Transition to Electric Vehicles (EVs)

What Do We Need To Know

The world of automotive is in a very exciting transition and the shift can be felt across the entire industry. The Electric Vehicle is coming back and this time it is here to stay. Unlike with the first EVs that were in the market from the 1890s to the early 1900’s, the EVs of today are blazing ahead to make their mark in the continuous evolution of the automotive industry.

Next year, the year of 2020, is when the EV will truly become main stream. Every major automotive brand is changing their product mix and is ready to launch their own versions of Electric Vehicles. TESLA is not alone anymore: From VW Group, BMW, Daimler and all major OEMs across continent Europe to Ford and to GM in the United States, next year we will see a surge in EVs. By 2025 more than 350 new EV models would have made their debut. This surge has been brought on not only by demand from customers, but also by policy changes from global governments to address the climate change crisis. Although we will start seeing more and more people buying EVs, will the transition be smooth?

VANGEST is already adapting to the shift. We are adding more charging stations on our complex. Eventually, there will be more EVs than combustible engine cars and one needs to have the proper infrastructure to support this. While VANGEST might be ready to accommodate more of our employees driving EVs, will governments be ready with the proper infrastructure throughout each country?

The Proper Infrastructure for Electric Vehicles

We know that the EV will soon take over the combustion engine due to several factors like environmental concerns and fluctuating oil prices. There are many more pros to having an EV versus the cons. But as the numbers of EV owners will quickly grow, there is concern that the infrastructure to optimally support the shift to EVs may not be fully implemented at the rate of EV market growth.

One of the main bottlenecks of creating a positive EV market, is that customers may still have the perception that the EVs do not give enough driving range. And this relates to another concern if there will be enough charging stations. And how should these charging stations be structured when it comes to high concentrated high-rise living compared to suburban house dwelling environments.

There will most likely be three categories for charging: Home, Work and Public. In EU countries, home chargers would be more common compared to Asian countries such as China, where public charging would be more relevant considering high concentration of residents and fewer single-family homes.

Vehicle to Grid Energy

In 2018 there was a global production of 2 million EVs. And by 2030 there will most likely be 20 million EVs in production. With such rapid growth, where will all the energy come from to keep these electric vehicles going? As the transition to EVs goes forth, certain countries such as the UK are going for a Vehicle to Grid system. An EV may not use all its energy and might even have energy surplus while it is parked. This surplus would go back into the grid and would make energy distribution more streamlined. Each EV owner can be an energy supplier to the national grid and streamline energy distribution.

There is No Doubt

There is no doubt that the EV is going to change our lives. Currently, our cars contribute to global warming and pollution. But when EVs take over combustible engine vehicles, personal transportation will make a significantly less impact on global warming and pollution.

We see the future and it looks cleaner and brighter.

We are in an exciting time as the whole automotive industry is at the pinnacle of the shift and in 20 years, we will see the automotive industry transformed for a majority Electric Vehicle market.