18 Jul 2017

Electric cars: the future? - NOT amateur radio

I like the idea of electric cars. Less pollution, economic, quiet. However, I am still concerned about range between charges.

Some models now claim ranges of up to 300 miles. I wonder if this is like mpg claimed figures which rarely match "real world" conditions. I expect these figures are in summer, new battery, no lights on, no air-conditioning, just a driver, no luggage. I also expect replacement batteries will be very expensive.

Unless there is a major breakthrough in battery technology that comfortably does 300 miles in real world driving, I do not think electric cars will really take off.

For some time I have wondered if the answer might be smaller batteries and power charging from a buried cable in main roads. The battery would only be used "on its own" on minor roads.

There is lots of research into batteries and lots of money invested.

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