that move the car—are in an EV?

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 FIGURE 1.2   Schematic of a typical EV drive system.

CW craftsman/Shutterstock.com.

electric motor

transmission

power electric controller

charge port

battery

onboard charger

Turns out there can be one, two, three, or four. One motor will be enough to power especially a smaller car in normal driving. For higher performance, two motors are an improvement. One motor powers both front wheels and the other powers the rear wheels. If you really want performance and are prepared to pay for it, having three motors is better than two. Two motors are in the rear; each powers one wheel. One motor is up front to power both front wheels. The advantage of this configuration is that when the car accelerates, the back of the car moves downward. You can see that movement when watching sprint cars race. Having twice the power in the rear takes advantage of the downward forces increasing tire traction during acceleration. Examples of cars that use a trimotor configuration are the Audi e-tron S and the Tesla Model S Plaid. If three motors provide a better performance (Figures 1.3–1.5), four motors are ideal. Each is controlled electronically to provide optimal torque and acceleration to each wheel.

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The Arrival of the Electric Car

 FIGURE 1.3   Illustration showing an EV chassis with a

Alexander Kondratenko/Shutterstock.com.

single-motor configuration.

 FIGURE 1.4   Illustration showing an EV chassis with a

Chesky/Shutterstock.com.

dual-motor configuration.

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 FIGURE 1.5   Illustration showing an EV chassis with a

© SAE International.

trimotor configuration.

Under the Hood: If your friends are impressed that your new EV has four motors, explain at length that having four motors allows superb torque vectoring. This means that the drive computer sends the ideal amount of power to each wheel to do what the driver wants.

Hybrid Electric Vehicles Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) combine features of both EVs and ICE vehicles. They usually have one electric motor, one gasoline engine, and all the associated complexity and cost of each motor and engine (Figure 1.6).

14

The Arrival of the Electric Car

metamorworks/Shutterstock.com.

 FIGURE 1.6   Conceptual layout of a hybrid car.

Under the Hood: What is the difference between an engine and a motor? Most people use the terms interchangeably, but they are different. A motor is powered by electricity. Engines are powered by burning fuel.

Since 1999, there have been over 50 hybrid vehicles offered in the US. Some of the first were the Toyota Prius, Toyota Camry Hybrid, and Ford Fusion Hybrid. HEVs started to gain popularity in 2005 and peaked around 2012. As battery technology has improved, the ranges of BEVs have improved, and BEVs have steadily taken market share from HEVs. Hybrid vehicles have been a way for automakers to appease the automotive dealer groups on whom they depend for distribution and sales. Automotive dealers make most of their profit from

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15

“the back of the shop”—providing vehicle service. Because EVs do not require oil changes, tune-ups, or frequent brake changes, some dealer groups have tried to delay the introduction of pure EVs. Hybrid vehicles have both ICEs and electric drivetrains, appeasing both the dealer groups that want the income from servicing vehicles and the public demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles. Using two power systems, one electric and one fossil fuel, gives car manufacturers lots of options for creative designs. There are five types of hybrids, and who knows if more types will be coming. If you are thinking about hybrids, consider the environmental footprint, cost to operate, and maintenance costs. If you are driving a hybrid that is using a gasoline engine to provide power, you are burning fossil fuel and adding greenhouse gases. The gasoline engine is only about 30–35% efficient. That means that 65–70% of the energy released in burning gasoline does not contribute to the motion of your car. It is released as heat. The heat is dissipated in the car cooling system, which is one more system you have to maintain if you are not in a pure electric car. Electric motors can be up to 75% efficient. But that means the fuel you use in a hybrid gives you only 75% of 35% or about 26% overall efficiency. You are wasting the lion’s share of the fuel’s energy. Hybrids carry around the weight of the electric motor, the battery, and the control system. So they are heavier than a pure ICE car. What are you paying for gasoline now? As we write this, prices are screaming upward toward $5 per gallon. Presumably, the prices will not stay there, but cut that in half and you are still paying a lot. The electrical power equivalent of a gallon of gasoline where we live is less than $1 per gallon. Ed has driven his EV for a year and has yet to take it into the shop. As long as he does not smash it into a fire hydrant somewhere, it will never go into a shop for as long as he has it. (He is leasing the car; more about the leasing advantages later). No water pump to fail, no brake job (he rarely uses the brakes), no fuel pump, and no seasonal radiator maintenance. He plugs it into the electric grid

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The Arrival of the Electric Car

when he  comes home, and the car is ready to go by the time he unplugs it. Hybrids have been a valuable stepping stone to pure EVs. Ten years ago, batteries were not powerful enough to give you a 300 mile range. Now they are. Ten years ago, recharging stations were few and far between. Now they are popping up all over. Do an experiment. Pull up Google Maps for anywhere you drive and have it show where recharging stations are. You may have never seen them, but they are out there. Hybrids were good. Now it is time to move on. But maybe your circumstances make hybrids a viable option. Availability and range of gasoline may tempt you to explore them. In that case, we lay out the options below.

Parallel Hybrid In this configuration, both the electric motor and the gasoline engine power the car. The tricky part comes in making a transmission that takes power from both (Figure 1.7). You are familiar with manual and automatic transmissions. In parallel hybrid cars, a third type of transmission is common: continuously variable transmission (CVT) (Figure 1.8). First used

© SAE International.

 FIGURE 1.7   Schematic diagram of a parallel hybrid.

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Pepermpron/Shutterstock.com.

 FIGURE 1.8   CVT.

in sawmills in the late nineteenth century, it has found application in motorcycles and cars. It is also the type of transmission used in snowmobiles. CVTs do not use gears to transmit power from the engine and motor to the drive wheels. They use belts. The belts slide along conical pulleys that allow for different ratios of speed. Both the motor and the engine are connected to one of the conical pulleys, as is the drivetrain. The other conical pulley is connected to the driveshaft. Either engine or motor can drive the car independently, or they can work together to do so. The two pulleys (motor or engine on one and driveshaft on the other) vary in diameter depending on the power demand. The belt slides to one side or the other depending on the torque and speed requirements. Since the belt diameter is constant, as it moves to one side it encounters one larger pulley and a smaller one. This allows an unlimited number of drive ratios. CVTs typically are lighter and provide smoother acceleration than traditional automatic transmissions. Also, they allow both the motor and the engine to power the drivetrain. Several manufacturers use CVT, including Toyota, Hyundai, Kia, Lexus, Ford, Nissan, Infiniti, Lincoln, and Honda.

Series Hybrid or Range-Extender EVs Often called range-extender hybrid electric vehicles (REHEV or REX), these are electric-motor-driven cars with a “spare tank”

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The Arrival of the Electric Car

© SAE International.

 FIGURE 1.9   Range-extender hybrid electric vehicle.

(Figure 1.9). A gasoline engine consumes gasoline to generate electricity that replenishes the batteries that power the motor. The gas engine is not connected to the drivetrain. The extended-range advantage of a hybrid is provided by the energy density of gasoline. You can store a lot more energy in a cubic foot of gasoline than in a cubic foot of electric battery. Before today’s more efficient batteries were available, having an engine was a way to extend the driving range without cramming the car full of batteries. Driving an extended-range hybrid is like driving a BEV, except when the battery storage is low, the gasoline engine kicks in to recharge the battery. When the battery has been topped off, the engine stops running. The engine can be smaller than in a parallel hybrid since it does not have to power the wheels. It can run while at optimum speed when charging the battery, providing a more efficient use of fossil fuel. These hybrids provide an almost pure electric-powered ride with much less vibration than traditional gasoline- or dieselpowered cars. It is a bit odd, though, for the gasoline engine to kick in and shut off at intervals that meet the needs of the battery and not the obvious up-and-down challenges of the road.

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These vehicles are not pure electric and thus require fossil-fuel type maintenance on the motor, such as oil changes. However, REHEV do enable great gas mileage. Some models can be recharged via electrical outlets, but others cannot. The Chevrolet Volt and BMW i3 REX are examples of extendedrange hybrids. With BEV prices falling and ranges increasing, the added cost and complexity of gasoline range extenders are difficult to justify. Many REHEVs like the BMW i3 and Chevrolet Volt have plugs that allow them to recharge their batteries from the grid as well as from the range extender. This makes them a type of plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV).

PHEVs A PHEV is an HEV with larger batteries that can, like an EV, be plugged into an external power source (Figure 1.10). This gives PHEVs more electric range than a standard hybrid vehicle. Early PHEVs were the result of hobbyists installing aftermarket conversion kits into the trunks of their hybrid vehicles. The car is propelled by an electric motor. The motor is powered by both a large battery and an ICE. The battery can be recharged

© SAE International.

 FIGURE 1.10   Schematic of a plug-in hybrid car.

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at a charging station or at home. The environmental benefit here is that you are not burning gasoline unless the battery is drained to a low level. For short trips, the battery can power the car. The ICE gives a longer range between plug-ins. The Toyota Prius was the most popular target for plug-in upgrades. Originally the Prius had a plug-in conversion craze. This was short lived, however, because the kits were relatively expensive and difficult to install. The conversion took up trunk space and could cause the factory warranty of the vehicle to be voided. Eventually, PHEVs were offered by vehicle manufacturers. Some examples of PHEVs offered by manufacturers were the Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid, the Honda Accord Plug-In Hybrid, and the Chevrolet Volt.

Hybrids with Lightweight Electric Motors Instead of relying on a powerful electric motor to move the car with assistance provided by a gasoline engine, “mild hybrids” rely on a gasoline engine to do the bulk of the heavy lifting. This design uses an electric motor to assist the gasoline engine when it needs a boost. Electric motors are great for accelerating from a complete stop, while gasoline engines are much slower. So mild hybrids use an electric motor at stoplights. The gasoline engine stops to save fuel, and the motor is ready to take off when you stomp on the accelerator. The motor can assist in driving uphill or elsewhere when the onboard computer decides it is needed. The mild hybrid saves fuel but does not give you zero tailpipe emissions or the less-expensive fuel bill that a BEV does. All of the previous hybrids are considered “full hybrids,” which means that the electric motor is capable of moving the car by itself, even if it is for a short distance. In a mild hybrid, the electric motor cannot. Just as in a full hybrid, the electric motor of a mild hybrid is there to assist the gasoline engine for the purposes of improving fuel economy, increasing performance, or both. It also serves as the starter for the automatic start-stop system, which shuts down the engine when the car comes to rest in order to save fuel.

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Some car companies are using the mild hybrid design. Dodge, Mercedes, and Audi are examples. It will be interesting to see if mild hybrids gain market acceptance or wither away as BEV technology continues to improve.

Other Hybrids Some manufacturers, like Honda, are making cars that are not really series or parallel hybrids. In these vehicles, the engine spends most of its operating time generating electricity to charge the batteries, but the engine is able to assist the motor in propelling the car when needed. Another variation is being made by Volvo. Their model uses a gasoline-powered engine for front-wheel drive (FWD) and an electric motor to drive the rear wheels (rear-wheel drive, or RWD). This arrangement is called “through-the-road hybrid.” Switch the electric motor to the front and the gasoline engine to power the rear wheels and you have the same setup as performance models like the Porsche 918 Spyder and BMW i8.

Fuel-Cell Electric Vehicles Fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), also referred to as hydrogen vehicles, use hydrogen as the main source of power. The hydrogen is fed into one side of a fuel cell (Figure 1.11). Oxygen, drawn from the surrounding air, enters the other side. The hydrogen is stripped of its electrons, and the oxygen is stripped of its protons. The resulting current charges the batteries (Figure 1.12). The combination of hydrogen and oxygen produces water, which drips to the ground, and a lot of energy. You might think that the trail of water would be noticeable, but it is not. FCEVs emit about the same amount of water that gasoline-powered cars do. One more comparison between FCEVs and ICE vehicles: One gallon of gasoline will give a driving range of about 25 miles. One gallon of hydrogen will deliver 60 miles of range. The energy conversion process in FCEVs is clean, but the endto-end production process is inefficient and can be very dirty.

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sivVector/Shutterstock.com.

 FIGURE 1.11   Schematic of a hydrogen fuel cell.

Ninety-five percent of hydrogen for fuel is formed by steam heating or reforming natural gas. This process combines high-temperature steam with natural gas to extract hydrogen. Hydrogen production by steam reforming yields less energy than natural gas at the beginning of the process. So, from an energy perspective, it is wasteful. It also creates a lot of pollution. Since it uses natural gas, this is a non-green source of energy. A small percentage of hydrogen is generated by electrolysis, using electricity to separate hydrogen and oxygen from water—a favorite demonstration in chemistry class. The conclusion of the demo is recombining the two gases into a window-shaking

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Literator/Shutterstock.com.

 FIGURE 1.12   Refueling an FCEV with hydrogen at a hydrogen fuel station.

explosion. To separate hydrogen from oxygen requires more energy input than steam reforming and is only 70% efficient. The “hydrogen economy” has been touted in some circles, especially in California during the early 1990s. There are many reasons why hydrogen has not caught on as a means of propulsion. The main reason is its relatively high cost due to its inefficiency. Let us make a quick comparison of FCEV operational cost to BEV. The average cost of electricity was $0.151 per kilowatt hour (kWh) in the US in 2022. This means that it would cost less than $12 to charge a large 75 kWh EV battery (75 times $0.151). An equivalent FCEV would require 5 kg of hydrogen, which would cost about $85—or more than eight times the cost to charge the EV. The main problem with hydrogen is that it is expensive to produce because the processes are energy intensive. Additional costs are the transportation and storage of hydrogen. Hydrogen gas has to be compressed or liquefied, which results in further loss

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The Arrival of the Electric Car

Everett Collection/Shutterstock.com.

 FIGURE 1.13   The Hindenburg catches fire as it approaches a landing in Lakehurst, New Jersey in 1937. The zeppelin was filled with hydrogen gas. Hydrogen filling stations for electric cars would require sophisticated safety measures.

of efficiency. All said, the end-to-end hydrogen process is about 50% less efficient than battery-powered vehicles. Another big challenge with hydrogen as fuel is the lack of filling stations. An increase in filling stations will not occur until there are more FCEVs on the road, and there will not be more FECVs on the road until there are more filling stations. Lastly, FCEVs are more complex than BEVs and require much more maintenance. Unless a major breakthrough occurs, it seems that FCEVs will be bypassed quickly by BEVs.

Lithium-Ion Batteries Most EVs are powered by electricity stored in lithium-ion batteries. That may change in a few years, but for now lithium-ion rules.

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Two things you already know about lithium-ion batteries: they are rechargeable, and they use the element lithium. Those are the most important things to know. Here is the rest of the story. Lithium is the lightest metal. A lithium ion is an atom of lithium that has a positive electric charge (Figure 1.14). The ion can form because it is easy to separate an electron, which carries a negative charge, away from the atom. A charged battery is loaded with

Naeblys/Shutterstock.com.

 FIGURE 1.14   Lithium-ion battery.

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lithium ions and an equal number of free electrons. These electrons flow through a circuit as electricity to drive an EV. When a lithium-ion battery is being used, ions move through the battery from the negative terminal toward the positive terminal. The free electrons can move by wire from the negative terminal to the motor and back to the positive terminal. The electrons recombine with the ions at the positive terminal to reconstitute lithium atoms. When all the lithium ions have gained back an electron, the battery is discharged. It is time to reverse this process by charging the battery. As electrical energy is forced into the battery in charging, lithium atoms separate into ions and electrons. When no more lithium atoms can be broken down into ions and electrons, the battery is fully charged. Why are lithium-ion batteries used in EVs? Lithium is a light material, and lithium-ion batteries are much lighter than traditional car batteries. They store much more energy per pound of weight than lead-acid batteries in an ICE vehicle. Lithium-ion batteries are better at recharging than the previous generation, nickel-cadmium (NiCad) batteries. NiCads have a memory effect. They will not recharge fully unless you discharge them fully. With NiCads you could not top off your EV tank to fill up the battery pack for a long drive tomorrow; you would have to drain the battery first and then refill it. Under the Hood: John Bannister Goodenough, a materials scientist and solid-state physicist, won a Nobel Prize for the development of the lithium-ion battery. His invention spurred technological developments in many fields by making power-hungry devices more mobile. As great an invention as the lithium-ion battery is, better batteries are being developed in laboratories around the world.

2 Is an Electric Car Right for You? What Is Different about Owning and Driving an EV?

W

hat are the reasons that would compel you to switch from a traditional, gasoline- or diesel-powered car to an electric car? Are you concerned about the environment and want to do your part? Do you think the cost of operating an EV will be lower? Are you looking for performance that simply is not available from gasoline-powered cars? Are you ready to trade in and get a new car and do not want to be trying to sell old fossil technology in a few years? In the next chapter we present the advantages of EV ownership. Skip ahead to validate your reasons for switching. The other question to ask now is how will driving an EV be a change for you. Some obvious changes are skipping the gas station on your way home and skipping the regular oil change, radiator maintenance, and brake jobs. However, you still need to add power for your car to operate. One concern everyone has is how available are charging stations. Is the lack of charging opportunities a real or perceived hindrance? In 2022 there were 113,000 charging ports at 42,290 locations in the US. That number is huge but pales in comparison to the number of gas stations, that is, 150,000. However, keep in mind that most EV owners charge their cars at home, which is not an option for ICE vehicles.

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The 2022 federal infrastructure plan is to add 500,000 charging ports in the US. Even without government grants, the industry is adding stations quickly. 7-Eleven convenience stores announced in 2022 that they will add 500 charging ports. General Motors (GM) announced in the previous year that they will build 40,000 charging points. Tesla had nearly 3,400 stations at the start of 2022 and plans to expand that number by over 1,000 by the end of the year. To accommodate younger, urban buyers who do not have a garage in which to charge, Tesla has been installing “urban superchargers.” They will “fill in” urban areas and will be installed in convenient locations like supermarkets, shopping centers, and downtown districts. EVgo operates 800 charging stations and is expanding quickly. ChargePoint has 18,000 locations worldwide. Blink has 5,000 charging stations. And there are other companies competing to gain a foothold in the fast-expanding market. So there are many stations already operating and many more are in the pipeline. Try this experiment. Go to Google Maps for any area where you expect to drive. Then click on “Nearby” and search for charging stations. What this tells us is that, in most cases, there will be a charging station close to you. Depending on the model of the car you have, it will alert you to nearby charging stations and guide you to those stations when the battery is starting to get low. Many EV drivers charge at home. Depending on how far you drive, you may need to have a higher voltage charger installed in your garage. Ed does not. He charges his EV with household 110 V electricity. Most of his driving is less than 50 miles a day. The 110 V power easily tops off the car battery overnight. For long drives, he stops at a highway fast charging station. Or, at home, he goes to a free city charging station less than half a mile away. Yes, there are stations that provide a charge at no cost. If you will regularly drive a lot more than 50 miles a day, an in-garage charger would be convenient. For a 240 V system, called a Level 2 charger, the hardware costs $200 to $500 and installation

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US Department of Energy

 FIGURE 2.1   Seattle charging stations in October 2022.

US Department of Energy

 FIGURE 2.2   Charging stations in Central Washington.

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costs $1,200 to $2,000. Add that cost to the price of the car you are considering to see if that makes sense for you. Of course, once you have that charging unit installed, you will pay less than $1 per equivalent gallon of gasoline. This adds up to thousands of dollars in savings over time. Charging the car is not the only change for you in owning an EV. Driving an EV is a different experience. First, the acceleration is breathtaking. When you push on the accelerator, the car jumps forward. There is no hesitation. Second, slowing down and stopping do not require touching a brake pedal. You  ease off the accelerator and the regenerative braking of the car immediately converts the kinetic energy of the car into electrical energy and stores it in the battery as the car slows. This is called “regenerative braking,” which is a wonderful feature that not only returns a small amount of charge to the batteries but saves the brake pads on the car. It becomes a fun challenge, a game, to stop at the traffic light without touching the brake. When do you start to slow down and how quickly do you ease off the accelerator to stop without braking? On short runs around town, neither of us usually touches the brake pedal. Using the brake pedal wastes energy. Instead of recapturing that energy with regenerative braking, you convert the kinetic energy of the car to heat that escapes into the atmosphere. You paid for that energy—do not let it escape when pushing on the brake pedal! To ensure that we slow down without braking, we leave more space behind the car ahead. That makes us safer drivers while we are saving energy. One other change to be aware of is updating the car’s computer system. Car companies are becoming software companies that provide frequent updates to the software of the car. Your car can connect to your home or office Wi-Fi to download the updates. While the update is occurring, you cannot drive the car, so a bit of planning is needed. Yes, owning an EV is different from owning an ICE vehicle. Adapting requires some learning but, in general, an EV provides a much easier and more enjoyable driving and maintenance experience.

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Charging Your EV Owning an EV is a lot like owning a gasoline-powered vehicle, but some things are different. One difference is that you do not have to spend time filling up at a gas station. Of course, you can still stop to buy a bag of Doritos and be on your way without handling the gas pump. Instead of filling up with gasoline, you need to charge your car. You can do that at home or at public charging stations. EV charging comes in three “levels.” Levels 1 and 2 can be performed from an owner’s home or apartment. Level 3 requires a supply voltage that is usually only available in areas zoned as commercial or industrial. Level 1 is the slowest way to charge an EV. It uses a standard 120 V wall outlet. Level 1 charging adds about 4 miles of range per hour (RPH). Depending on the model of the EV, it can take between 8 h and 24 h to fully recharge the battery. Level 1 is convenient but slow. For peace of mind, keep a long extension cord in your trunk. We recommend a 100 foot cord. That will allow you to recharge almost anywhere you go, even at campgrounds. As long as you can find a standard electrical outlet, you will be able to power your car. To charge faster, you need to use a higher voltage. Level 2 charging is what people install in their homes. It requires a 240 V electric circuit—the same is used for large electric appliances like dryers or stoves. Level 2 charging is about six times faster than Level 1. Level 2 adds about 25 miles of driving per hour of charging. Most EVs come with a portable Level 2 connector that includes a 240 V plug and a 120 V plug so that it can also be used as a Level 1 charger. If your clothes dryer is near your garage, you  can probably use that outlet for charging your EV. A slightly more convenient and cleaner-looking option is to install a wall-mounted Level 2 charger (Figure 2.3). These range in price from about $180 for aftermarket units to $500 for units from your EV manufacturer. According to HomeAdvisor, it will cost you $1,200 to $2,000 to have a Level 2 charger professionally installed. This includes the parts and labor of installation, but does not include the charger itself.

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Herr Loeffler/Shutterstock.com.

 FIGURE 2.3   A typical wall-mounted Level 2 charger.

If you live in an apartment or are looking for an apartment, be  sure to ask your landlord about EV charging stations and whether you will have access to a 240 V outlet. If your apartment complex does not have EV charging, you can ask your landlord about having one installed. ChargePoint, one of the largest EV charging networks in the US, even offers a simple form letter that you can fill out and send to your landlord for them to request to have a charger installed. A public charger will increase the value of the rental property. Level 3 provides even faster charging. It is also called DC fast charging. Level 3 requires a 480 V electric circuit, which is usually only found in commercially zoned or industrial zoned areas. It can usually recharge a battery up to 80% capacity in less than a half hour. The idea is that you plug in for about 20 min and grab a cup of coffee or snack while you charge. Level 3 equipment is not compatible with all vehicles. For example, all Teslas and the Nissan LEAF can accept a Level 3 charge, but the Chevrolet Bolt cannot. There is currently no industry standard for this level of charging. These chargers are

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being deployed across the US in public and commercial settings, and Tesla is the only brand that has a coast-to-coast infrastructure already installed. Public charging stations are becoming more common at grocery stores, libraries, and public and workplace parking lots. As we describe in our EV Myths chapter, the number of public EV charging stations in the US is growing rapidly (see Chapter 6, EV Myths and Misconceptions—What Some People Want You to Believe about EVs Is Not True). As of 2022 the US now has more than 46,290 electric car charging stations with more than 113,000 connectors (Figure 2.4). Each charging station can have multiple connections. That is up from three years ago when

© SAE International.

 FIGURE 2.4   Charging stations like this one in front of Redmond, Washington, city hall are now widely available.

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there were about 16,000 public EV charging stations with about 43,000 connectors—an increase of threefold. The charging station market is currently led by three big players. Tesla claims to have 1,971 Supercharger stations with 17,467 connectors, most positioned along major highways. ChargePoint has 30,000 connectors and Electrify America has 800 charging stations and 3,500 connectors. As you are driving in unfamiliar terrain, how do you find these connections? There are at least ten different Android and iOS applications (apps) to help you find public charging stations (Figure 2.5). Under the Hood: Electricity comes in two forms: alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC). In the US, AC changes from positive to negative voltage and back again 60 times each second. In many other countries, the frequency of AC is 50 cycles per second instead of 60. DC has a steady flow in one direction. In your home, the wall outlets supply AC power while many of your smaller devices, say the TV remote control, use DC power supplied by batteries.

With a few exceptions, EVs typically come with one of four different types of plugs in their charging ports. Plug Types 1 and 2 are for AC charging. The Combined Charging System (CCS) and CHAdeMO plug types are for DC. The type of plug is not usually that important because most EVs come with a converter so that you can plug your EV into most types of charging connectors. For example, the Tesla Model 3 ships with a charge kit that contains a charging adaptor to convert from the Type 2 (J1772) charger cables to the Type 1 used by Tesla (Table 2.1).

Buyer’s Guide, Owner’s Guide, History, Future  FIGURE 2.5   Tucked away in the corner of a parking lot, this charging

© SAE International.

station can be located by using a phone app.

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Under the Hood: The funny name CHAdeMO is derived from the Japanese language meaning: “How about a cup of tea?” The phrase suggests that your car will charge in about the time it takes to enjoy a cup of tea. TABLE 2.1 Types of charging plugs. Type 1 This is a 120 V plug that is standard for EVs from North America and Asia. It will allow you to charge up to 7.4 kW. Also called the J1772 or J-plug.

© SAE International.

Type 2 This is a triple-phase plug, meaning it provides 240 V. With three additional wires to let current run through, it can charge your car faster than Type 1. It will allow 22 kW charging at home and 43 kW at charging stations. © SAE International.

CCS CCS (Combined Charging System) is an enhanced version of the Type 1 plug with two additional power contacts, which enables it to perform fast charging at a speed of up to 350 kW.

© SAE International.

© SAE International.

CHAdeMO Developed in Japan, this system enables quick charging up to 100 kW. CHAdeMO is currently the only standardized charging protocol that supports vehicle-to-grid (V2G), which enables EVs to store and then return electricity to the grid that has been generated by private residences using renewable sources like solar and wind.

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Cost to Charge Looking at the cost to charge compared to gasoline-powered vehicles, EVs are much cheaper to fill up. Charging at home takes advantage of the low cost of electric power. Most EV owners report a modest-to-unnoticeable increase in their electric bill. The average cost was $0.151/kWh in the US in 2022. This means that it costs about $7.55 to charge an average-sized 50 kWh EV battery. Average monthly electric power bills in the US range from $100 to $165 per month. If that EV with a 50 kWh battery gets a typical 200 mile range, it will cost about $3.77 to drive it 100 miles. As described above, a comparable gasoline-powered car will cost over six times more. You can save more money by taking advantage of off-peak discounts. Many utilities charge less for electric power during times of the day when usage is low. By charging at home at night, the cost of electricity will be lower. Your electric company can tell you what the rate difference is. Under the Hood: It costs about $3.77 to drive a typical EV for 100 miles. If your gasoline-powered car gets 25 miles per gallon (MPG), it takes 4 gal to cover that distance. Gas prices fluctuate wildly, and as we write this, prices are about $5.00, so driving 100 miles would cost you about $20.00. That is about $3.77 versus $20.00.

Discounts for electricity vary by the hour and the season. For example, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) gives a $0.025/kWh discount for off-peak EV charging. LADWP peak hours are 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the summer (June 1 to September 30). Their off-peak hours on weekdays are midnight to 10:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. to midnight. On weekends, off-peak is 24 h a day. The discount in the winter is much lower.

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Many cities have free public charging stations. You will find these at some malls, shopping centers, and libraries. You can use the PlugShare app to find free EV charging. Some Tesla models receive free Supercharging, while owners of other models have to pay a modest fee.

Tax Credits and Incentives The federal government and some state governments offer tax credits, tax deductions, and other incentives that lower the cost of acquiring and operating an EV. The US Department of Energy Alternative Fuels Data Center website lists programs by state. The largest tax deduction is the $7,500 offered by the US federal government. However, only 200,000 vehicles from each carmaker qualify for this bonus. Tesla has exceeded its limit. Eight states offer EV tax rebates, with Colorado offering the highest at $5,000. Many states and individual municipalities offer Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment grants, rebates, and incentives. For example, Tucson Electric Power has offered a rebate to residential customers that covers up to 75% of the cost of installing a home charger.

Warranty US federal law mandates that EV battery warranties cover at least eight years or 100,000 miles for all EV batteries sold in the US. However, the federal regulation only covers complete battery failure. Excluding complete battery failure, companies offer a range of warranties. For example, BMW, Chevrolet, Nissan, Tesla (Model 3), and Volkswagen will replace a battery if it loses 30% to 40% of its capacity during the warranty period. Others may not. It is important to do your research before making a purchase.

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Insurance According to Consumer Reports, insurance premiums for EVs can be 16% to 26% higher than for comparable ICE cars. This is most likely because insurers do not have long-standing risk assessment data for EVs as they do for gasoline vehicles, which have been around for decades. Over time, EV insurance rates should come down.

3 Advantages of Electric Cars

EVs Are Greener For years, pundits, mainly from the fossil-fuel industry, have promoted the idea that EVs are worse for the environment than diesel or gasoline-powered vehicles because EVs are powered by dirty electricity. By dirty, they mean the electricity to power the cars comes from coal-fired power plants and the like. This assertion is completely wrong for many reasons. Under the Hood: Gasoline-powered vehicles use more electricity than EVs. Say that with a loud voice at your next party and see what happens.

Let us start with an amazing and wildly underreported fact. In addition to the fuel that they burn, gasoline-powered vehicles use about the same amount of electricity as EVs. Yes, you read that correctly. Gas vehicles use about the same amount of electricity as electric vehicles. How can this be? Let us run through the facts (Figure 3.1).

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 FIGURE 3.1   Pump jacks in Lost Hills Oil Field, Central California. It requires

Gerry Matthews/Shutterstock.com.

electricity to explore for petroleum reservers, then to drill for and pump crude oil from the ground, refine it into gasoline and diesel fuel, and distribute it. Pump jacks are used to extract crude oil. Most are powered by large electric motors.

Producing gasoline or diesel fuel is an energy-intensive process. A reasonable estimate is that it takes about 5 kWh of electricity to explore for, drill for, refine, and transport a gallon of gasoline. According to the US Department of Energy, approximately 66% of domestic petroleum transport (by ton-mile) occurs by pipeline. Pipeline pumps are most often driven by large electric motors that consume electricity. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the average American car can drive 25.1 miles on a gallon of gas. That means the average gasoline-powered vehicle consumes 19.9 kWh of electricity to travel 100 miles (in addition to emitting greenhouse gases from burning gasoline).

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Compare this to the electric power used by a standard-range Tesla Model 3. The Tesla Model 3 can cover 100 miles without burning a drop of gasoline while using only 21 kWh of electric power. So the Tesla uses less electric power than the standard gasoline-powered car does to cover 100 miles. Wait, there is more. According to the EPA, a typical passenger vehicle emits about 4.6 metric tons of CO2 per year while driving almost 11,000 miles. This means that in addition to consuming about the same amount of electricity as an EV, the typical gasolinepowered vehicle is emitting tons of noxious greenhouse gases. This trend of improving technology will continue to accelerate in favor of EVs for a number of reasons. One is that the electric grid is increasingly becoming greener as we generate more power from renewables and less from coal. EVs will continue to get greener as the power grid gets greener. ICE vehicles will remain dirty.

Carbon Footprint Comparison Over a 200,000 mile life, the average light-duty gasoline-powered vehicle has a carbon footprint that is more than two-and-a-half times larger than the average light-duty EV (Table 3.1). According to the US Department of Energy, the average fuel economy for the model year 2020 light-duty vehicles increased to 25.7 MPG. Therefore, the average light-duty vehicle will consume 7,782 gal in its 200,000 mile life. Following on, according to the US EPA, a gallon of gasoline burned creates about 8.89 kg of CO2, or 69,182 kg after burning 7,782 gal of gasoline. TABLE 3.1 Comparison of carbon footprints. Kilograms of CO2 released from…

ICE Light-duty vehicle

Burning gasoline

69,182

Production of electricity Production of gasoline Manufacturing an EV battery

15,175

Totals

84,357

Battery electric Light-duty vehicle 27,300 5,000 32,300

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Producing gasoline or diesel fuel is an energy-intensive process. A conservative estimate is that it takes at least 5 kWh of electricity to drill, transport, and refine a gallon of gasoline. So 7,782 gal of gas will require 38,910 kWh of electricity to produce or 15,175 kg of CO2. A report from Brussels-based Transport and Environment (T&E) think tank concludes that manufacturing an average EV battery has a carbon footprint of between 4,000 kg and 5,000 kg of CO2 emissions. According to the US Department of Energy compiled by Eco Cost Savings, to date the average EV consumes 0.346 kWh per mile. So over its 200,000 mile life, a typical light-duty EV will require 70,000 kWh. Following on, according to the US Energy Information Administration, about 0.39 kg of CO2 is emitted per kilowatt-hour of electricity generated, or 27,300 kg of CO2 after using 70,000 kWh of electricity. For this comparison, one should note that we assumed that the carbon footprint to manufacture the “gliders” (a vehicle excluding the powertrain) for an ICE vehicle are comparable to an EV because they use similar parts (suspension, chassis, etc.). Also, we did not include the carbon footprint to manufacture an ICE—an element that makes EVs look even more favorable.

Performance EV owners report that one of the most enjoyable features of driving their cars is the instant acceleration. Step on the accelerator, and you are moving. The torque that electric motors can deliver, even at low speeds, makes for faster acceleration. This is a significant advantage over gasoline-powered cars. Torque is the rotational force that causes a shaft to spin. Electric motors of EVs deliver 100% of their available torque instantaneously. They do not have to build up speed before they reach peak power. This enables them fast stoplight starts and superior passing ability.

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An ICE power comes from a simple chemical reaction between fuel and oxygen. If you want more power, you must give it more fuel—hence the term “stepping on the gas.” However, this is not a quick process. The fuel needs to flow through pipes into an intake manifold and then finally into the combustion chambers. Once there, an electric spark is created in the spark plug, an explosion occurs, gases in the cylinder expand, and the piston starts to move. The hundreds of parts of the engine each have inertia that causes a lag when trying to get them to spin faster. EVs respond immediately. The electric current speeds through the wires at nearly the speed of light. Inertia in the motor is relatively small, so the motor responds amazingly quickly. The biggest disadvantage that gas engines have with respect to torque output is their power band. The power band is the range of speed (revolutions per minute, or RPM) around peak power output. Electric motors usually have a flat power band, meaning that they deliver maximum torque the moment they start turning. ICEs are different. They must reach a high enough speed before they reach their power band. You can feel this in a gasoline- or diesel-powered car. You step on the accelerator and the car starts to go faster. After the engine is spinning fast enough, you feel the surge of acceleration. By this time, the electric car beside you has motored down the highway. Even if an ICE is capable of producing more power than an electric motor, it takes time to gain the RPM speed to hit its peak power. This is why EVs tend to accelerate much faster than ICE vehicles. The graphic below shows a rough comparison of an electric motor torque output versus a gas engine. At some point, the power output of the electric motor will start to decline, but this will be after the car is going fast. ICE vehicles have an additional disadvantage when it comes to acceleration. The ICE needs to stay within its power band in order to maintain peak power output. It cannot go too fast or too slow (too many or too few RPM). To keep the engine within its

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The Arrival of the Electric Car

Reprinted with permission © Chris Johnston.

 FIGURE 3.2   Power bands for electric motors and gasoline engines.

optimal power band, ICE vehicles have a transmission with a clutch (Figure 3.2). Figure 3.2 shows a rough comparison of the torque output from an electric motor versus an ICE. The transmission in an ICE vehicle allows the wheels to turn faster or slower while keeping the engine within its optimal RPM range. Transmissions mesh different size gears to get different wheel speeds. A large gear connected to the motor will spin a small gear connected to the wheels very quickly. But to change from one gear to the next, the engine has to be disconnected momentarily from the drivetrain. The clutch is the device that does this. When the clutch disengages the engine and drivetrain, the vehicle receives no power to the wheels. Pure EVs do not have clutches or transmissions and continue to power the wheels while the speed of the car changes.

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That transmission in your ICE vehicle is quite heavy. It is more weight that the car has to accelerate up to speed. On an average car, transmissions are about 90% efficient. That means 10% of the gasoline you pay for is wasted in the transmission. That transmission is also costly to maintain. Average transmission service costs are around $100, and if you fail to keep it maintained, the cost for a major repair can reach $3,000. EVs do not have transmissions. Under the Hood: How many motors are in an EV? Most EVs are propelled by a single electric motor. Like ICE cars, the motor drives either the front or rear wheels. However, some EVs have a motor for the front wheels and a second motor for the rear wheels. This allows power to be shifted between the front and rear wheels to maintain stability in acceleration. Some EVs, like variants of the Tesla Roadster or Cybertruck, have three motors. Two motors drive the two rear wheels individually, and one drives both front wheels. Higher output EVs, like the Rivian pickup truck and sport utility vehicle (SUV), have one motor powering each wheel. So the answer to the simple question is one, two, three, or four motors.

Efficiency Compare EV and ICE technologies in terms of efficiency. Efficiency is the amount of energy that you put into a vehicle as gasoline or electricity compared to how much energy you get out to move you forward. The US Department of Energy found that EVs convert about 77% of received electrical energy from the grid to power the wheels. Conventional gasoline vehicles only convert between 12% and 30% of the energy stored in gasoline to power the wheels. This makes EVs two to three times more efficient than gasolinepowered vehicles. So even if electric cars are recharged with

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electricity generated by fossil-fuel-based sources, which is true in some cases, their motors are more efficient at transferring that energy stored in the batteries into motion. That means much less waste and a better deal for the environment. Gasoline engines are riddled with inefficiencies. A significant portion of the energy from gasoline is converted to unwanted heat. Open the hood after driving only a few miles, and you will feel the heat. You will feel that loss of energy. That is why gasoline-powered cars need complex and expensive radiator systems with their associated belts, pipes, and heat exchangers. They also have radiator fluids that need seasonal changing. These amazing facts really should not amaze us because we often see efficiency gains when we transition from one technology to another. For example, think about common household lighting over the last decade. Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFLs) use about 70% less energy than incandescent bulbs, the oldest technology. Light-emitting diode (LED) lights, the newest technology, use about 50% less energy than comparable CFL bulbs. Equally impressive is that the average lifespan for a bulb has improved radically from incandescent to CFL to LED technology, moving from 1,200 h to 8,000 h to 25,000 h, respectively. Adopting new technology that uses energy more efficiently has to be a way of life if we want to preserve our planet’s health.

Low Cost of Ownership Even though the price of EVs has steadily declined and will continue to do so, they are still priced at a modest premium over their ICE counterparts. Some simple dealership price comparisons can be  made between the Hyundai Kona and the Hyundai Kona Electric or the Mini Cooper Hardtop two-door and the Mini Electric. However, when it comes to the cost of ownership, the data is very clear. EVs are much cheaper to operate and maintain. In this section, we compare costs over a five-year period. Under the Hood: An ICE vehicle will cost almost eight times more to operate and maintain than a comparable EV.

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Do you look at the price of gasoline every time you pull into a gas station? That is one of the larger costs of operating an ICE vehicle. If you drive as an average American does, you put about 10,500 miles on your odometer each year. Over five years, that is 52,500 miles. Taking a national average of 25.1 miles per gallon, that equates to 2,091 gal of gasoline consumed over five years. In April 2022, the national average price of gas was $4.13 for regular and $4.81 for premium. For this comparison, we use the price of regular. That means that the typical gasoline-powered car owner will pay about $8,636 for gas over five years. Determining the cost to charge an EV is trickier than determining the straightforward gasoline-consumption cost. The majority of the time, EV owners charge their vehicles at home or at work. For our simple comparison, we assumed that drivers charge their cars at home instead of using a public charging station. To determine at-home charging costs, we took the average cost of electricity for a home in the US in March 2022, which was $0.1375/kWh. The average EV will use 10,900 kWh to drive the American average of 52,500 miles. That means that the typical EV owner will pay about $1,499 to charge their vehicle for five years. So, over a five-year period, the typical US EV driver saves $7,000 in the cost of fuel. The average EV driver also saves a ton of time and some aggravation by not having to go to gas stations. At charging stations, the price of electricity is considerably higher. Expect to pay between $0.30/kWh and $0.60/kWh. Using the midpoint of $0.45/kWh, the five-year charging costs would be $4,905, which makes the savings for operating an EV drop to $3,632 or about $700 per year. Besides saving on fuel costs, EVs save money on brake maintenance. EVs save wear and tear on their brake pads and rotors by using the resistance of their motors to slow down and stop. This is called regenerative braking, and it drastically reduces the wear on the brakes. EV owners can expect to get at least 150,000 miles from their brakes before they need servicing. On the other hand, gasoline-powered vehicles do not have regenerative braking. According to Kelley Blue Book (KBB), the

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TABLE 3.2 Cost to operate and maintain over five years. EV

ICE

“Fuel”

$1,400 to charge

$8,636 for gasoline

Brakes Oil changes

$0 $0

$450 $665

Total

$1,400

$9,751

average lifespan for brake pads on a gasoline-powered vehicle is about 40,000 miles. KBB states that the average cost to replace pads ranges between $150 and $300 per axle. We chose a midpoint of $225 per axle. That means on average, ICE-car drivers pay $450 every 40,000 miles to have all four brakes (two on each axle) serviced. EV drivers can expect to pay $0 for 150,000 miles. A third cost of operating a gasoline- or diesel-powered car is changing oil. The American Automobile Association used to recommend changing oil every 3,000 miles. Newer synthetic lubricants extend this range to between 5,000 and 7,500 miles. The electric motors in EVs do not require an oil change. For cost comparisons, we use an oil-change window of 7,500 miles. Thus, over our five-year operating-cost comparison between EVs and ICEs, the ICE owner would change oil seven times. KBB estimates that oil changes cost between $65 and $125. We use a midpoint cost of $95, which suggests a cost of $665 to change the oil seven times. Table 3.2 summarizes the cost of fuel and maintenance over a five-year period. Obviously, we are leaving out many potential repair bills that are impossible to predict. Of the maintenance items we know about, it is clear that EVs are much less expensive to operate. We estimate the savings at $4,815 or almost $5,000. Because electric-motor drive systems have so many fewer parts, they experience far fewer repairs. There are the most common gas-vehicle repairs/replacements that you will never have to worry about if you own an EV: •• Oxygen sensor •• Catalytic converter

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•• Ignition coil(s) •• A fuel cap •• Thermostat •• Mass airflow sensor •• Spark plug wire(s) and spark plug(s) •• Evaporative-emissions (EVAP) purge-control valve or

solenoid

If over the last five years your car required any of these repairs, you know how expensive they are. The bottom line is that a gasoline-powered vehicle will cost almost eight times more to operate and maintain than a comparable EV. This does not include any typical repair bills that ICEs often have.

Reliability Due to their engineering simplicity, EVs are far more reliable than gasoline-powered vehicles. It is difficult to get an exact parts count, but it is clear that EVs have fewer moving parts in their drivetrains than cars with ICEs. More parts, and especially more moving parts, mean more potential points of failure. According to Tesla, their drivetrain only has about 17 moving parts compared to the 2,000 or so in the typical drivetrain of an ICE vehicle. ICEs have pistons, valves, camshafts, and oil pumps whirling around at high speeds. None of these exist in an EV. Furthermore, most EVs do not change gears, so they do not have a complex and expensive transmission and clutch to maintain. When Nissan started selling the first mass-produced EV on the market in 2011, there were concerns about the LEAF batteries degrading over time. Now that we have ten years of data, we know that this is not a concern. Data generated from a large sample size of European Tesla Model S and Model X owners provide more evidence. After driving approximately 168,000 miles, the batteries still had 91% of their

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original capacity. The data shows that the batteries lose about 1% of capacity every 18,750 miles. Consumer Reports estimates that EV batteries should last 200,000 miles. That is 15 to 20 years of driving before the batteries need to be replaced. At that point, because they still have useful life, the batteries would not need to go to a landfill. They could probably be used as a home battery bank to store solar- and windgenerated electric power during the day and provide it to the household at night. The electric motor in an EV can deliver solid performance for more than 15 years. There are several factors that determine how long it lasts. Fluctuations in the charging voltage can decrease its life, as can excessive environmental heat. Some experts predict that, under normal driving conditions, the motor can last 20 years—much longer than the car itself. Car manufacturers are federally mandated to carry separate warranties for their battery packs for at least eight years or 100,000 miles. Check the overall warranty on any car you are considering purchasing. Of course, the numbers we present here may vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.

Regenerative Braking One great benefit of EVs over ICE is that you are able to capture some of the energy when you are slowing the car down. With ICEs that energy is lost as heat. With an EV, the captured energy is returned to the battery to be used again. When you need to slow down to off-ramp speed while cruising along at 60 mph, your car needs to reduce its kinetic energy or energy of motion. In ICE vehicles or on your bicycle, you apply the brakes, which slows you down, and decreases kinetic energy, transforming it into heat. Putting your hands on the brakes or anywhere near the brakes after driving will convince you that heat has been generated. Be careful not to burn yourself. In an ICE vehicle, the heat that results from braking is lost to the environment. The brakes cool by giving up their heat to the surrounding air. Of course, you paid for that energy at the gas

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pump, and in using the brakes, you are tossing that energy away. It is no longer available to you as a resource. The energy changes to a form, heat, that does not benefit you. In an EV, a process called regenerative braking captures some of that energy instead of transforming it into heat through the brakes. Regenerative braking does this by operating the electricdrive motor in reverse. The car still moves forward, but the motor works as a generator instead of as a motor. We normally think of electric motors as converting electric energy into kinetic energy. They take electricity and produce motion. Electric motors are just as happy to work in reverse. They can take kinetic energy and make electric energy. Aside from solar voltaic cells, this is how almost all electricity is generated. To generate the electricity you use at home, a large force is needed: water behind a dam, wind blowing through huge turbine blades, or steam turning turbine blades in a nuclear reactor or fossil fuel power plant. The captured motion turns a giant motor, and the motor converts the spinning motion into electricity. Motors running in reverse are called generators. An electric car uses the energy of motion or the energy of position (e.g., sitting atop a hill) to generate electricity. This not only recaptures some of the energy that went into accelerating the car or powering it up a hill, it also reduces the need for brakes. Although some drivers occasionally downshift to slow their vehicle, an ICE cannot do this as efficiently or conveniently. So how much energy can regenerative braking save? It turns out quite a bit. Each car model is different, and a typical range is 60–70% of the energy that otherwise would be lost. The bigger and heavier the vehicle the bigger the savings are. This savings only pertains to the energy lost during braking. You only get the 70% savings when you are braking or going down a hill. Energy savings plays out very favorably in extending the range of an EV. Reports show that range extension can be as little as 15% or as high as 30%. The more stop-and-go driving you do or the longer hills in your route, the more your energy savings are boosted. Regenerative braking also reduces wear on the vehicle brake pads

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and rotors. This saves you money by reducing how often the brakes need to be serviced.

One-Pedal Driving Regenerative braking slows the car down as soon as you lift your foot off the accelerator. This can cause a rapid slowing or a gradual slowing depending on the car manufacturer. A test drive will let you get the feel for how quickly the car slows. Some manufacturers allow you to change how quickly the car slows. Throw a switch or make an adjustment on the touchscreen to increase or decrease the rate of slowing. Of course, there is also a brake pedal. If you need a sudden stop, you press it, just as you would in an ICE vehicle. This pedal is also needed in order for the car to come to a complete stop. Regenerative braking slows the car but, in most EV models, would not keep it at a stop when sitting at a red light. However, some EV brands have a “Hold” that locks the car in place until you step on the accelerator. The Hold comes on automatically when the car comes to a stop and holds the car, even on a hill. The hold is removed when you press on the accelerator. Regenerative braking has minimal impact on the range during highway driving because you do not brake often. However, it can significantly improve range when driving in stop-and-go city traffic.

Computer and Controls A significant change in EVs is their use of touchable computer screens instead of knobs and buttons. This takes some getting used to but, with some practice, makes more features available to you. All the information you need is shown on the screen. Along with the car speed and the current speed limit. Inside and outside temperatures are shown (Figure 3.3).

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 FIGURE 3.3   Where did all buttons and knobs go? Nearly all the controls

© SAE International.

are accessible on the computer touchscreen or by voice commands.

Seat adjustments for each driver are recorded in the computer and pop up on the screen. You adjust the temperature of your seat or steering wheel by touching the screen. Voice-activated controls make driving safer and easier. To open the glovebox, you press a button on the steering wheel and voice the command, “Open glovebox.” Or tell the sound system to play your favorite song. If the automatic windshield wipers do not start as soon as the rain does, tell the car “Turn on windshield wipers.” Navigation is available with a touch of the screen or a voice command: Say “Navigate to Joe’s Restaurant,” and the route shows up on the screen. As manufacturers make changes and fix issues, they send them as software updates over the internet to your car. Factory recalls still happen, but many refinements and fixes can be downloaded to your car while it sits in your garage (Figure 3.4).

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The Arrival of the Electric Car

 FIGURE 3.4   A Tesla computer screen showing the battery charge, time,

© SAE International.

outside temperature, map, what is playing on the radio, surrounding vehicles, the traffic lights, and more.

4 Why the Revolution Is Happening Now?

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hy are EVs finally having their moment in the sun? Products achieve mass adoption when they have overcome major consumer objections. In the case of EVs, there were three major objections: price, range, and design. As we will discuss below, all three of these objections have been satisfied, and that has opened the floodgates of consumer demand (Figure 4.1). Regarding EVs having their moment, one proof point is that in the fourth quarter of 2019, the Tesla Model 3 had an estimated 26% market share in the small and midsize luxury car category. This category includes 26 cars, such as the BMW 3 Series, Audi A3, Lexus ES, and Volvo 90 Series. A 26% market share means that one in four cars sold in the category was a Tesla Model 3. What is more, during the first quarter of 2020, the Tesla Model 3 became the number one selling car in California. It displaced the much cheaper Honda Civic from the top spot. These are stunning achievements that are, for some reason, not widely reported. In 2020, Tesla Model 3 was the leading electric car in America. Due, in part, to their deft management of supply chain challenges that hampered traditional competitors, the company grew quickly during COVID and continues to expand.

© 2023 SAE International

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The Arrival of the Electric Car

Avigator Fortuner/Shutterstock.com.

 FIGURE 4.1   Cars waiting to be shipped to dealers.

Price To achieve an attractive price, manufacturers must drive down major costs. The two main cost drivers in making EVs are the batteries and low manufacturing volume. Over the last 15 years, battery costs have consistently dropped to the extent that most EVs can now be competitively priced in the mid-market luxury range. It has not yet been possible to price at the economy-car level, but cost curves show that it will be possible within the next few years. Some automakers have already announced an intent to enter the economy market. In 2010, the cost of lithium-ion batteries per kilowatt-hour was $1,000. By 2021, that cost had fallen to $132/kWh, and it continues to fall. A cost of $100/kWh is widely agreed to be the figure where EVs and ICE vehicles will have a comparable upfront purchase price. Late 2020 saw the costs of EV lithium-ion batteries come close to $100/kWh for the first time. Companies around the world are racing to improve the technology and lower the costs further. Improvements are happening quickly.

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Under the Hood: One measure of the utility of a battery is how much energy it can hold. Electrical energy is measured in kilowatt-hours. The electric meter at your home uses this same measure. If you have ten 100 W light bulbs turned on for 1 h, you have used 1 kWh of energy. We use a shorthand for these units, kWh.

The cost of batteries for EVs has fallen year by year (Figure 4.2). In 2010, the cost of lithium-ion batteries per kilowatt-hour was $1,000. As of mid-2022, cost has dropped to $132/kWh. We project that the cost will continue to fall. The other challenge for EV manufacturers has been reaching critical levels of production to achieve an attractive economy of

© SAE International.

 FIGURE 4.2   Lithium-ion battery prices over time.1

1 

https://about.bnef.com/blog/battery-pack-prices-cited-below-100-kwh-for-the-first-timein-2020-while-market-average-sits-at-137-kwh/

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Reprinted with permission © Nissan North America.

 FIGURE 4.3   The Nissan LEAF.

scale. With its LEAF model, Nissan showed that it was a possibility (Figure 4.3). With Tesla’s Model 3 reaching production volumes of almost 50,000 units per quarter, Tesla proved it in late 2019. Production levels present a chicken and egg scenario. More people will purchase EVs when the cost drops, and the cost will drop when more people buy them. We are at the historic point—the critical point for production—when sales are strong enough to allow more cost-efficient production.

Range EV range is how far the vehicle can drive on a charge. Without any radical advancements in technology, the EV range has steadily improved over the last ten years. Unlike ICE cars, EVs typically get higher mileage results in cities where their regenerative brakes can capture energy during braking. Also, at higher speeds, all vehicles experience more parasitic drag

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(air resistance and friction with the road) than at lower speeds. ICE cars, using higher gears and overdrive, become more attractive for long-distance high-speed driving than for city driving. Even on the highway, they still pale in comparison to the efficiency of EVs. In the table below (Figure 4.4), we summarize the EPA range for a sample of EVs sold in North America.

© SAE International.

 FIGURE 4.4   Even the lowest driving range cars provide enough range for most daily driving. The highest range cars are comparable to ICE vehicles.2

Under the Hood: The average car trip in the US is 11 miles.

2 

https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/PowerSearch.do?action=noform&path=1&year1=2020&year2=2022 &vtype=Electric&pageno=1&rowLimit=50

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We project that the average range will double in the next five to seven years and will continue to improve after that. Nissan has had historic range expansion with its LEAF. In seven years, Nissan tripled the range of its LEAF without making any radical technical breakthroughs. When Nissan launched the LEAF in 2011, it had a 24 kWh lithium-ion battery that gave it an EPA-rated range of 73 miles for a base price of $33,730, not including any tax credits. With a little rise in the price, the range has steadily increased, first to 84 miles in 2013 and then to 107 miles with a 30 kWh battery in 2016. In 2017, Nissan launched the second-generation LEAF with a 151 mile range and a 40 kWh battery. In 2019, for a premium of about $4,000, Nissan started offering the LEAF Plus with a range of 226 miles and a 62 kWh battery. The range increases were a result of incremental changes, including tweaks in battery chemistry, changes to the heating system, improvements in regenerative braking, reduction of body weight, and reduction of aerodynamic drag. With a range of 150–226 miles, the LEAF Plus is close to the one-tank range of many gasoline-powered cars (Figure 4.5). While gasoline-powered car ranges are not increasing year by year, EV ranges are continuing to improve. In a survey of potential buyers, Volvo found that 58% of respondents cited range as the biggest barrier to purchasing an EV. The driving habits of most Americans should make the range a nonissue. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the average American drives 29 miles per day, well within the range of all EVs. Despite this fact, consumers were uncomfortable with the short range of the original LEAF. They wanted a comfortable buffer for unanticipated errands. To alleviate most consumers’ worries about not having enough range to get through their typical day or go on a trip, the comfort zone seems to be at or above 200 miles per charge. Many new EVs on the market exceed this, and a 300-plus mile range is becoming more and more common. Range depends on several factors such as vehicle weight, rolling resistance of the tires, aerodynamics, whether heating and air

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 FIGURE 4.5   Look at how quickly the driving range of the Nissan LEAF has

© SAE International.

grown since 2011. The solid line shows the actual EPA-tested range of LEAF, and the dotted line shows the ten-year trend.3

conditioning are used, and driving style (rabbit starts versus chill driving). However, the biggest factor by far is how much energy the battery can store. Batteries are the heaviest components in an EV, so manufacturers have made considerable investments in reducing their weight. The conflict is that to get greater range, you need more battery storage, and that means more weight. So manufacturers are continuously searching for batteries that store more energy per weight. Battery storage is measured in kilowatt-hours and is explained in Chapter 9 “Technical Definitions and Explainers.” 3 

https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/PowerSearch.do?action=PowerSearch&year1=2010&year2=2022&cb mkNissan=Nissan&minmsrpsel=0&maxmsrpsel=0&city=0&highway=0&combined=0&cbvtelectric=El ectric&YearSel=2010-2022&MakeSel=Nissan&MarClassSel=&FuelTypeSel=&VehTypeSel=Electric&Tra nySel=&DriveTypeSel=&CylindersSel=&MpgSel=000&sortBy=Comb&Units=&url=SearchServlet&opt =new&minmsrp=0&maxmsrp=0&minmpg=0&maxmpg=0&sCharge=&tCharge=&startstop=&cylDea ct=&rowLimit=50

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The amount of energy stored in a battery divided by its weight is called the specific energy of the battery. Over the last 20 years, we have seen a steady improvement in EV-battery-specific energy. They can provide more energy for less weight than ever before. To get higher specific energy, the EV industry has changed battery types, tweaked the chemistry of specific battery types, and improved power-management electronics. All contribute to reducing weight and increasing range. Under the Hood: The average distance between charging stations in the US is 70 miles, well within the driving range of all cars on the market.

Finding new stations would not be possible without the ability to update a car navigation system via the cellular network. Like other costs of EV ownership, the cost of cellular connection has dropped. Over a ten-year period, the cost to connect wirelessly to vehicles dropped from dollars a month to pennies a month. This has made it possible for car manufacturers to continue to make updates after shipment to consumers.

Importance of Design A great product design generates consumer desire. Yes, practicality and environmental concerns are important, but if the product does not arouse design desire, people are likely to pass. Consumers have to connect with products in the marketplace. Remember the crazy big fins on cars back in the 1960s? They served no purpose other than to build purchase desire. Before the iPod, there were many unsuccessful MP3 players. Instead of being one of many MP3 players on the market, the iPod became an object of desire. This was as much due to the iTunes music library as it was due to the beautiful design of the device. It was sleek with a cool user interface.

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Just like the less-sexy MP3 players, EV models that were developed in the 1970s did not build desire. They were utilitarian (although short on range), but their design did not catch the public’s eye. Design, for them, was an afterthought. Look at the CitiCar made by Sebring-Vanguard, Inc. (Figure 4.6). It may have been a good car, but would you want it parked in your driveway? Making a good car with a good driving range is not enough. Tesla recognized this and has rocked the marketplace with designs consumers desire. In August of 2006, Elon Musk made a tongue-in-cheek post on the Tesla blog titled “The Secret Tesla Motors Master Plan,” in which he stated that “the Tesla Roadster is designed to beat a gasoline sports car like a Porsche or Ferrari in a head-to-head showdown.” He introduced a bit of machismo into the comparison between EVs and gasoline-engine cars.

ChicagoPhotographer/Shutterstock.com

 FIGURE 4.6   The Sebring-Vanguard CitiCar.

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The Arrival of the Electric Car

Mike Mareen/Shutterstock.com.

 FIGURE 4.7   2011 Tesla Model S.

In April of 2009, Franz von Holzhausen, Tesla’s chief designer, got more specific on the blog with a post about the Model S (Figure 4.7). The goal, he said, was “a mid-sized sedan that seats seven people and their luggage in a package that is both functional and good looking—actually, better looking than anything on the market.” Tesla understood the critical importance of design, and the rest of the market followed. Tesla launched the Roadster in 2008 (Figure 4.8). In 2011, Nissan followed by launching the LEAF (Figure 4.9). Nissan recognized the importance of educating the public about all EVs, so it embarked on a 22-city Zero-Emission Tour of the US. LEAF’s debut was one of the best-coordinated launch events in history, with a three-tent “Epcot-like” event in each city. In 2012, Tesla launched the beautifully designed Model S. The Model S went on to win the very prestigious MotorTrend Car of the Year. Not only did it win, but MotorTrend named the Model S sedan the best of all the cars that have won the publication’s Car of the Year award in the last 70 years. The latest major influencer is the Jaguar I-PACE (Figure 4.10). This is an upmarket EV with a range of 234 miles. It has two drive motors and an all-wheel-drive (AWD) control, and it looks great. After launching in October 2018, it received a variety of impressive

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Olga Besnard/Shutterstock.com.

 FIGURE 4.8   2008 Tesla Roadster.

Boykov/Shutterstock.com.

 FIGURE 4.9   2011 Nissan LEAF.

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VanderWolf Images/Shutterstock.com.

 FIGURE 4.10   2018 Jaguar I-PACE.

accolades including the European Car of the Year award. It is the only Jaguar to win this award. It also won the 2019 World Car of the Year. Yes, EVs are having a moment and great design is one reason. EV manufacturers are now adding good looks to great vehicles. The combination is sure to drive sales in 2023.

Connectivity We cannot overlook the importance of the connected car to the EV revolution. The recent success of EVs is due, in part, to a confluence of several technologies reaching maturity simultaneously. These include battery technology, low-cost computing power, and, interestingly, cellular technology.

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Unlike gasoline-powered cars, EVs rely on cellular connectivity to update their sophisticated electronics and navigation systems. EVs have complex electronics for functions like power management and motor control. These systems are new and have a need for frequent software updates as improvements are developed. It is much more important to update the navigation system in an EV than in a gasoline-powered vehicle. Although there are 168,000 gas stations in the US, the number of public electricrecharging stations is a fraction of this. In 2011, there were 3,394 public EV charging stations in the US. By 2021, that number had grown to 108,000. As new charging stations are installed, their locations need to be pushed to EV navigation systems so that you can find that new charging station when you need it.

5 How Did We Get Here? A History of EVs

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efore the first EV could roll down the road, the electric motor had to be invented. Famous scientist Michael Faraday built the world’s first electric motor in 1821. This innovation resulted from his prior discovery that a magnetic field can generate an electric current. The race to electric power was on. Another major leap forward was the invention of the AC motor, which is used in most EVs today. We credit Nikola Tesla, an immigrant to the US from Serbia, with developing the AC motor. When he first arrived in the US, he worked for Thomas Edison. Edison was famously wedded to DC electric systems even though they presented many problems. Tesla developed AC motors and control systems for Westinghouse. Edison, favoring DC, and Westinghouse/ Tesla promoting AC became the “War of the currents.” Today both types of motors are used, but our electrical grid is all AC. Tesla, the inventor, won the war.

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Under the Hood: Michael Faraday is one of the most important scientists of all time. His discoveries in chemistry, the physics of light, electricity, and ­magnetism changed the world. Einstein kept a picture of Faraday on his wall. Three years after showing the world how an electric motor could work, Faraday invented the rubber balloon. Birthday parties, like all of science, were changed.

As we tell you this short history of the EV, please note the incredible fact that electric cars preceded gasoline and diesel cars. Electrics were far more advanced than ICE vehicles. Forty years passed from the creation of the first electric car to the first gasolinepowered car. The first six recorded land-speed records were all held by EVs. The land-speed record is defined as the highest speed achieved by a person using a vehicle on land. An EV was the first vehicle of any kind to drive faster than 100 km/h (62 mph). As we look back at the dawn of motorized vehicles, the logical question to ask is what changed the favored car technology from electric powered to oil powered. Under the Hood: We think electric cars are out of this world. History supports our contention. The only vehicles to drive on the moon have been EVs. A new electric car was developed and used in lunar exploration for each of NASA’s Apollo missions from 15 to 17. NASA might sell one of these to you, but you would have to go get it.

Almost immediately after the invention of the electric motor, the first electric carriage was built. Historians can argue who was first, but the choices seem to be either Robert Anderson, from

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 FIGURE 5.1   Scotsman Robert Anderson built a crude electric carriage,

Reprinted from The Victorian Historian.

circa 1835.

Scotland (Figure 5.1), or American Thomas Davenport. Both built vehicles that were powered by electric batteries. There were many other inventors, especially in Europe, who advanced the field. But like most new technology, there were many false starts and partial successes. These early vehicles used car batteries that were very different from what we know today. They were one-time-use batteries that relied on chemical reactions that could not be reversed. Drivers could not recharge the battery; they had to use a new one. The early cars worked, but clearly, the chief obstacle to advancement was the battery. A major step forward was contributed by French physicist Gaston Planté, who, in 1859, invented the rechargeable lead-acid battery.

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Reprinted from Physique et chimie populaires, vol. 2, 1881-1883.

 FIGURE 5.2   Gustave Trouve riding in his three-wheeled electric car, 1881.

Gustave Trouve rode a three-wheeled electric vehicle in Paris in 1881 (Figure 5.2). He made improvements to a purchased electric motor and used a newly developed rechargeable battery. Trouve kept innovating and used his electric motor and battery to power a boat on the river Seine easily beating gasoline-powered outboard engines. The earliest model that we would recognize as an electric car was built by German engineer Andreas Flocken in 1888 (Figure 5.3). European interest in EVs was years ahead of American interest. In the middle of the nineteenth century, just like today, as new technologies were developed, creative people raced to improve the electric car. They were trying to eke out more miles per charge and more speed. In 1899, a Belgian electric vehicle called the La Jamais Contente became the first vehicle of any type to exceed a speed of 100 km/h (62 mph) (Figure 5.4). It was driven by two 33 hp (25 kW)

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Provided by Franc Haag and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en).

 FIGURE 5.3   German inventor Andreas Flocken’s Elektrowagen in 1888.

Reprinted from Michelin.

 FIGURE 5.4   Belgian EV called the La Jamais Contente is the first vehicle of any type in history to go over 100 km/h (62 mph), 1899.

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electric motors powered by two 80-cell lead-acid batteries manufactured by Fulmen from France. Under the Hood: The first electric cars used DC motors. Today, the motors in EVs run on AC. The man who invented the AC motor was Nikola Tesla. Several inventors built AC motors before and at the same time Tesla did, but he was awarded a US patent for his invention in 1888.

In our modern age, 62 mph does not sound impressive. Consider a time before people had ever traveled so fast. There were questions as to whether people could think and function while traveling at such a speed. Electric cars and trains were the space frontier of the nineteenth century. The first practical EV in the US is believed to have been developed by William Morrison of Des Moines, Iowa, in 1890. Morrison was a chemist, and his first contribution was improving the battery system to power the motors. With an improved power source, he built a six-passenger vehicle capable of going 14 mph. Not an astonishing speed, but faster than a horse-drawn carriage could go. Morrison’s invention marked the start of the first golden age of EVs. From the late 1890s to the early 1900s, there was a steady interest in EVs. Unlike their early gas-powered competitors, EVs did not require pump priming and hand cranking to start, had no smelly gasoline, and were essentially maintenance free. This made EVs more attractive than early ICEs, which were temperamental and difficult to start and operate. Founded in 1899 in Cleveland, Ohio, the Baker Motor Vehicle Company was one of the most successful manufacturers in the first golden age of EVs (Figure 5.5). The first Baker Electric model was the two-seater Imperial Runabout. Thomas Edison bought one as his first car. By 1905, Baker’s annual production was

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© The Henry Ford.

 FIGURE 5.5   Baker Motor Vehicle Company from Cleveland, Ohio, launches its first vehicle, the two-seater Imperial Runabout, 1902.

approximately 400 cars, which was reportedly three times as many cars as any other EV manufacturer at the time. In 1909, Emil Gruenfeldt, an engineer with Baker Motor Vehicle Company, drove his Baker Electric Roadster 160.8 miles (259 km) on a single charge. This would have been impressive in 2009, let alone 1909. The 1912 Baker Electric Victoria was used by five first ladies of the US. As more American homes got electric service, more people purchased EVs. However, three competing technologies were racing for dominance. At the turn of the twentieth century, 40% of cars were powered by steam. Electrics held a 38% market share, and ICE vehicles held the lowest share, at 22%. With rich interiors, electrics were expensive and appealed to the wealthy. Enter the Model A, which was made as inexpensively as possible. This led the market share of electrics to fall.

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Henry Ford changed the factory manufacturing system forever and made thousands of gasoline-powered vehicles at rock-bottom prices. His vision was that everyone should drive a Ford. He kept prices down so low that he only made a miserly profit on each car. Early EV adoption was further hindered by a lack of electric power infrastructure. Electric utilities were reluctant to provide charging stations. At the same time, discoveries of petroleum reserves made gasoline affordable and widely available. Oil companies were delighted to build gas stations to sell their products. For about the next 50 years, ICE technology developed rapidly while EV development stagnated. This first golden age of EVs ebbed about the time that the US entered World War I. More refined and reliable gasoline-powered vehicles increased in popularity and gained infrastructural support. Early EVs could not compete with the power-to-weight ratio afforded by internal combustion systems. EVs enjoyed a mild resurgence during the 1970s energy crisis. However, the EVs developed then were strictly utilitarian and failed to capture mass-market appeal. The oil shortage also launched small companies that converted existing manufactured gas vehicles into EVs. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) played a leading role in starting the new golden age of EVs. Although not specifying EVs, they adopted a Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate. The initial mandate ran from 1990 to 2003 and required that 2% of the vehicles manufactured for sale in California by large automakers be ZEVs. The requirement rose to 5% in and 10% in 2003. California is the largest car market in the US, and manufacturers are forced to follow the mandates that CARB creates. To meet the CARB mandate, large automakers developed EVs. The Ford Ranger EV pickup truck and Toyota RAV4 EV caught consumer attention (Figure 5.6). The fossil-fuel industry did not sit idly and watch this happening. They joined some large automakers to lobby against the mandate. They instigated a lawsuit that resulted in an injunction prohibiting CARB from enforcing the mandate. CARB adopted amendments and redesigned the ZEV program to apply to model years 2015 and beyond. This ultimately relieved

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betto rodrigues/Shutterstock.com.

 FIGURE 5.6   Toyota launched the RAV4 EV in 1991.

the pressure on large automakers to make EVs available to the wider market. Although the mass adoption of EVs was delayed, it was not stymied. The problem for all car manufacturers was that battery technology was not good enough. To provide an adequate driving range, hybrids were invented. These cars have both a gasoline engine and an electric motor. Since gasoline has a higher energy density, it can provide energy for longer rides by converting that chemical energy into electric energy that drives the car. Under the Hood: Energy density is the amount of energy that can be stored in a volume of space. A gallon of gasoline has about 100 times the energy of a ­lithium-ion battery of the same size. However, due to the inefficiency of ICEs, less than a third of the energy in a gallon of gas is utilized to drive the car.

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Toyota first offered their hybrid model, Prius, in the late 1990s. It caught on partly due to its high gas mileage—40 to 50 MPG—and partly due to its low tailpipe emissions. Millions of people around the world own a Prius. Other car manufacturers were not convinced that hybrids were the way to go. Several invested in research on hydrogen fuel cells and batteries. Improvements in the technology of batteries, motors, and electronics are all advanced enough to improve their market viability. Companies were developing cars tentatively. GM introduced the modern-looking EV1 but did not make it available for sale (Figure 5.7). Instead, consumers had to enter into a closed-end lease, meaning that the cars had to be returned to GM at the end of the lease. GM produced 1,117 EV1 cars. Unhappy with their own car, GM took back the cars at the end of their lease and destroyed them. For enthusiasts, this was crazy. This action

Reprinted with permission © The Henry Ford.

 FIGURE 5.7   GM EV1 1996.

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Frontpage/Shutterstock.com

 FIGURE 5.8   The Tesla Roadster 2008.

heaped negative publicity on GM. Even if GM was not sold on EVs, there was enthusiasm among niche groups. The success and subsequent demise of the EV1 pushed Martin Eberhard to cofound Tesla, Inc. and produce the Roadster. The name Tesla comes from the Serbian inventor Nikola Tesla. Launched in 2008, the Tesla Roadster was embraced by early adopters (Figure 5.8). The car proved EVs were viable and, in some ways, more capable than ICE vehicles. Today we associate the name Elon Musk with Tesla Motors, but he did not organize the company. Fresh off his success in selling his 11% share of PayPal, he invested in Tesla. Soon he became CEO and Chairman of the Board. Tesla builds more than electric cars. It also has a large manufacturing facility focused on batteries and owns a large company that makes solar panels. Starting in 2012, sales of Tesla cars have accelerated as fast as its cars do. Today (2022) Tesla is projected to sell 1.5 million units.

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Under the Hood: Thomas Edison brought Nikola Tesla to America to work at Edison Machine Works. Tesla, a diligent worker and brilliant engineer, quit after a few months to start his own business. He made improvements to DC motors and developed much of the early equipment for AC systems. While Edison strongly pushed for DC, Tesla, and later George Westinghouse, fought for AC in what became the great war of currents. Among Tesla’s many inventions was the first radiocontrolled device. The device allowed Tesla to control the motor of a model boat.

While Tesla Motors was growing quickly, Nissan jumped into the electric car field as well. It launched the LEAF in 2010. It was the best-selling mass-market EV until it was recently eclipsed by Tesla models. In 2013, BMW launched the i3 (Figure 5.9), followed by the Jaguar I-PACE in 2018. The year 2023 promises an EV explosion, with more than 50 EVs being offered to the US market.

Source: BMW.

 FIGURE 5.9   The BMW i3 came to market in 2013.

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But that number of new models is only going to grow. Nearly all of the major car manufacturers (18 out of 20), whose combined sales account for 90% of worldwide sales, have climbed onboard the EV bandwagon. The golden age of EVs has begun.

6 EV Myths and Misconceptions—What Some People Want You to Believe about EVs Is Not True

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hy do we have a chapter on EV myths and misconceptions? There is a lot of misinformation about EVs. Some of it is old information that persists, and some are deliberately sowed to discourage people from buying EVs. EVs will herald a revolution in transportation, creating winners and losers. The industries that will lose market share and revenue want to slow this revolution or totally derail it. These industries include energy companies as well as manufacturers and retail sales groups that sell ICE cars. According to the Washington Post, one fossil-fuel interest group has committed to spending up to $10 million per year to spread misinformation about EVs and bolster a positive public opinion of fossil-fuel usage. According to the National Automobile Dealers Association, 49.9% of automobile dealers’ profits come from parts and service departments. EVs will not provide the service revenue and profits for car dealers that ICE vehicles do. With EVs, there are no oil changes, spark plug changes, emissions-systems inspections, or timing belt changes. Brake maintenance is much less frequent.

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This is a great deal for EV owners. However, since so much of a dealer’s profit comes from service, and as EVs will greatly reduce the need for service, traditional dealers are not thrilled with the revolution. Of course, there is also a lot of information out there that may have been true three or five years ago, but is now out of date. The developments in technology, especially those related to batteries and car-computer systems, have been mind-bendingly rapid. Reading any publication or data source that is more than a year or so old could give you  false impressions of what is happening with EVs.

Myth 1: EVs Do Not Have Enough Range to Be Viable Reality: Ten years ago, this was no myth. For example, in 2011, the Nissan LEAF was the first mass-market EV, and it had an effective range of 75 miles. The LEAF now has a range of 226 miles. The average range of 22 of the mass-market EVs shipping in North America in 2021 was 284 miles. The average range of a gasoline-powered car is about 275 miles. The myth of limited range is debunked.

Myth 2: EVs Are Not Safe to Drive EVs are actually safer than gasoline-powered vehicles for two reasons. First, due to their typical battery placement, EVs tend to have lower centers of gravity than gasoline-powered cars. Having a low center of gravity makes an EV less likely to roll over. This is important because, according to the US Department of Transportation, rollovers have a higher fatality rate than other kinds of crashes. With more weight below you in an EV, you are safer. Second, a common cause of injury during a head-on collision is the ICE being pushed backward into the passenger compartment. The large block of metal has nowhere to go except into your lap.

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 FIGURE 6.1   Where did the engine go? Under the hood of an EV, there is

© SAE International.

enough room for a trunk.

An EV motor is much smaller and lighter than a gas or diesel engine. This has a few benefits. First, there is less heavy metal to be pushed back into the passenger compartment, causing injuries. Second, EV motors are so small that they leave room for the manufacturers to put a trunk, or “frunk,” in the front of the car (Figure 6.1). When a crash occurs, that “crumple zone” will absorb much of the impact. The crumple zone acts like a shock absorber. The US National Highway Traffic Study tests car models to assess how safe they are. In their 51 year history of testing cars, the Tesla Model 3 is the safest. The Model 3, an EV, has the lowest probability of injury in a crash of any car. Maybe you think the Model 3 stands alone in safety among EVs. So what were the second and third safest cars in the study? The Tesla Model S and the Tesla Model X. Tesla swept the top three rankings. Myth busted.

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 FIGURE 6.2   What is all this stuff? An engine compartment of an ICE

SvedOliver/Shutterstock.com.

vehicle is stuffed full of heavy metal.

Myth 3: EVs Are Not Greener than Gasoline- or Diesel-Powered Cars Sometimes you  can see a totally bogus claim with your eyes. Stopped at any intersection, you can see plumes of exhaust arising from ICE cars, especially those that need a tune-up. From the tailpipe of an EV, what do you see? You cannot even see a tailpipe, let alone exhaust, because there is not one. Those exhaust plumes from ICE cars are composed of several greenhouse gases that we do not want to add to the atmosphere (Figure 6.3). Getting the gasoline from the ground into the tank of an ICE car uses about the same amount of electricity as an EV uses in driving, that is, a gasoline-engine car that is sitting still has about the same amount of electricity as an EV will use to drive. Exploring for oil, pumping it out of the ground, transporting it, and refining it into gasoline and diesel is an energy-intensive

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Toa55/Shutterstock.com.

 FIGURE 6.3   Clearly not an EV.

process. EVs will continue to get greener as the power grid gets greener. ICE vehicles will remain dirty. According to the US Energy Information Administration, US renewable electricity generation has doubled since 2008. Almost 90% of the increase in renewable energy came from wind- and solar-power generation. As of 2021, renewables provided 20.1% of electricity generation in the US. Meanwhile, ICEs are burning gasoline and diesel fuel and emitting into the atmosphere more than half of the total carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides that humanity releases and almost a quarter of the hydrocarbons.

Myth 4: EVs Are Slow How fast do you need to go? Starting from a stop, EVs accelerate much faster than gasoline-powered vehicles. You might notice that drag racing today separates EVs from ICE vehicles because EVs usually win. EVs accelerate faster because electric motors deliver 100% of their available power instantaneously. Unlike ICEs, EVs provide full torque at low RPM. ICEs have to be spinning faster to deliver maximum torque or power. This enables fast launches of EVs and superior passing ability.

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Not only do EVs accelerate faster, but their faster acceleration costs the consumer less. For example, the gas-powered Ford Mustang Mach-E GT costs $65,000 to deliver acceleration from 0 to 60 mph in 3.5 sec. That is fast, but for $10,000 less, the Tesla Model 3 Performance gets you up to speed in 3.2 sec—even faster. For almost twice the price, at $99,000, a gasoline-powered Porsche 911 is slower, at 4.0 sec. Once you reach highway speeds, both ICE cars and EVs deliver power enough to move you  down the road.

Myth 5: EVs Are Expensive to Maintain EVs are much less expensive to maintain. The three big costs of operating a gasoline-powered vehicle are fuel, oil changes, and brake replacement. The cost of fuel for an EV is much lower—about a quarter as expensive as an ICE vehicle covering the same driving distance. The low cost of electric energy and the high efficiency of electric motors make EVs much cheaper to “fuel” than gasoline-powered vehicles. What does gasoline cost you? An ICE vehicle will cost over six times more than an EV to drive an equivalent distance. EVs do not require oil changes. Is that not nice—not having to take your car in every few thousand miles to change the oil? Perhaps you crawl under your car in the driveway with a wrench in hand to do the job? Switching to an EV, you can take up a new, less messy, hobby. Because EV brakes last so much longer, they need to be replaced much less often. That saves a few hundred dollars. The brakes last longer because EVs use the motor to slow your forward motion, which takes some of the load off the brakes. This is called regenerative braking. Because electric motors are far less complex than engines, the ten most common repairs performed on an ICE vehicle simply are not needed for an EV. This not only saves repair costs but also avoids the inconvenience of having your car in the shop instead of

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being available to drive. The low cost of operation and maintenance for an EV are among its strongest selling points.

Myth 6: There Are Not Enough Public Charging Stations The number of EV charging stations in the US is growing rapidly. Statista.com reports that in 2022 there were over 46,290 charging stations with 113,558 charging ports. That is up from three years ago when there were about 16,000 public EV charging stations with about 43,000 connectors—an increase of threefold. Tesla is one of the larger providers of charging stations. They have 1,370 Supercharger stations with approximately 20,000 connectors, most positioned along major highways. The other big players are ChargePoint, with 30,000 connectors, and Electrify America, with 12,000 charging stations and 35,000 connectors. In addition to these stations, a group of 50 power companies organized to install EV fast charging stations along US highways by the end of 2023. There is a tendency to compare public EV charging stations with gas stations. Most EV owners charge their cars at home, which is not an option for ICE vehicles. So it is a bogus comparison to look at the number of gas stations versus the number of public charging stations when there are many thousands of residential charging stations.

Myth 7: EV Batteries Do Not Last and Will Cause a Recycling Problem EVs on the market today use lithium-ion batteries. When Nissan started selling the first mass-produced EV in 2011, there were concerns about the LEAF batteries degrading over time. With ten years of experience, we know that these batteries lose about 1% of capacity every 18,750 miles, or less than 20% after 200,000 miles. Of course, the results will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, but the general trend holds. Another point of confidence is

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that EVs are federally mandated to carry separate warranties for their battery packs for at least eight years or 100,000 miles. Regarding recycling, gasoline-powered vehicles use lead-acid batteries. According to the Battery Council International, lead-acid batteries have a recycling rate of 99.3%, making them the number one recycled consumer product in the US. Lithium-ion batteries are made from more valuable metals and rare-earth elements, making them more likely to be commercially recycled. It is also worth noting that EV batteries usually would not go from the vehicle to the recycling plant because they will still have useful capacity. Many used EV batteries will have a post-vehicle life storing solar energy or wind energy, or in other power-grid applications. Lithium-ion battery-recycling is real and starting to happen at an industrial scale. There are two main ways to recycle lithiumion batteries. The traditional approach is pyrometallurgy which results in material recovery in the low 30% range. Pyrometallurgy involves burning recycled lithium-ion batteries to remove low value materials like plastics and leaves the recycler with a fraction of original metals like copper, nickel and cobalt. Smelting is a common pyrometallurgy method which requires fossil fuels to generate heat and produces noxious exhaust gasses. Neither are environmentally friendly. The other main way to recycle Lithium-ion batteries is a process called hydrometallurgy which can result in material recovery in the high 90% range. The end-to-end battery recycling process can be summarized as follows. The first step is to discharge batteries that are to be recycled so that they can be safe to work with. The discharged electricity is ingeniously used to power a significant portion of the recycling process. Next, the batteries are ground up (Figure 6.4). A post-grinding step removes the battery electrolyte resulting in an inert granular material called “black mass.” The black mass is then soaked in strong acids, a process called leaching, to dissolve the various component metals into a solution. A final process is performed to create separate compounds in powdered form consisting of component metals like cobalt, nickel, copper, manganese, and lithium that are pure enough to use in battery manufacturing (Figure 6.5). At industrial scale, this process has

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Huguette Roe/Shutterstock.com.

 FIGURE 6.4   Industrial recycle machine scrap grinder blades.

 FIGURE 6.5   Test tubes of blue copper sulfate, brown cobalt sulfate, green

Ihor Matsiievskyi/Shutterstock.com.

nickel sulfate.

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been demonstrated to produce no environmental discharge. It also enables the EV industry to reuse materials that have already been mined, reducing the burden on the Earth. Black mass can be safely shipped to be processed offsite if preferred. This can facilitate a scalable and cost effective “hub and spoke” model where preprocessing facilities can be placed around the country to feed black mass to a single final processing facility. One industrial scale example is BMW Group recently teaming with Duesenfeld GmbH—a pioneer in the lithium-ion battery hydrometallurgy recycling space.

Myth 8: EVs Are Too Expensive A comparison of the price of EVs to comparable gasoline-powered cars depends on the market segment. For example, in the luxury midsize category (Table 6.1), EVs are priced at or below the price of comparable gasoline-powered cars. Some examples are as follows. In the economy market segment today, EVs are still priced at a premium, but you will need to factor in incentives. The US federal government and state governments offer tax credits, tax deductions, and other incentives that lower the cost of buying and operating an EV. The largest tax deduction is the $7,500 that is offered by the US federal government. This deduction no longer applies to Tesla because they have shipped too many EVs to qualify for the program, but it does apply to other manufacturers. When it comes to filling the “tank” and maintenance, EVs are much less expensive. As we outlined in our “Cost of Ownership” section, an ICE vehicle will cost almost eight times more to operate and maintain than a comparable EV. TABLE 6.1 Luxury midsize category. Gasoline powered Car

EVs Starting MSRP

Car

Starting MSRP

BMW 330i

$42,300

Ford Mach-E

$43,895

Audi A4

$45,500

Tesla Model 3

$46,990

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Myth 9: The Electrical Grid Cannot Support Millions of EVs The National Renewable Energy Laboratory research concludes that the existing grid can support the current EV charging load and the demand that would occur if 25% of the cars on the road were electric. One reason is that the majority of EVs are charged when grid demand is low. It is also important to note that EVs would not reach a 25% market share for some time. After that, grid-infrastructure upgrades can be made gradually and locally on a neighborhood-by-neighborhood basis. There would not suddenly be  a need to upgrade the entire national grid infrastructure. Under the Hood: The grid is the network of wires and transformers that deliver electricity from where it is produced to your home.

7 News Flash!

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Vs have reached market acceptance, and their future looks bright. Current sales growth projected into the future shows EVs taking a much bigger percentage of the car market. Many governments, some with the largest populations and worst air quality, are mandating EVs. Concentrating on air pollution generated at power stations makes it easier to reduce overall pollution. Also, the green value of EVs will get greener as renewable energy powers more of the grid. EV innovation is accelerating due to contributions from all around the globe, not just in Silicon Valley. Continued improvements in batteries, motor control, and support software will make EVs an even better investment. Improvements are coming in both driving range and speed. The good news is not constrained to the consumer market. Great leaps of activity are occurring in the commercial space with semi-trucks, delivery vans, school buses, and other vehicles. Amazon announced in August 2020 that they are purchasing 1,800 electric delivery vans from Mercedes-Benz. This followed their gigantic 100,000 unit order from Rivian that was announced in late 2019. The US Postal Service was considering bids to start replacing its aging fleet of delivery vehicles. The initial order, as of June 2022, was 10,019 electric trucks. As we write this, a political battle is brewing on how many will be EVs or ICEs. Industry stalwarts like GM and companies you have never heard of (e.g., Bollinger, Chanje, and Workhorse) are launching

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into production. Especially for start-and-stop delivery trucks that return to a garage every day, EVs are a great choice. The sound you do not hear on the street outside your house is the new generation of electric delivery trucks.

Accelerating Innovation As is true for many emerging technologies, vehicle electrification is experiencing rapid innovation. Of the many examples, one is described in Brynjolfsson and McAfee’s excellent book, The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies. The example described below, although not focused on EVs, shows how quickly digital vehicle control is progressing. In 2002, the US government’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced its first Grand Challenge. They would award a $1 million prize to any qualifying team that could design and demonstrate an autonomous vehicle that could complete a 142 mile course laid out through California’s Mojave Desert. Vehicles could be powered with any drive technology. In March of 2004, 15 qualifying teams competed in the event. The results were very disappointing. Two vehicles were unable to start, and one rolled over in the starting area. After three hours, only four cars were still in the competition. A car from Carnegie Mellon University performed the best by covering 7.4 miles before crashing after coming off a switchback. DARPA did not award the prize money. Popular Science described the event as “DARPA’s Debacle in the Desert.” Several technology experts stated that autonomous driving is extremely complex and that we probably would not see autonomous vehicles for another 20 to 25 years. However, six years later in October 2010, Google announced that they had successfully operated completely autonomous vehicles on American roads and highways. By the summer of 2012, Google’s Project Chauffeur had logged over 200,000 miles with no human intervention and only two accidents. Obviously, the experts had overestimated the difficulties and time it would take for the technology to improve.

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The pundits got it wrong for two reasons. They failed to see that our rate of innovation is now sometimes faster than we can comprehend. Also, they were unaware of the full spectrum of development taking place, including proprietary development. EV innovation is exhibiting the same acceleration. EV battery development is steeply climbing the technology innovation curve. Companies see the rapidly expanding battery market for vehicles and homes and are investing heavily in research. This will result in batteries holding more energy and costing less to manufacture. Brynjolfsson and McAfee offer another insight. Every technology, from steam engines to sewing machines to EVs, experiences a lag in adoption compared to development. People do not jump on the new technology bandwagon immediately. They want to see how the new technology holds up. Adoption typically follows a succession from innovators to early adopters to early majority to late majority to those who lag behind. EV adoption has passed both the innovator and early adopters’ stages and is now entering the early majority stage. Another area of accelerating innovation is battery technology. Since its invention in the mid-1980s, there has been a tremendous investment in lithium-ion batteries, but by many measures, we are reaching the maximum performance of this technology. In addition to the performance asymptote, lithium-ion batteries rely on the continued extraction of rare metals like lithium, nickel, and cobalt. Cobalt has its own set of problems in that most of it is mined in the Congo, a country with a history of human rights abuses associated with the mining of rare-earth elements. This has led to an effort to develop batteries that are made from materials that are more abundant and/or with lower extraction costs. These include materials like iron, zinc, and sodium. One example is Tesla’s introduction of cobalt-free iron-phosphate (LFP or lithium ferro-phosphate) batteries. Tesla announced that half of all vehicles it manufactured in the first quarter of 2022 were produced using these batteries. On the lithium front, a discovery three years ago should give us hope. Scientists in Saudi Arabia showed that lithium can be cost-effectively harvested from seawater. This is very promising

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because seawater contains significantly larger quantities of lithium than is found on land. Battery development is expected to generate $620 billion in investment by 2040. This will inevitably result in novel battery designs with improved performance and using new materials that are more abundant and cheaply available. Some of these technologies include air batteries and zinc batteries and other competing technologies. In 2023, watch for a barrage of news articles on the business page about the expansion of electric car sales as the market goes mainstream.

Government Mandates In many places around the world, people are embracing EV technology. Governments are doing the same. Some governments are mandating a switch to EVs. In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was reelected by a wide margin in 2019, is planning to require all two-wheeled motorized vehicles to be electric by 2026. Of some 250 million registered vehicles, two-wheelers—including mopeds and motorcycles—dominate India’s transportation market with about 190 million units. To support this initiative, India’s giant conglomerate the Tata Group pledged to build 300 rapid-charge stations in five major Indian cities. According to the World Economic Forum, the only new cars for sale in China will be “new energy” by 2035. The term “new energy vehicles” includes pure electric, plug-in hybrids, and fuelcell vehicles. Through a complicated crediting formula, the Chinese government now requires all automakers, domestic and foreign, to produce a certain percentage of EVs. This mandate is expected to get stricter over time, perhaps rising to as much as 7% by 2025. These Chinese mandates have global implications. Foreign car companies have made major investments in China and are committed to protecting that investment. For example, Volkswagen sells about 40% of its global production in China. Accordingly, Volkswagen has dedicated significant resources to the development of EVs.

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Even more aligned with the Chinese mandate is Volvo Cars. Volvo will not develop any newer ICE vehicles. It is launching fivebattery EVs between 2019 and 2023. As of 2010, Volvo is owned by Geely Holding Group, a Chinese automotive company. Geely has been developing electric cars for more than a decade. The UK has set a national goal of eliminating carbon emissions by 2050. About a third of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK come from transportation, so they plan to ban petrol and diesel cars in 2035. The plan is expected to include hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles. The expectation is that sales will shift drastically to EVs. California is the largest passenger car market in the US. In September 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order that bans the sale of new gasoline-powered passenger cars in the state starting in the year 2035. California is following the lead of 15 countries that have mandated similar bans on the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles. The governor said that the regulations will be implemented by CARB. CARB will develop the regulations. The regulations will have some caveats. Gasoline-powered vehicles will still be allowed on the roads after 2035. It will not pertain to the sale of used gasoline-powered vehicles. Commercial vehicles will be  treated differently. The mandate will not pertain to the sale of new medium-duty and new heavy-duty vehicles until the year 2045.

Modernized Power Grid and Renewable Energy Powering electric cars requires both the generation and distribution of electric energy. Throughout the US, coal has been the leading source of energy for electric power generation. Recently that has changed. Electric energy generation by renewable sources has doubled since 2008. Almost 90% of the increase in renewables came from wind- and solar-power generation. Both have a much less environmental impact than coal, oil, or natural gas. Coal-fired generating

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plants are being closed as the cost of renewables has dropped below the cost of coal generation. Wind generation increased due to taller and more efficient wind turbines. Now the US is following other countries in locating wind turbines offshore. As of 2016, wind provided 8% of US electric generation. Around the world, some 3,500 hydroelectric dams are planned or are being built. However, in the US, hydro generation is at a standstill. Few dams are being built in the US, and some are being removed. In 2021, 57 dams were removed. Thus, the share of electric energy provided by hydropower in the US will not increase. Dam removal is driven by the many environmental benefits it provides, such as helping to increase fish populations by opening upriver spawning grounds and allowing rich sediments to move downstream where they can be used by forests and farmland. Removal can also be driven by financial benefits. Because many US dams are old, it can be less expensive to remove them than repair them. Electricity generated by solar photovoltaic cells has risen quickly in the US. In 2020, about 3% of the total electric energy generated came from solar panels. Two-thirds of that supply was from rooftops and other small plants. Projecting the future is an iffy proposition, but looking ahead suggests that the future is bright for renewables. The Motley Fool combined data sources to conservatively calculate that wind, solar and hydro sources will supply almost 50% of the total US electricity supply by 2030.1 About 3% of the total electricity generation is expected to come from offshore installations, up from almost zero today. For solar, more than 5% of total generation could come from small-scale solar installations like those on residential rooftops, which are becoming cheaper and more prevalent. Adding in the contributions of nuclear power plants could bring the total share of US electricity generated by “zero-carbon” sources up from 40%, where it is today, to almost 70% in 2030. Nuclear is by no means ideal, but it is serving to bridge the gap to a zero-carbon future. 1

https://www.fool.com/investing/2019/10/21/how-much-us-electricity-will-come-from-renewables.aspx

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© SAE International.

 FIGURE 7.1   Renewable electricity generation.

The remaining 30% would most likely be generated by lowercarbon natural gas. The chart in Figure 7.1 shows the projected change in the percent of electricity generated by segments of renewable energy. EVs will play a key role in modernizing the US power grid through a concept called “vehicle-to-grid” (V2G). V2G is an enhanced-power-grid concept where EVs become integrated into the grid. EVs will communicate with the grid to provide two benefits. One benefit is smart charging. EV owners who can charge their cars whenever they want will respond to rate changes charged by utilities. Since most cars sit unused 95% of the time, they can be charged at any time of the day, and owners will take advantage of changes in the rates of utilities charge. Utilities sell electric power like any commodity. When demand is high, they will charge more. To optimize the power load, utilities will lower rates at off-peak times to encourage charging at these times. This shifting of demand helps utilities even the drain on their system.

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The second benefit is that EVs will be connected to the grid as a temporary battery. Having many thousands of EV batteries connected to the grid will allow utilities to draw energy briefly from the cars and use it where it is needed. EV battery charging resumes when the short spike in demand has reduced. As intermittent power sources such as wind and solar generation provide a larger share of electric power, having EVs store and return power as clouds pass and winds fluctuate smooths out the supply. Making V2G a reality will take time to design, standardize, and deploy. Work on V2G standards is already underway in some forms, such as the CHAdeMO charge system described above (Figure 7.2).

Monicaodo/Shutterstock.com

 FIGURE 7.2   V2G architecture: This diagram shows a typical V2G architecture. Power is generated at power plants and wind farms and carried to consumers by the electric grid. EVs are used to store energy generated by wind and solar during the day and then return it to the grid when needed at night.

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Electric Motorcycles Raising eyebrows, Harley-Davidson launched its first electric motorcycle in 2019. Called the LiveWire, it has a 105 hp motor with a 15.5 kWh battery for 105 miles of range. Its performance, power, and design are very impressive. The LiveWire has a 3.1 sec 0–60 mph time, which is as fast as “superbikes” like the 2020 BMW S 1000 RR. This puts it at parity with its four-wheeled EV cousins that can outperform gasolinepowered “supercars.” As motorcycles go, the LiveWire is expensive, with a $29,799 price tag. Harley-Davidson seems to be following Tesla’s strategy of leading with a premium-priced vehicle that clearly demonstrates the potential of electrification. It is pretty clear that HarleyDavidson built the LiveWire to demonstrate their commitment to electric motorcycles and to get their market excited about their new electric bikes that are sure to follow.

Commercial Segment Commercial fleet owners are always concerned with both the price of fuel and the pollution their vehicles emit. Carbon-neutral initiatives are being taken more seriously, which is driving enthusiasm for EVs. In September 2019, Amazon announced that it ordered 100,000 fully e-vans from Rivian Automotive Inc, based in Michigan. The first 10,000 vans are expected to be on the road by 2022. The agreement is estimated to cost $4 billion, and it will double the number of electric delivery vans in the world. In addition to helping Amazon reach its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2040, the e-vans reduce Amazon’s fuel costs. Amazon is so sensitive to fuel costs that it cited it as a reason for raising the price of its Prime membership. Other large fleet owners are just as concerned about fuel costs as Amazon. For UPS, fuel expenses grew by $1.3 billion from 2016 to 2018. We have to wonder when they and other fleet owners will start making the switch to EVs.

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Heavy-duty trucking is also going electric. The world’s largest truck manufacturer, Daimler Truck North America (DTNA), has fully embraced EVs. They announced several EV versions of their dominant product line, the Freightliner eCascadia Class 8 (heavyduty) semi-truck, the eM2 medium-duty truck, and the Saf-T-Liner C2 Thomas Built school bus. Volvo Trucks, the world’s second-largest truck manufacturer, started selling an all-electric Class 8 regional hauler, dubbed the VNR Electric, at the end of 2020. Volvo is also in collaboration with the CARB and 14 other organizations on a project called Volvo LIGHTS. The goal is to develop charging and workflow innovations that will ensure the commercial success of battery electric trucks. In November 2017, Tesla sent shock waves through the commercial trucking industry when it unveiled its Tesla Semi. As with its other vehicles, Tesla completely redesigned the category of tractors. So far, Tesla has announced two trucks with ranges of 300 and 600 miles. This range is certainly adequate for the regional delivery market. One of the big challenges facing the trucking industry is driver shortages. Electric trucks will make it easier to recruit and train drivers because they are much simpler to drive than diesel power trucks as there is no complicated gear shifting to learn. The switch from fossil-fuel-powered ICE vehicles to EVs is occurring in transit buses and school buses. Thomas Built Buses (TBB), a division of DTNA, is one leader. TBB partnered with Proterra, a leader in EV technology solutions for heavy-duty applications, to develop an all-electric school bus called the Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley. School buses are an ideal EV application given their range profile and the fact that they return to the same depot where they can be recharged every day. Bloomberg New Energy Finance projects that EVs will reach 10% of global passenger vehicle sales in 2025. That percentage will rise to 28% by 2030 and 58% by 2040. The future looks very bright for EVs, and the future starts now.

8 EV Buying Guide

M

ost of today’s EVs have overcome the main consumer objections of price, range, and styling. The mid-2020s will be an exciting time with far more EV options than ever before from which to choose. Our guide is focused on the North American passenger car and truck mass market. To help you compare EVs, we laid out what we find to be the most useful specifications. The vehicles included in this guide are either available or have a reasonable expectation of shipping within the next two years. In other words, we did not include concept cars or vehicles that seem to be brand-bolstering publicity stunts. Our guide is not meant to duplicate the vast and varied information that you can find on the Web. Rather, it is meant to act as a convenient, well-organized starting point for you to see what vehicles are available. We also provide you with insights about the various automakers and their design choices. We list these in alphabetical order by manufacturer and model name.

Lease or Purchase Consider the possibilities. Leasing a new car lowers your monthly payments or allows you to drive a more expensive car. The downside is that after the lease period you do not have a car. If you purchase a car and keep it for more than three years you are saving serious money. One consideration is whether or not you want to own the car for a long period of time.

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Consider how quickly technology is changing. The EV that was available three years ago might not be  so appealing today. Manufacturers are being very creative in adding new safety and comfort features and in improving battery performance. What will be on the market in three years’ time? If you think the market will be vastly different in 2026 than in 2023, consider leasing your next car. If cost is your biggest driving factor, purchasing a car is probably best. EVs purchased today will probably still be on the road in ten years. On the one hand, buying involves higher monthly costs, but you own an asset—your vehicle—in the end. A lease has lower monthly payments and lets you drive a vehicle that may be more expensive than you could afford to buy, but you get into a cycle in which you never stop paying for the vehicle. Another consideration is how many miles you plan to drive per year. Leases usually limit the number of miles you can drive per year before you get charged an additional per-mile fee. With more people choosing a lease over a loan than they did just a few years ago, the boom in leasing is not stopping anytime soon.

Audi Audi’s first EV, the e-tron SUV, launched in 2019. Audi now offers a line of EVs that are marketed under the “e-tron” sub-brand. These vehicles include the Q4 e-tron and Q4 Sportback e-tron, e-tron and Sportback e-tron, e-tron S and e-tron Sportback S, and e-tron GT.

Audi Q4 e-tron and Q4 Sportback e-tron

VanderWolf Images/Shutterstock.com.

Positioned to compete with the Ford Mustang Mach-E and the Tesla Model Y, the Audi Q4 e-tron is a crossover SUV with a premium look and feel. Consistent with the Audi brand, the Q4 e-tron was designed on the techheavy side with a cabin that is similar to other Audi models. It offers Audi’s latest MMI (multimedia interface) system with a 10.3 in. infotainment touchscreen that is angled toward the driver for easier use. The Q4 e-tron has an 82 kWh battery and is offered in rear-wheel drive (RWD) and AWD (Figure 8.1). The RWD version produces 201 hp and the AWD version delivers 295 hp. Both are expected to have a 241 mile range. It supports charging up to 125 kW which, according to Audi, can enable

 FIGURE 8.1    109

Audi

North Monaco/Shutterstock.com.

it to reach 80% of charge in about 30 min. The Audi Q4 e-tron has the same battery pack and motors as the Volkswagen ID.4. The Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron is the coupe-like counterpart to the Q4 e-tron which has the same chassis and drivetrain (Figure 8.2 and Table 8.1). The Sportback has a lower profile body that is intended to be sleeker and more stylish. The tradeoff is less headroom and cargo capacity.

 FIGURE 8.2   

TABLE 8.1 Audi Q4 e-tron. Starting price (MSRP) Range (miles)

$43,900 241

Availability Vehicle class NHTSA safety rating (5-star) NCAP safety rating (5-star) 0 to 60 (sec) Battery (kWh) Length (in.)

Late 2022 Luxury SUV NR 5 7.6 82 180.7

Drive (FWD, RWD, AWD)

RWD, AWD

110

Audi Audi e-tron and Sportback e-tron

skirgaila photography/Shutterstock.com.

Following the Tesla Model X and the Jaguar I-PACE, the Audi e-tron was the third luxury electric SUV to be launched in North America. The Audi e-tron is bigger than Audi’s Q5, but a little smaller than their Q8. True to form, Audi’s e-tron provides the greatest passenger comfort. The cabin is trimmed in premium materials. The seats are nicely padded, with those in front being heated, cooled, and massage capable. It has Audi’s Virtual Cockpit with a head-up display. The ride is very quiet due to Audi’s investment in sound insulation. Roof rails come standard, and it can tow up to 4,000 lb. The e-tron is a dual-motor AWD SUV that produces 355 hp in normal driving situations. Switching its transmission to Sport mode increases the output to 402 hp. Somewhat underwhelming is the range of the 2022 e-tron and e-tron Sportback, which are estimated at 218 miles and 222 miles, respectively (Figures 8.3 and 8.4). Every e-tron features a 150 kW fast charger which enables them to recharge to 80% of its battery in about 30 min. They have regenerative braking, but it is not potent enough to enable one-pedal driving (Table 8.2).

 FIGURE 8.3    111

Valdis Skudre/Shutterstock.com.

Audi

 FIGURE 8.4   

TABLE 8.2 Audi Sportback e-tron. Starting price (MSRP) Range (miles)

$66,995 218–222

Availability Vehicle class NHTSA safety rating (5-star) NCAP safety rating (5-star) 0 to 60 (sec) Battery (kWh) Length (in.)

2022 Luxury SUV 5 5 4.4 93.4 196.4

Drive (FWD, RWD, AWD)

AWD

112

Audi Audi e-tron S and Sportback e-tron S

Mike Mareen/Shutterstock.com.

The “S” model of the e-tron is Audi’s attempt to close the performance gap when compared to the Tesla lineup (Figures 8.5, 8.6, and Table 8.3). The regular e-tron has two electric motors while the S version has three. The more powerful rear motor that powers the standard e-tron is moved to the front axle of the S version. In the rear of the S are two of the less powerful motors that power the standard e-tron front axle. Each motor powers one rear wheel. The result is an output increase of 94 hp and a 0-60 mph time of 4.3 sec, or 1.0 sec faster than the standard e-tron. Some other S enhancements include a track that is 2 in. wider and front brake calipers with six pistons.

 FIGURE 8.5   

113

auto-data.net/Shutterstock.com.

Audi

 FIGURE 8.6   

TABLE 8.3 Audi e-tron S. Starting price (MSRP) Range (miles)

$85,895 208

Availability Vehicle class NHTSA safety rating (5-star) NCAP safety rating (5-star) 0 to 60 (sec) Battery (kWh) Length (in.)

Fall 2022 Crossover 5 NR 4.3 95 193

Drive (FWD, RWD, AWD)

AWD

114

Audi Audi e-tron GT

Mike Mareen/Shutterstock.com.

A departure from the company’s SUV and crossover lineup, the latest Audi EV is the e-tron GT, which prioritizes performance and handling over utility. It is positioned to be an alternative to the Tesla Model S and the Porsche Taycan. The e-tron GT was designed alongside the Porsche Taycan and shares the same basic design. Unlike the Taycan, the e-tron GT comes standard with a 93 kWh battery pack. Both share an industryleading 800 V architecture which enables faster charging and less heat. The GT dual-motor system replicates the quattro AWD system. Its drivetrain delivers between 522 and 637 hp, depending on the model (Figures 8.7 and 8.8). All have a two-speed transmission which enables a quick 3.1 sec 0–60 mph time (Table 8.4).

 FIGURE 8.7   

115

Gabo_Arts/Shutterstock.com.

Audi

 FIGURE 8.8   

TABLE 8.4 Audi e-tron GT. Starting price (MSRP) Range (miles)

$104,900 232

Availability Vehicle class NHTSA safety rating (5-star) NCAP safety rating (5-star) 0 to 60 (sec) Battery (kWh) Length (in.)

2022 Luxury sedan NR NR 3.1 93 196.4

Drive (FWD, RWD, AWD)

AWD

116

BMW BMW’s first EV was the i3, which started shipping in 2013. It was available as a pure EV or in an extended-range (REX) version with a small two-cylinder gasoline engine that powers a generator to recharge the batteries. In early 2022, BMW announced that it would discontinue the i3 in the US. The North American BMW all-electric offering now includes the iX, i4, and i7.

BMW i4 The i4 is based on BMW’s famous 3 Series model with its familiar low stance four-door design. It competes with the Polestar 2 and Tesla Model 3. The i4 is available in two models. Both have an 80.7 kWh battery pack. The eDrive40 has a single rear motor and delivers 335 hp. The M50 model is AWD with a motor on each axle delivering a total of 536 hp. With the M badge comes standard 19 in. wheels, sport-tuned suspension, and higher performance brakes with blue calipers. Similar to other BMW models, the i4 has a richly appointed cabin (Table 8.5). However, the i4 and its SUV counterpart, the iX, are the first to have a huge, seamlessly integrated display that spans most of the dashboard (Figures 8.9 and 8.10). TABLE 8.5 BMW i4. Starting price (MSRP) Range (miles)

$65,900 301

Availability Vehicle class NHTSA safety rating (5-star) NCAP safety rating (5-star) 0 to 60 (sec) Battery (kWh) Length (in)

2022 Luxury midsize sedan NR NR 3.7 80.7 188.5

Drive (FWD, RWD, AWD)

RWD, AWD

117

Source: BMW.

BMW

 FIGURE 8.10    118

Source: BMW.

 FIGURE 8.9   

BMW BMW iX

Source: BMW.

The iX is BMW’s first electric SUV and offers similar passenger space, cargo space, and practicality as their popular gas-powered X5 (Figures 8.11 and 8.12). It competes with the Audi e-tron, Tesla Model X, and Rivian R1S. The iX is available in two models, the xDrive50 and the M60. Both are dual-motor AWD (Table 8.6). The xDrive50 has 516 hp and the M60 is an impressive 610 hp. Adjustable air suspension and a rear-wheelsteering are optional features on the xDrive50 and standard on the M60. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard on both. A couple of cool features are an electrochromic sunroof that changes from transparent to opaque with a push of a button. They also have a remote parking feature where the vehicle can remember how to enter and exit difficult parking spaces.

 FIGURE 8.11   

119

Gabriel Nica/Shutterstock.com.

BMW

 FIGURE 8.12   

TABLE 8.6 BMW iX. Starting price (MSRP) Range (miles)

$83,200 324

Availability Vehicle class NHTSA safety rating (5-star) NCAP safety rating (5-star) 0 to 60 (sec) Battery (kWh) Length (in.)

2022 SUV NR 5 3.6 111.5 195

Drive (FWD, RWD, AWD)

AWD

120

BMW BMW i7

Source: BMW.

Expected in the fall of 2022, BMW’s i7 will serve as the flagship of its EV “i” sub-brand (Figures 8.13 and 8.14 and Table 8.7). It is positioned to compete with high-end electric sedans like the Mercedes EQS, the Lucid Air, and the Tesla Model S. Like its gas-powered counterpart, the i7 is an “executive limousine sedan” designed to accommodate its rear-seat passengers. Its Executive Lounge package includes power-adjustable rear seats that recline. The i7 and the iX share a similar powertrain with dual motors, one on each axle, delivering a total of 536 hp. Consistent with its flagship positioning, the i7 would not have sports-sedan handling, but rather a comfortable, soft ride.

 FIGURE 8.13   

121

Source: BMW.

BMW

 FIGURE 8.14   

TABLE 8.7 BMW i7. Starting price (MSRP) Range (miles)

$120,295 300

Availability Vehicle class NHTSA safety rating (5-star) NCAP safety rating (5-star) 0 to 60 (sec) Battery (kWh) Length (in.)

2023 Large luxury sedan NR NR 4.5 101.7 212

Drive (FWD, RWD, AWD)

AWD

122

Cadillac Founded in 1902, Cadillac is one of the oldest automobile brands in the world. It is now a division of General Motors. It is named after the French explorer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, and the recognizable Cadillac logo is based on his coat of arms. Of the four core GM brands, Cadillac is considered the marquee.

Cadillac Lyriq

Reprinted with permission © General Motors.

Cadillac, has launched its first EV. It is a battery electric crossover called the Lyriq. Within the existing Cadillac lineup, the Lyriq falls between the midsize XT6 SUV and the Escalade. It is positioned to compete with the Audi e-tron, Tesla Model Y, and the BMW iX. The Lyriq follows the interior design started in the Escalade with a large, curved digital instrument touchscreen panel. Climate controls and the steering wheel will look familiar to owners of current Cadillacs (Figures 8.15 and 8.16). The interior looks and feels high-end with stainless steel and wood trim. The Lyriq is a completely new design that

 FIGURE 8.15    123

Reprinted with permission © General Motors.

Cadillac

 FIGURE 8.16   

utilizes GM’s scalable battery architecture. Like other EV designs, it has a low center of gravity and a more spacious cabin. Cadillac plans to offer both a single-motor rear-wheel model and a dual-motor AWD model (Table 8.8). TABLE 8.8 Cadillac Lyriq. Starting price (MSRP) Range (miles)

$59,990 300

Availability Vehicle class NHTSA safety rating (5-star) NCAP safety rating (5-star) 0 to 60 (sec) Battery (kWh) Length (in.)

Late 2022 Sedan NR NR 4.3 100.0 196.7

Drive (FWD, RWD, AWD)

RWD, AWD

124

Chevrolet Chevrolet is a division of General Motors. It is named after a Swiss man, Louis Chevrolet. In 1911, Chevrolet teamed up with William “Billy” Durant, the founder of General Motors, to found the “Chevrolet Motor Car Company.” Due to differences in product strategies, Chevrolet left the company in 1913 to pursue other interests, including starting an aircraft company called the “Chevrolet Air Car Company.” Chevrolet’s first EV was the Bolt which started production in 2016. All indications point to the Bolt’s end of life, including a January 2022 GM announcement that the Bolt’s factory will become an electric truck plant, with no public plans announced to manufacture the Bolt elsewhere. That said, Chevy has announced plans for three new EV models expected in 2024, including the Blazer EV, Equinox EV, and the Silverado EV. All are expected to use GM’s new Ultium battery system. .

Chevrolet Blazer EV In March 2022, Chevrolet announced that the battery electric version of its Blazer should start shipping in the spring of 2023. Also of note, the Blazer will be available in an “SS” version. Debuting in 1961, the famous SS or “Super Sport” is a performance option package offered by Chevrolet on a limited number of vehicles. Along with the Equinox EV, the Blazer EV is positioned as the first of an affordable line of EVs (Figures 8.17 and 8.18 and Table 8.9).

125

Reprinted with permission © General Motors.

Reprinted with permission © General Motors.

Chevrolet

 FIGURE 8.17   

 FIGURE 8.18   

126

Chevrolet TABLE 8.9 Chevrolet Blazer EV. Starting price (MSRP) Range (miles)

$35,000 300-350

Availability Vehicle class NHTSA safety rating (5-star) NCAP safety rating (5-star) 0 to 60 (sec) Battery (kWh) Length (in.)

Spring 2023 Midsize SUV NR NR 3.8 100 191.4

Drive (FWD, RWD, AWD)

AWD

127

Chevrolet Chevrolet Equinox EV

Reprinted with permission © General Motors.

The Chevrolet Equinox EV is an all-new crossover SUV positioned to compete with the Mustang Mach-E, Tesla Model Y, Volkswagen ID.4, Nissan Ariya, and Hyundai Ioniq 5. From what has been released so far, the Equinox EV has a passenger space similar to the current gas-powered Equinox. It looks like the cabin will be a traditional five-passenger SUV with design cues shared with the Silverado EV pickup truck including the curved digital dashboard. It is likely that dual-motor AWD will be an option (Figures 8.19 and 8.20 and Table 8.10).

 FIGURE 8.19   

128

Reprinted with permission © General Motors.

Chevrolet

 FIGURE 8.20   

TABLE 8.10 Chevrolet Equinox EV. Starting price (MSRP) Range (miles) Availability Vehicle class NHTSA safety rating (5-star) NCAP safety rating (5-star) 0 to 60 (sec) Battery (kWh) Length (in.) Drive (FWD, RWD, AWD)

$30,000 300 Late 2023 Compact SUV NR NR 3.8 50–200 190.4 FWD, AWD

129

Chevrolet Chevrolet Silverado EV

Reprinted with permission © General Motors.

The Silverado EV is Chevy’s offering to the lucrative pickup truck market (Figures 8.21, 8.22 and Table 8.11). Its traditional-looking design with cues taken from its gas-powered counterpart should be appealing to the vocational market. The Silverado is positioned to compete with the Ford F-150 Lightning, Rivian R1T, and Tesla Cybertruck. When it starts shipping in the spring of 2023, it is expected to debut in the Work Truck (WT) trim package. This is a utilitarian trim package targeted at fleets and is expected to include about 400 miles of range, a 350 kW fast charging system, and an 8,000 lb towing capacity. It will have a dual-motor drivetrain that delivers standard AWD. A premium rally sport truck (RST) model is expected for the general public. This version should have 10,000 lb of towing capacity and about 665 hp. We can expect the RST to have some cool features such as Super Cruise, a “hands-off” cruise control system, and adaptive air suspension that can raise/lower the vehicle by 2 in.

 FIGURE 8.21   

130

Reprinted with permission © General Motors.

Chevrolet

 FIGURE 8.22   

TABLE 8.11 Chevrolet Silverado EV. Starting price (MSRP) Range (miles)

$30,000 400

Availability Vehicle class NHTSA safety rating (5-star) NCAP safety rating (5-star) 0 to 60 (sec) Battery (kWh) Length (in.)

Late 2023 Pickup truck NR NR