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Apart from cost and range, one of the other big obstacles for electric vehicles is the lack of available electric charging stations. This is something we run into when testing electric cars, as charging stations are rare or too old to charge modern EVs. The latter is the problem we ran into with the Ford Mustang Mach-E. While most consumers are quick to shy away from EV ownership due to the country’s paucity of EV charging stations, new research looking at how EV owners charge their vehicles suggests that the lack of available chargers should not be a key factor when deciding to buy an EV. .
According to new research from Pecan Street via Canary Media, 70% of charging sessions use less than 10 kWh per plug-in. After that, a large proportion of charging sessions see owners getting less than 5kWh for their electric vehicles. Although electric vehicle owners do not charge their vehicles for a long time, they do charge their vehicles frequently. There could be several reasons why EV owners charge their vehicles this way. The simplest reason is that batteries in electric vehicles have become much more efficient. Another explanation is that owners are overestimating how much range they will need from their EV for daily driving, while the latter suggests a reliance on charging stations at home.
Thanks to updated electric architecture, automakers now have vehicles that can be charged at incredible speeds. The Porsche Taican’s 800-volt architecture allows it to achieve a range of 62 miles in approximately four minutes. The Kia EV6 has a similar 800-volt architecture that allows it to go from 10% to 80% charge in 18 minutes. Car manufacturers are finding ways to reduce charging times with huge leaps in technology. Earlier this October, researchers at Penn State covered a new type of battery design that could be fully charged in just 10 minutes. This type of technology would allow automakers to fit smaller batteries into EVs while removing range concerns from the equation.
At this point, most consumers want to buy an EV with at least 300 miles of range. That figure seems to be the magic number that quells range anxiety without costing a fortune. Automakers have begun fitting EVs with larger batteries and improved battery technology to squeeze more range out of EVs. The Lucid Air offers a range of up to 520 miles, surpassing the previous leader, the Tesla Model S, which offers a range of up to 405 miles. Instead of focusing on increasing range, some believe that improving charging times and charging infrastructure are better options.
Going forward, research shows that an efficient grid will be necessary to increase EV adoption and sustain EV owners’ reliance on home charging. Canari Media calls for grid flexibility to allow owners to charge their electric vehicles when the grid is not loaded and electricity prices are low.
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