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It's no secret that juicing up a battery is more affordable than filling up at the pump. In our testing, a full tank of gas cost upwards of $50, while a couple of hours at a fast-charging point set us back just $1.69 (though that time commitment isn't lost on us). Today's charging infrastructure isn't nearly as robust as the existing network of gas stations. Your options can be further limited, as proprietary charging standards (ahem, Tesla) don't yet accommodate every EV in the United States.
President Joe Biden has set an ambitious goal for electric, hybrid, and fuel-cell vehicles to make up 50 percent of new car sales by 2030. And that's great. However, the number of EVs rolling out of showrooms varies quite a lot across the United States due to uncertainty about range, incentives, purchase price, and infrastructure-all according to a recent Reuters study on EV adoption. As of right now, there are roughly 250 million vehicles registered in the U.S., and less than 1 percent of them are electric.
"Switching from an internal combustion power plant to an all-electric derivative poses a multitude of challenges," says Mercedes Lilienthal, one of the first drivers to complete the famed Rebelle Rally (a 1,400-mile off-road navigation competition) in an all-electric crossover-a lightly prepped Volkswagen ID.4. When she isn't racing, Lilienthal works as an automotive journalist as well as a PR/marketing consultant. She also mentioned that the current infrastructure is already taxed and so adding thousands of EVs would further strain existing charging.
This story is from the July - August 2022 edition of Popular Mechanics US.
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This story is from the July - August 2022 edition of Popular Mechanics US.
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