A new trend in mobility
Electric vehicles have brought a new way of getting around, and with them a number of misconceptions. We set out to bust some of the most common myths for you, so you can make informed decisions:
Electric vehicles are uneconomical
Fact: Electric vehicles are cheaper once fuel and maintenance costs are taken into account.
Every new technology follows an economic path where the initial price is higher. It peaks and then falls as people adopt the technology widely. Electric vehicles are no different, and their higher price points are shifting quickly as costs come down. In Costa Rica, the Electric Transportation Incentives and Promotion Law (Law 9518) also offers benefits such as tax exemptions that help with the upfront cost.
It takes a long time to charge
Fact: Cars spend more than 90% of their time parked. You can plug your car in during that downtime at home to charge it. If you need to charge quickly on the road, fast chargers are coming onto the market. With these chargers, some electric vehicles can charge from 20% to 80% in about half an hour.
An electric vehicle's charging time depends on the type of charger used. In general, electric cars available today can charge from 0% to 80% in about 1 to 5 hours with slow or moderate chargers, while fast chargers can do it in under 1 hour. Fast chargers are mostly used by cars with larger batteries.
Electric vehicle batteries only last a few years
Fact: Electric car batteries last many years, and many will outlive the vehicle itself as energy storage.
The fear of short battery life comes from comparing them with our smartphone batteries. The batteries used in electric cars are superior and designed for a long service life. Many manufacturers offer 5- to 8-year battery warranties.
An electric vehicle's emissions impact is higher than a gasoline vehicle's
Fact: Electric cars usually have a smaller carbon footprint than gasoline and diesel vehicles, even when you account for the electricity used to charge them and the carbon footprint of battery manufacturing.
Electric cars can convert 59% to 62% of the grid's electrical energy into power at the wheels. Conventional gasoline cars can only convert 17% to 21% of the energy stored in gasoline into power at the wheels.
While you could argue that the electricity used by electric vehicles also leads to carbon pollution, the amount varies directly with how local power is generated. In Costa Rica, more than 90% of electricity comes from renewable sources such as hydro, wind and geothermal, so charging an electric car here produces very few emissions.
Studies in Europe have shown that gasoline or diesel vehicles emit 3 times more carbon dioxide than an equivalent electric vehicle, even accounting for the carbon footprint of charging.
Electric vehicles have very low range
Fact: An electric vehicle's range is enough for the average driver's typical daily mileage.
It's natural for drivers to worry about being stranded with a dead battery miles from a charging station, but as electric vehicles become more common, their range keeps growing. Electric vehicles available today can easily cover the average daily mileage of drivers in Latin America.
Many current electric cars exceed 300 km per charge, and Costa Rica's charging network keeps growing, which makes trips between cities easier.