By Mr. Asif Siddiqui, Managing Director, Sigma Ventures (Pvt) Ltd.
By now it is common knowledge that Global Warming is caused primarily by putting too much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere when coal, oil, and natural gas are burned to generate electricity or to run our cars. Carbon dioxide spreads around the planet like a blanket, and is one of the main gases responsible for the absorption of infrared radiation (felt as heat), which comprises the bulk of solar energy. We also have started feeling the devastating effects of Global Warming in almost every section of the world and it spurred the world into action.
There are two major culprits, Thermal Power Stations and Petrol & Diesel operated vehicles. We are already trying to minimize use of Thermal Power Stations burning fossil fuel by using Solar & Wind for producing electricity. So now we have clean energy so its obvious outcome was elimination of the other culprit, the fossil fuel burning Vehicles of all kinds by using electric vehicles instead.
Major countries of the world have already fixed their cut off dates for banning, yes, putting a complete ban or restrictions on using Petrol & Diesel driven vehicles in their countries and replacing them with Electric Cars. List is as under.
| # | Jurisdiction | Restriction |
| 01 | Copenhagen, Denmark | Ban Diesel Cars from entering the Danish capital. |
| 02 | Rome, Italy | Ban on Diesel Vehicles from entering the city center by 2024. |
| 03 | Norway
|
No new Gasoline or Diesel vehicle by 2025. |
| 04 | Athens, Madrid, Paris, Mexico City | End of use of all diesel vehicles by 2025. |
| 05 | Paris | Ban on all Diesel & Petrol engines by 2030. |
| 06 | India | No Diesel or Petrol driven cars by 2030. |
| 07 | Ireland | No new Diesel or Petrol Engine by 2030 and old ones to be replaced by either Natural Gas or Electric Vehicles. |
| 08 | Israel | Ban import of all gasoline & diesel driven cars by 2030. Only natural gas & Electric Cars permitted. |
| 09 | Brussels, Belgium | Gasoline & Diesel Ban by 2030. |
| 10 | Netherlands | Complete ban on all emission vehicles by 2025 |
| 11 | France | No new Gasoline or Diesel vehicle sales by 2030. |
| 12 | Taiwan | No new non-electric car Motor Cycle by 2035 and 4 wheelers by 2040. |
| 13 | China | Has already banned all non-electric Motor Cycles and 3 wheelers. |
| 14 | Germany | Considering Ban on all internal combustion engines by 2040. |
| 15 | UK | Same as Germany |
| 16 | USA & Canada | Zero emission by 2050/ |
It is evident from the above that Electrical Vehicle are coming whether we want it or not. An EV in fact is much simpler than its compatriot IC Engine driven vehicles. An IC engine has at least 15 different components which may go wrong while EV has just one powerful Electric Motor which has only 3 things which suffer wear & tear or damage in comparison. Advantages of EVs over IC Engines driven cars whether Gasoline or Diesel are as under.
Cheaper to Run: Electricity to charge an EV costs one third of the cost of Petrol per Km for same size of conventional cars. There are a number of handy calculators you can use to see the savings. Check out the Fuel Cost Savings Calculator on myelectriccar.au/calculator.
Cheaper to Maintain: An EV has a lot less moving parts than a conventional petrol/diesel car. There is relatively little servicing and no expensive exhaust systems, starter motors, fuel injection systems, radiators and many other parts that aren’t needed in an EV. With just one moving part, the rotor of the main motor EVs are particularly simple and very strong. Just maintain the brakes, tyres and suspension and that’s about it. Batteries do wear out, so replacement batteries will eventually be needed. Most car manufacturers warrant EV batteries for around 8 years.
Better for Environment:
Less Polution – An EV has Zero Exhaust Emissions.
Renewable Energy – If you use renewable energy to recharge your EV, you can reduce your greenhouse gas emissions even further. You could recharge your EV from your solar PV system during the day instead of from the grid.
Eco Friendly Material – There is also a trend towards more eco-friendly production and materials for EVs. The Ford Focus Electric is made up of recycled materials and the padding is made out of bio based materials. The Nissan Leaf’s interior and bodywork are partly made out of green materials such as recycled water bottles, plastic bags, old car parts and even second hand home appliances..
Health Benefits – Reduced harmful exhaust emissions is good news for our health. Better air quality will lead to less health problems and costs caused by air pollution. EVs are also quieter than petrol/diesel vehicles, which means less noise pollution.
Safety Improvements: EVs tend to have a lower centre of gravity that makes them less likely to roll over. They can also have a lower risk for major fires or explosions and the body construction and durability of EVs may make them safer in a collision.
The electric vehicle is also an exciting object on which to apply “advanced motion control” technique. As an electric vehicle is driven by electric motors, it has three advantages:
(1) Motor torque generation is fast and accurate,
(2) Motors can be installed in 2 or 4 wheels,
(3) Motor torque can be known precisely.
These advantages enable us to easily realize
High performance antilock braking system (ABS) and traction control system (TCS) with minor feedback control at each wheel.
Chassis motion control like direct yaw control (DYC).
Estimation of road surface condition. “UOT Electric March II” is our novel experimental EV with four in-wheel motors. This EV is made for intensive study of advanced motion control of an electric vehicle, which can be firstly realized by electric vehicle.
With all these pluses in favor, what are you waiting for? Go get an Electric Car.
Acknowledgements: I am thankful for www.myelectriccar.au and Quartz – Wikipedia from where some of the data has been extracted.
