Why we are asking this now?
After years of research and hard work, the Electronic Vehicles have finally arrived in market in mass numbers and more and more people are welcoming the change. There is a huge benefit in driving an EV, most importantly, the exemption from using gas, ever. On the flip side, there are problems which bug the buyers of these EVs and sometimes keep them from considering an eco friendly car altogether. The most important of these considerations is the availability of chargers outside the home. The problem doesn’t end here, if we somehow make chargers available at every nook and cranny, these chargers are different for every EV, just like the chargers of different cell phones.
Is it really that serious?
The seriousness of not having a universal charger could be understood if you can imagine an out of charge car pulling up to a charging station just to know that the charger isn’t compatible with it. Apart from this tough situation, the multiple charging stations are very expensive and thus lesser in numbers, which again makes owning an EV a problem.
What others are saying:
As the consumer market of the electronic vehicles is increasing there is a need to provide simplistic and fuss free charging options to the customers. Right now, as the situations are, there is a lot of discord between government policies and agreement between companies in the Europe, which is creating a sort of confusion amongst the buyers. The situation is somewhat better in the US where the SAE International, a professional organization, has approved the J 1772 standard, which addresses these problems.
The developments:
1. EV manufacturers, agree to build a universal charging system
The big companies out there are aware of the problems that are arising with the charging and have come up with an agreement to use one charging system that meets the international standards, is easy to install and makes things a lot more easier for the car owners. Companies like, Audi, BMW, Daimler, Ford, General Motors, Porsche and Volkswagen have concluded that having different chargers makes the road to their customers difficult and thus have worked together and come up with a single fast charging charger.
2. Development of universal charger for EVs
In the light of problems being faced by the car owners to get their car charged, all the big companies have agreed that all the upcoming Ev’s will have the same charging system, called the combined charging system. This means that all vehicles can be charged at the stations. These chargers are also backward compatible.
3. Fifty EV charging stations are on the way
The Santa Barbara county in the US has been seeing some changes which can be a forecast to the changes we might see globally. The county has been chosen by the Couloumb Technologies, a leading provider of electric charging stations for the EV’s, to install 50 universal charging stations. This big step means that the EV’s are increasing in the market and with fully electronic cars like the Nissan Leaf, people want a good service too.
The main hurdles:
The biggest hurdle that the market of the Electronic vehicles faces is the availability of universal chargers. If people buy a car, they would want to go places with it, without thinking twice if they might get a charger in the way or not. Many people who otherwise would want to get an EV shirk at such possibility.
The second problem that faces the buyers is the charging time. The current EV’s take up a long time to be fully charged, which is quite hampering in itself.
Other hurdles coming in the way of these green cars include the electricity consumption, whether it’s coming from a renewable source or not, the cost and maintenance of charging stations and cost of buying and running a fully electronic vehicle.
What can be done?
These problems have been addressed to and solutions proposed. There are few things that can be done to increase the market of the EV’s like collaborating with automotive distributors so that even local customers can be reached.
The other thing that can help customers is the availability of smart charging stations that are easily accessible, provide multiple charging (if a universal charger is still not available) and are pocket friendly.
The last thing can be to have various offers to attract customers. Many customers would like to have certain privileges for driving an EV and that they should certainly get. These steps would bring a change in the market and make the future of the EV brighter!
