Australian-Aborigine
Why Won’t Australians Embrace EVs?
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Compared to drivers in the United States, Europe, and China, Australian drivers have been pretty slow to embrace electric and hybrid vehicles. A lot of manufacturers put this down to what they call “range anxiety”, and the low number of charging stations scattered throughout the nation . In a country where a lot of people have to set off on long-distance drives, having your battery die on you in the middle of nowhere isn’t exactly appealing! What’s the Issue? Indigenous-Australians-Rule- China has a wide range of 70 plug-in electric vehicles to choose from, whereas Australia only has a handful that doesn’t show much sign of growing. In European countries such as Norway, tax and rebate incentives for electric vehicles have been growing feverishly, and now almost a quarter of cars on Norway’s roads are EVs. In Australia, on the other hand, only 219 EVs were sold over 2016, out of roughly 1.1million new vehicle sales! Various spokesmen from EV badges such as Nissan have suggested that there are two main issues crippling the Australian EV market. First of all, a lack of government programs aimed at incentivising people into buying these vehicles. Secondly, a lack of publicity for the recharging infrastructure. Hybrids vs Pure Electric Australian-Aborigine-Rules-Elder-Closeup A lot of people who haven’t been paying attention to the growing EV niche may be wondering what the difference is between a PHEV (Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles) and a BEV (Battery Electric Vehicles). Simply put, the first one has both an internal combustion engine, along with an electric engine, which needs to be recharged by plugging it into a power source. The latter is purely electric, and relies on charging points instead of petrol stations to keep trundling on. You can read more about the mechanics behind hybrid cars at howstuffworks.com . So, what does this mean in terms of actually owning one of these vehicles?… Driving a PHEV and a BEV Australian-Aborigine-Flag When you stack up the pros and cons in a PHEV and BEV, it’s clear that the only thing that’s really holding back the popularity of purely electric vehicles is the lack of charging points in countries like Australia. PHEVs have a much longer driving range than purely electric cars. However, if they’re used in electric-only mode by drivers looking to save some money and the environment, they’ll be weighed down by their conventional engine. Another big disadvantage is the internal combustion engine itself. Hybrid drivers need to cover all the conventional insurance costs, and will need to take their car to conventional auto shops like gcsuspension.com.au, just like any other car. The emissions and the noise aren’t totally ditched, but the assurance that your car won’t die in the middle of a drive is enough for many Australians! The final nail in the coffin is that the manufacturer’s driving ranges aren’t always that accurate, and can be shortened significantly by driving up steep inclines, having a lot of luggage and passengers, and even strong headwinds! While Europe and North America invite EVs with open arms, their future down under continues to look uncertain.  Australian-Aborigine
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