Most experts agree that people will buy more and more electric cars every year. You can buy a used electric car on the website zcarsales.com. Already, the automotive industry has passed a kind of point of no return, and it has become impossible to abandon the development of electric cars. Computing power will continue to grow, and artificial intelligence will become more and more advanced, which, no doubt, will affect the growth in the number of cars with electric motors in the world.
With a high degree of probability, we can say that a world without cars with internal combustion engines is inevitable: when human civilization completely abandons this technology, it is only a matter of time.
History
Tesla’s first serial and relatively affordable electric car was presented more than 2 years ago. The popularity of electric cars is growing in many countries, however, it is still far from mass exploitation, although the volume of sales is slowly but surely increasing. Sooner or later, cars with electric motors will oust models with internal combustion engines from the market.
History of creation
People have long thought about using electricity as a force capable of driving vehicles. The first electric car in the world appeared before the creation of the internal combustion engine, and this happened in 1841.
58 years later, a 17-seater omnibus was presented in St. Petersburg, equipped with a 4-horsepower electric motor, the power reserve of which was 64 km.
The next milestone in the history of electric vehicles dates back to the early 1930s. In 1931, the ingenious inventor Nikola Tesla, having bought electronic parts in a regular store, assembled a device that, when installed instead of a gasoline engine, could move the car from its place. The power of the unit was 80 liters. with.
Over the next 55 years, the technology remained largely unchanged. In 1996, the first serial electric car rolled off the assembly line, the development of which was carried out by General Motors. However, this did not happen because of the desire of the automaker or the requirements of the market: just in California, where GM cars were sold, a law was passed that toughened the requirements for cars: new cars, according to the authors of the bill, should not have polluted the environment at all. But pretty soon it was canceled, since technically it was not possible to fulfill it at that time. General Motors has been producing electric cars for 7 years, but could not boast of solid sales: during this period of time, just over 1,150 copies of the model were sold, which are still kept in private collections (unsold vehicles were put under pressure).
Today, the leading popularizer of the idea of electric vehicles is Elon Musk, who bought Tesla Motors and began to seriously develop it. The production Tesla Roadster, released in 2008, was on sale for 4 years, but due to the too high cost of $ 109,000, it was only available to very wealthy people. In 2012, the more affordable Model S car came out, which subsequently underwent two modernizations and was favorably received by both experts and ordinary car enthusiasts.
2015 was marked by the release of the Model X: the crossover was distinguished by a large power reserve (from 354 to 539 kilometers, depending on the modification and other parameters), excellent dynamics (up to a hundred, the model can accelerate in 3.2 seconds), as well as many unusual functions, previously not used by other manufacturers (for example, interior lighting in time with the sounding music, etc.).
How modern electric vehicles work
An electric car, unlike a car with a traditional internal combustion engine, does not need a complex motor with a considerable number of drawbacks (various problems during operation, complex repairs, noise during operation, etc.). The electric motor is completely silent and undemanding to fuel, since electricity is the same all over the world.
Another plus of electric vehicles is the absence of a gearbox, which greatly simplifies both operation and maintenance. Formally, there is a box, but all the power is supplied to the wheels at once, so people in the cabin do not feel the jerks that are inevitable when changing gears.
A prerequisite for the operation of such a car is electricity, the supply of which is stored in the battery. Most companies place it under the bottom, which allows, firstly, to make the cabin more spacious, and secondly, to improve handling.
Recently, global manufacturers have come to the conclusion that it is necessary to use a recuperation system, which generates energy and then stores it in cases when the car is moving by inertia, as a result of which the range increases (the same technology slows down the movement of the vehicle after the driver removes his foot from the gas pedal).
Electric vehicle sales worldwide
The fact that the future belongs to electric cars becomes obvious to all leading manufacturers in a hurry to get involved in the development and manufacturing process, until the gap from competitors becomes too large: today there are both budget models (KIA Soul EV) and brands related to to the premium segment (Audi E-Tron).
Tesla, despite actually producing the first electric car in demand, is struggling financially, a fact that has spurred other automakers on. As a result, over the past year, the number of full-fledged models, not concepts, has increased several times. Among the new market players there are both eminent companies with a well-known name like BMW, as well as numerous little-known Chinese developers.
In the development of electric cars, the following trends are currently observed:
1. Introduction of single-pedal control. The pioneer in this area was Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. with the Leaf model. The idea stuck, and an increasing number of companies are introducing technology in which braking will be carried out using a recuperation system.
2. Increasing the intelligence of electric vehicles (unmanned electric vehicles appear that do not need human actions).
3. Development by each company of its own unique platform, thanks to which the buyer gets the opportunity to become the owner of something truly new and unique.
In addition to fully electric cars, hybrids are in demand, that is, models that have both an electric motor and an internal combustion engine at the same time.
There are two types of hybrids:
1. without charging connector. These include the first generation Toyota Prius and some other early hybrid cars. The battery is charged in them exclusively due to the work of the recuperative system;
2. with a connector for charging the battery. There are an absolute majority of such hybrids on the market now. They are able to connect to external energy sources, which greatly simplifies the process of recharging the charge.
Despite the presence of an electric motor, hybrids are able to drive no more than 50 km on electricity alone. If the internal combustion engine is involved, the power reserve increases to several hundred kilometers.
Cons of electric vehicles
Electric cars are a developing type of transport, so they are not without drawbacks.
The main problem with electric vehicles slowing down their proliferation is the high cost. When a way is found to establish mass production of batteries, the cost will decrease, but so far the price factor stops many buyers who would not mind abandoning a car with an internal combustion engine.
Another significant disadvantage is the undeveloped infrastructure. If you can go to almost anywhere in the world in a regular car, then a long trip in an electric car becomes problematic. The number of charging stations is too small even in European countries. Today, the growth in sales of electric cars significantly outstrips the growth in the number of charging stations. The problem has yet another solution: it is important not only to develop a network of gas stations, but also to work on increasing the capacity of batteries, which will allow to cover a greater distance without the need for recharging.
From time to time, even fans of electric vehicles have doubts about their environmental safety. The very use of electricity is absolutely harmless, but when it is generated, a huge amount of harmful substances is emitted into the atmosphere. Humanity has yet to find an opportunity to abandon the use of thermal power plants and switch to solar and wind energy.