Author: Vanessa Salazar
Electric vehicles, vehicles defined as being powered by onboard batteries that are charged by external sources of electricity have risen in popularity in recent years. In 2021 alone electric car sales doubled from 2.2 million to 6.6 million representing 9% of the global car market (International Energy Agency, 2022). The exponential growth in sales is a result of advancements in technology and increased demand for sustainable transportation. Electric vehicles are becoming economically competitive in the car market while enjoying a greater driving experience. Gas stations throughout the world have begun accommodating this trend with the widespread addition of electric charging to their services. This has made it more accessible and advantageous to own an electric vehicle.
To start off, electric vehicles are known for being a more clean alternative to gasoline-powered transportation. The transportation sector currently accounts for 28% of total carbon dioxide emissions. When charged with clean electricity electric vehicles can reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This however is dependent on the origins of the electricity used to power the car. When utilizing energy for a renewable plant electric vehicles can be up to 70% more efficient than traditional transportation. This means that for electric vehicles to be a viable method of sustainable transportation there needs to be a greater push for renewable energy sources like wind and solar. Evenso, different initiatives like tax incentives, purchase aids, free public parking, and free use of motorways have been introduced as promotions for electric vehicles.
The rise of electric vehicles has led to a major question: what is the future of gasoline vehicles? In general, governments have called for an end to fossil fuel cars in the upcoming years. The European Union and USA have made plans to end the sale of gas-powered vehicles by 2035. Then at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference “more than 100 national governments, cities, states, and major car companies signed the Glasgow Declaration on Zero-Emission Cars and Vans to end the sale of internal combustion engines by 2035 in leading markets, and by 2040 worldwide” (United Nations, 2021). 13 nations also promised to end the sale of fossil fuel-dependent heavy-duty vehicles by 2040. This shows a great shift not only towards electric vehicles but directly away from gasoline.
So what will be left of gas vehicles? These bans would only limit the purchase and creation of new gasoline cars not preexisting. So, current gas-car owners would not be affected by the restrictions until seeking to purpose a new car. Popular car brands are already experimenting with electrical cars and even signing promises of their own to eliminate gasoline cars. In addition, it is expected that in the next few years with the addition of new market models electrical vehicles will further decrease costs, making them the initial choice when car shopping. Thus, in the foreseeable future, the car market will predominantly consist of electric vehicles.
References:
United Nations (2021, November 15) COP26: A snapshot of the agreement. United Nations Western Europe https://unric.org/en/cop26-a-snapshot-of-the-agreement/
International Energy Agency (2022, January 30) Electric cars fend off supply challenges to more than double global sales https://www.iea.org/commentaries/electric-cars-fend-off-supply-challenges-to-more-than-double-global-sales
ShieldSquare Captcha. Iopscience.iop.org. (2022). Retrieved 18 April 2022, from https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2516-1083/abe0ad.