Electric car

What exactly is an electric car?

Low-consumption and low-noise, environmentally friendly and innovative: the number of electric vehicles in Switzerland, but also the number of electric vehicles worldwide, is constantly increasing! We provide information about the advantages and disadvantages of electric cars, how they operate and their consumption. We also provide answers to questions that interested parties ask themselves before purchasing an e-car, such as manufacturers and prices.

Electric cars: definition and functionality

An electric car is a battery-electric vehicle. AElectric motor drives the wheels. A rechargeable onebattery stores the energy required for this. There are two types of electrically powered cars: A hybrid combines a combustion engine and an electric motor (i.e. has two engines and an additional gasoline tank), and a purely electric car (BEV) gets its energy exclusively from electricity.

As of October 2021, the number of registered e-cars was 517,000 and the trend is rising. By 2030 there should be seven to ten millionElectric vehicles be permitted. The federal government is promoting the purchase of e-cars and the development of a nationwide systemCharging infrastructure.

Interesting facts about the history of electric cars

Even though electric cars represent innovation in the field of mobility: their history goes back much further than one might assume! The first electric vehicle was developed in Aberdeen, Scotland, in the middle of the 19th century. Its inventor, Robert Anderson, was way ahead of his time, as cars with classic combustion engines populated the streets from the end of the 19th century. The first practical motor vehicle, developed by Carl Benz, was not registered for patent until 1886.

Michael Faraday laid the foundation for electric propulsion in 1821 by proving that continuous rotation could be generated through electromagnetism. In the early days of motor vehicles, electric-powered cars were far ahead of their steam-powered competitors and played an important role in mobility, particularly in urban traffic, until the first decade of the 20th century.

In 1881, Gustave Trouvé presented the first electric vehicle in history in Paris. The flake electric car was the first electric car in the world. The years between 1896 and 1912 are considered to be the first heyday of the electric car, when 34,000 electric cars were already registered in the USA.

The first known electric car from Germany was the Flacken electric car, which was developed in 1888 by the A. Flacken machine factory in Coburg. From around 1910, electric cars were increasingly replaced by vehicles with internal combustion engines. The reasons for this were the relatively lower range of e-cars and the increasing supply of cheap oil for the production of carburetor fuels.

For almost a century, electrically powered cars had a niche existence. It was only from the end of the 1990s that research into new battery technologies and drive options began to increase again. The reasons for this are, on the one hand, increasing air pollution and the growing awareness of the need for itclimate protection, on the other hand, in the finite nature of the resources needed to produce fuel for internal combustion engines.

In recent years, questions about the safety of electric cars have repeatedly been raised. In the meantime, electric car manufacturers have made significant improvements in the construction of electric vehicles. Electric cars are no more unsafe than conventional combustion engine vehicles.

Consumption & Efficiency of electric cars

The efficiency describes the ratio of the energy supplied to the useful energy. In the case of electric cars, this is the relationship between the energy provided by the battery and the corresponding performance of the vehicle.

In general, e-cars are characterized by low energy consumption in relation to high efficiency. This is up to 90% for e-cars and only around 40% for combustion engines.
Refueling an electric motor costs only a fraction of what it costs to fill up a tank of petrol or diesel for a comparable amount of time. Combined with your own wallbox and a photovoltaic system on your roof at home, electricity costs drop to a fraction and are also includedGreen electricity particularly environmentally friendly.
The high purchase price of e-cars is offset by the significantly cheaper costs for maintenance and operation. ThroughRecuperation Energy is also recovered free of charge when braking.
In addition, electric cars are significantly less wear-and-tear and therefore save maintenance and service costs.

How long is the range of electric cars?

The range of an electric car, i.e. H. The distance the car can travel on one battery charge depends on various factors, including:

Travel speed
Outside temperature
Driving style
Route condition
any additional electricity consumers such as heating or air conditioning

The manufacturer's information represents the optimal range of electric cars, which is usually only achieved under laboratory conditions.

The average range of an electric car starts at around 250 km. According to the WLTP standard, many of the e-cars can now travel well over 500 km on one battery charge.

Studies show that the majority of drivers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland travel around 30 to 50 km by car every day. Only 4-5% of the population drives more than 160 km per day. Therefore, the “range fear” that sometimes prevails in this country is unfounded. Ultimately, drivers initially need to get used to planning and carrying out the charging process for their own electric car instead of going to a petrol station to fill up with petrol or diesel.

The special thing about e-cars: the frunk

Anyone who knows the old VW Beetle will be familiar with the small trunk under the hood. The made-up word Frunk combines “front” and “trunk” – i.e. “front” and “trunk” – and means exactly that: a trunk under the front hood, where the combustion engine is located in the vast majority of conventional cars. Since the engine in an electric car requires significantly less space than a comparable combustion engine, new space potential is created. Some e-car manufacturers use this option to install a frunk. Here is e.g. B. the ideal storage place for the charging cable, and also for luggage on longer vacation trips.

Buying an electric car: Overview of manufacturers, prices and costs

As climate awareness grows, more and more drivers are considering buying an electric car. According to surveys, one in three car owners in Europe is now ready to switch to an electric car. The prices for electric cars are still slightly above the level of cars with combustion engines. As environmentally friendly transportation becomes more attractive, the demand for battery-powered vehicles will increase, which will reduce the price of electric cars in the long term. While manufacturers such as Tesla, Porsche and Audi initially equipped their high-priced vehicles as electric cars, today we can find electric cars in all price segments on the market in Switzerland.

The expansion of theCharging infrastructure in Europe will also lead to an acceleration in the acceptance of e-cars. By operating the e-cars with sustainable electricity, the image of the e-cars is very positive and cool.

Currently a little more expensive to purchase, but already cheaper to use than petrol or diesel vehicles: e-The future belongs to cars. Due to the falling prices for the production of batteries, electromobility will also be worthwhile for the general public in the future.

The proportion of the currently high battery costs in the total costs of an electric car is currently falling significantly due to the economies of scale in battery production.
Unlike cars with combustion engines, there are hardly any wear parts in electric cars - there are no costs for changing oil, filters or spark plugs. The brake pads wear much more slowly. One is recommended once a yearinspection in a specialist workshop. The maintenance costs at eHowever, cars cost around a third less than petrol or diesel vehicles.
A cost factor that becomes important sooner or later is the battery. Many manufacturers such as BMW or Toyota currently expect a battery life of 10 to 15 years with an annual mileage of around 20,000 km.
The insurance costs for electric cars are staggeredn by regional classes, no claims and other individual characteristics. Some insurers now offer special tariffs for e-car policies. In recent years, practice has shown that drivers of e-cars are more careful and travel more slowly and therefore cause fewer accidents.
The cheapest way to charge electric vehicles is usually at your home socket or wallbox. If the consumption is known, calculating the electricity costs per 100 km is easy: For example, the consumption of the Nissan Leaf is around 15kWh per 100 km.