Viability of Electric Cars

Free essays 0 Comments


Viabilityof Electric Cars

Viabilityof Electric Cars

Overthe years, electric vehicles have been increasingly produced byvehicle manufacturers. Although a subject that most people lackadequate information about a substantial number of people haveacquired these vehicle models. This therefore raises the question,would I like to own an electric car? The answer to this question isnot an easy one. However there are several reasons as to why owningan electric car may be preferred. First and foremost, the cost ofelectricity is significantly lower than other ICE fuels. In addition,the environmental benefits of using these cars may also prove to beeffective considering the environmental pollution and global warmingeffects that exist. Furthermore, the vehicles are easy to operate andrequire less maintenance (Cobb,2014).Based on these characteristics then the answer is definitely “yes”.

Inbusiness, the ability to operate successfully is based on variousaspects such as market, price, demand and quality among others.However for sustainability of the business, the profit margin must befeasible to the extent of ensuring maintenance of production. In thecase of electric cars, there is reasonable doubt as to whether thesale of electric vehicles is viable in terms of profit. First off,the electric vehicles have seen a growth in the sales with asurprising 3.8% of all automobile sales in the year 2013. Thisphenomena can be attributed to the rise in increased knowledge aboutthese vehicles as well as the reducing costs associated with buyingthe cars. In addition there have been further improvements in termsof road performance as well as the mileage per charge as a result ofincreasing technology and collaborations between companies to improvethe standards (Gilpin,2014).

Inthe recent years also there have been significant developments interms of economy and energy sustainability in various countries withsome having the provision of charging stations. A good example is theUnited States of America which had over 20,000 charging stations bythe year 2013. This number has possibly increased by now. The energysustenance in other countries has also improved greatly especially inthe developing world which poses a positive sign or indication thatthe demand for these electric vehicles could increase. In addition tothis, some countries have embraced the principle of reducingdependence on fossil fuels as well as reduce emissions that haveenvironmental impacts. Following this, such countries encourage thebuying of these cars by putting in place policies such as subsidiesand tax reduction (Berman,2016).

Bythe year 2015, the sale of electrical vehicles saw a total ofvehicles surmounting to over one million worldwide. This however isonly a fraction (0.1%) of the total number of vehicles on the roadworldwide estimated to be 1 billion. This statistic can provideimportant information with regard to viability. In one way, the lownumber of electric cars can be attributed to the challengesassociated with these vehicles including the driving ranges, therecharge time, cost of battery packs and most of all the overallprice of the car is far more expensive than the common gasolineconsuming vehicles as well as other factors such as lack ofsustainable electricity especially in developing countries (Lutsey,2015).On the other side, there is a significant increase in the sale of thevehicles over the years with an almost double increase from 2014 to2015. This is a good indicator that the demand is also increasingalbeit gradually.

Withmore and more increasing policies and collaborations, the market ofelectric vehicles keeps expanding with the various incentivesincluding recognition of institutions for environmental conservation(Town,2013).The increasing market for electrical vehicles can also be furtherimproved by the incorporation of more technology to include thetechnology of self-driving vehicles which are estimated to have ahuge market of close to 25 billion dollars annually. Theseimprovements are likely to further widen the market demand henceestablishing a stronger and viable market (King,2014).


Berman,B. (2016, February 24). Incentivesfor Plug-in Hybrids and Electric Cars.Retrieved from Plugin Cars:

Cobb,J. (2014, January 30). Top10 Reasons Why You Should Buy An Electric Car Now.Retrieved from Hybrid Cars:

Gilpin,L. (2014, July 15). Thestate of electric cars: 10 things you should know.Retrieved from Tech Republic:

King,J. (2014). Crossing Through. FutureStructure,11-13.

Lutsey,N. (2015, September 29). Globalmilestone: The first million electric vehicles.Retrieved from ICCT:

Town,C. (2013, June 6). APUSReceives Environmental Excellence Award for Clean Energy from WestVirginia Department of Environmental Protection.Retrieved from American Public University System: