Electric cars between the rise of insurance and misinformation
An Actros electric truck at a transport exhibition in Hanover, Germany (Reuters)
The media and some left-wing research centers resort to mentioning false or erroneous data, or they use correct data, but present them in a way that suggests the opposite of their truth.
They encouraged electric cars because they are environmentally friendly and stop using oil. They encouraged electric cars because they believed that battery costs would continue to drop so that luxury electric cars would become affordable for everyone. But there were three developments that illustrate the limited growth of electric cars despite huge government subsidies.
First, the prices of electric cars have increased dramatically in the last two years, with some of them rising by 40 percent, due to the high costs, especially the batteries and metals needed for these batteries. Here, caution must be exercised when dealing with data showing the average prices of a group of electric cars, because they include cars that are "motorcycles" in the shape of a car.
Secondly, because owners of electric cars do not pay taxes like regular car owners on gasoline and diesel, which are used to repair roads and bridges, as some US states and states have raised annual registration fees for these electric cars.
Thirdly, and most importantly, with the spread of electric cars, accidents have increased, and repairs can only be done in the car factories themselves, and their costs are very high, which forced insurance companies to raise insurance costs for electric cars, as a report was issued in Britain by the “Thatcam” company (which is A research company backed by insurance companies) in partnership with a government body to encourage innovation called "Innovate UK", said that there are several obstacles to the adoption of electric cars on a large scale, not only in Britain, but in European countries and the United States as well. The report stated that at a time when electric car companies focused on improving the distance that the car could travel until the battery was charged again, the biggest problem was the high costs of repair and high insurance costs. Of course, the main problem is battery costs. The cost of replacing a Jaguar Up-Pace car battery is $89,100, or the equivalent of €70,000 - which means insurance costs are so high that only the rich can afford.
The report indicates that the average cost of repairing an electric car is 25.5 percent higher than that of a petrol or diesel car, and it takes 14 percent longer. The report focused on the fact that the increased weight of the electric car compared to its counterparts that run on gasoline or diesel means that the results of accidents have a greater impact on the car, and thus increase the possibility of a breakdown or malfunction in the battery.
And in a report by the "Nerd Wallet" website that reviewed the average insurance costs in the United States, the data showed that among the 25 most common cars in the United States, the highest insurance cost is on the Tesla Model Y, and this cost is about 38 percent higher than the highest insurance cost among other cars. percent.
Looking at the most luxurious cars, the cost of insuring a Tesla Model S is 36 percent higher than the cost of insuring an M car, and the cost of insuring an electric Porsche Taycan is more than 60 percent higher.
In conclusion, the issue of insurance is still in its infancy, and insurance costs are expected to rise significantly in the coming years. Although the battery recycling technology is still in its infancy, there is great concern that the spread and expansion of this technology will lead to a significant increase in theft of electric cars, and this will also raise insurance costs.
The media and some left-wing research centers resort to false or erroneous statements, or use correct statements, but present them in a way that suggests the opposite of their truth. In recent days, some media outlets reported the results of sales of some car companies , and mentioned the sales figures for each type of car in detail, in numbers and percentages. But when she wrote about electric car sales, she mentioned the rates of increase and ignored the numbers completely, in an attempt to convince the reader that there is a huge spread of electric cars. If car sales were 300,000 cars and increased by 30,000, the increase is 10 percent. But if electric car sales are 1,000 and rise to 2,000, the increase is 100 percent.
The media focused on the 100 percent increase, ignoring that it was only 1,000 cars, while the increase in other cars was 30,000.
This media tries to show that electric cars are environmentally friendly, but they intentionally ignore a lot of information. In a study by Volkswagen, in which it compared the carbon emissions of a diesel Golf car compared to an electric Golf car, it concluded that the environmental benefits of an electric Golf car do not appear until after it has driven about 129,000 kilometers. This is not from an oil company or an employee analyst from the oil sector. This is from a car company that decided to switch to electric cars. The strange thing is that this calculation is based on the assumption that all electricity comes from renewable sources. If it comes from coal, the number is much higher.
Volvo did a similar study and concluded that the environmental benefits of a passenger car in European markets do not appear until after 80,000 kilometers. The company stated that carbon savings amount to only 15 percent, after the car runs 193,000 km.
In conclusion, most electric car batteries are designed to serve about 150,000 km. This means that at the time when the environmental savings begin, the life of the car ends and the cycle begins again. Once again the writer is not against electric cars, but against exaggerations. Large Arab cities need electric cars to reduce their pollution levels, regardless of climate change.
Source: websites