Thinking of buying an electric car? In this post, we share things you need to know about EVs.
Electric vehicle options are gaining in popularity worldwide, but there’s a lot that you need to consider. Including battery range, charging, specs measured in kWh, and other things that gas car buyers don’t have to worry about.
Read on this post for some valuable information to help you to buy an electric car. We list the seven most essential things for you to consider.
1. How much battery range do you need?
The Nissan Leaf can top up to 240 km of range, while the Tesla Model S Plaid can go nearly 644 km. Since the battery is one of the most expensive parts of an electric car, you are going to pay more if you go with a bigger battery that is able to travel long distances. Even having a longer battery range can be useful while you make longer trips, you may not need to choose a long-range Tesla Model S Plaid with 644 km if you only do short trips across the town.
Knowing what range you need is one of the most important factors for choosing the right EV for you. However, keep in mind that the advertised figure of range specs is the best possible outcome. The battery range of an EV can be impacted by the way you drive. For example, if you drive your EV at faster speeds, you will deplete your battery reserves just as you need more fuel when you drive a gas car at faster speeds.
2. Where to charge your EV?
An electric vehicle can be recharged at home or use EV public charging stations. Although a home charge is not always necessary, it can make your life easier. The national average of installing a home car charger costs between $1,200 to $2,500 CAD. Depending on where you live, there are also incentives on the installation of a charging station in some provinces in Canada. Even more and more public chargers are available, but you need to find the one with the right plug that’s available in your location. While charging at home is more convenient, you pay the power company directly and not pass through the charging company that will make a profit on power.
3. Does an EV cost less than a gas vehicle?
Whether we like it or not, the listing price for an EV can be higher than a gasoline vehicle of the same size. Even when you factor in the government incentives, EVs are still more expensive to purchase than their gas counterparts. However, while you may spend more initially to buy an electric car, the amount of money you’ll have to put into your EV over its lifetime will be less than that of a gasoline car.
4. EV ownership cost
Although electric cars may cost more upfront, they can be more cost-efficient to operate.
The most obvious benefit of buying an electric car is the saving on fuel. In general, electricity is cheaper than gas no matter where you plug in across the country. So it will eventually drive down the overall price of a new electric car. In addition to the savings you’ll save from gas expenditures, you’ll also benefit from the savings in maintenance costs and even in insurance costs. Since electric cars have fewer moving parts and battery EVs have no gasoline engine, so no need for oil changes and less maintenance is required.
5. EV Purchase incentives in Canada
In Canada, the federal government offers incentives to individuals and businesses to purchase or lease electric vehicles. The Government of Canada offers point-of-sale incentives of $2,500 to $5,000 for consumers who buy or lease an EV. Depending on where you live, some provinces also offer their own incentives that apply to the purchase or lease of eligible vehicles, plus incentives on the purchase and installation of a charging station.
6. Know the types of electric vehicles
An electric vehicle works depending on its type. EV is the general term for an electric vehicle, the familiar terms of today’s EVs are BEV, HEV, PHEV, and FCEV. Different types of electric cars changed and are continuously developed to give users and potential users choices.
Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV): A Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV), also called All-Electric Vehicle (AEV), uses only electric motors or motors for propulsion. Electricity is charged by plugging into the electricity grid and then can be stored in a large battery pack, which provides power to one or more electric motors to run the electric car. BEVs produce no tailpipe emissions since they don’t have a traditional internal combustion engine and use no gasoline.
Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV): A HEV is called a standard hybrid or parallel hybrid. An HEV has both an internal combustion engine and an electric motor. It runs on an electric motor and an internal combustion engine. The internal combustion engine of an HEV generates energy from fuels, while the motor gets electricity from batteries. The electric motor of an HEV uses energy from a battery, and energy regenerates from braking when slowing the car and charging its battery. HEVs are known for their fuel economy, but it has no charging port that can be recharged from the electricity grid.
Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV): A Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle is as its name suggests, can be plugged into a power outlet or electric vehicle charging station (EVCS) to charge its batteries. A PHEV is a type of hybrid vehicle that has a motor and an internal combustion engine. Therefore, a PHEV also can use a conventional or an alternative fuel to power the internal combustion engine. Some PHEVs can travel 60 kilometers or more on electric power alone.
Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV): Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV), also known as fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) or Zero Emission vehicles. It runs on compressed hydrogen, and the chemical energy of the fuel is converted directly into electric energy.
7. What features do you need to have?
Today’s EVs are packed with many kinds of new tech and features. It means you not only need to figure out what EV is right for you, but also what tech and features are worth paying extra for. For example, adding advanced self-driving features that can steer themselves to a limited degree or change lanes on the highway means you will pay a premium. While you may pay less with a basic level system like cruise control. Just like the full self-driving package from Tesla’s that adds $10,000 to the purchase price for all models, and $200/month subscription for the Model S and Model X drivers would not be affordable for everyone. You need to figure out what tech is useful for you that is actually worth paying an extra.
Switching to an electric vehicle can be beneficial for your finances and the environment. If electricity is the right choice for you right now, that’s great. If not, then there’s no shame, and the most important thing is to buy the right car for you.
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