Electric vehicle technology is new as compared to gas vehicles. Traditional gas engines essentially work on the same principle as it did decades ago, whereas electric cars use state of the art motors. Electric cars are of two types, one is an all-electric vehicle also called AEV, another one is plug-in hybrid electric vehicle also known as PHEV. People’s attitudes toward vehicle ownership are changing fast. Emission, efficiency, carbon footprint and energy conservation are becoming key factors in choosing a car.
Car Options
Conventional gasoline cars have a lot of options to choose from. Every manufacturer produces multiple models, with different features and characteristics. All-electric cars, being a newer technology, had fewer options until now, but hybrid electric cars are available in more variety. Currently, only about 1% of cars are electric but gas car manufacturers are rapidly turning towards electric cars.
Car Range
Gas cars can travel up to 300 miles when their fuel tanks are filled up. Gas stations are everywhere so refilling is very easy in case the car runs out of fuel. On the other hand, few electric car models have a range similar to gas cars but most electric cars are still catching up. Electric charging stations are not as common but their number is increasing rapidly. Still, most electric cars have sufficient range to effectively fulfill the needs of the average user who only use their cars to travels short distances.
Car Refill and Recharge
Gasoline cars are less efficient than electric cars, gas cars have efficiency up to 20% while electric car’s efficiency can be as high as 70%. Fuel prices for gas cars are higher and they tend to fluctuate a lot whereas electricity prices are relatively constant making it easier to estimate future fuel costs. Gas cars are fueled up on filling stations while electric cars can be recharged at home as well as EV charging stations. Average electric car user does not need more frequent recharges because modern electric cars have lithium-ion batteries, which store sufficient power and require little to no maintenance.
Maintenance
For Average users, maintenance costs for their cars are an important factor after the initial buying costs. Maintenance costs for gas vehicles are way higher than electric cars. During their entire lifespan, electric cars tend to be relatively cost-effective to maintain than gas cars because electric cars mainly need to replace batteries whereas gas cars have components that are required to be replaced every so often. The electric cars have only one moving part which is the motor, however, the gas cars have a greater number of moving parts. Gas cars need to change oil and filters regularly.
Services
Services for gas cars are easily available almost everywhere and technicians are very experienced in figuring out problems with gas vehicles. However, for electric cars, it is relatively difficult to find services and skilled technicians. There are skilled EV technicians in the cities but it is difficult to find them in faraway remote areas. Electric car manufacturers are developing training facilities to provide extensive training to technicians.
