“Electric is the future” a term you might be familiar with, which is used quite in our day to day lives. Electric vehicles have accounted for 2.6% of new car sales in the year 2019 which is a 40% increase from the year prior. Tesla, a company widely known for its electric cars holds a whopping 18% market stake in the EV market. There’s no doubt electric vehicle sales are on the rise and are projected to go north in the coming years.
So here the question arises. Is a Tesla really ideal in our daily lives and actually affordable? For argument sake, let’s compare a Lexus ES 300h which comes paired with 245V battery to a Tesla Model X which is one of the brands bigger and more premium alternative. The Tesla Model X backs a range somewhere around the ballpark of 280 miles. On the other hand, the Lexus ES 300h with a full tank of gas boasts a range of close to 900 miles. You could argue that the Tesla is all electric and have a wide network of superchargers (at least in the USA). But, even though their network is superior many a times one has to take a 30 min detour on their trip in order to gain access to one of these chargers. Not everyone lives in a house either and for those living in apartments in busy cities such New York City for instance have a really hard time charging their vehicles. Also, during charging at the superchargers one must also take into account the minimum 30 mins of wait that comes along with it. Even though, Tesla is working on adding faster V3 charging, it is currently not supported on their Model S and Model X vehicles.
The Lexus ES 300h we are comparing on the other hand, can be easily driven close to 900 miles without having ‘range anxiety’. Fuel even though not as cheap as electricity, is a much more readily available commodity in this case and can be easily accessed not just in the USA but in third world countries too for that matter where your ‘superchargers’ fail to exist. Governments in many countries are no longer offering heavy discounts on EV’s either.
So to put it into perspective. Are you really better off buying an electric vehicle or a hybrid? It’s safe to say the electric vehicle infrastructure is growing at an extremely rapid pace and also making its way to many of the third world nations too. But, at the same time, even in developed countries it can sometimes be impractical or inconvenient to own an electric vehicle let alone having it as your only car. So, even though it is a greener alternative the technology is still in its developing stage even though it most certainly is the future. So, right now you might just be better of purchasing a hybrid vehicle with fantastic gas mileage which may in some cases, save you the hassle of recharging all together until the Electric Vehicle technology has fully developed as it shall in the coming years.
Carmaster weekly 