Thinking of Going Electric? Myths Vs Facts

If you’ve been in the market for a new car for sale in Schererville, IN then you’ve likely noticed all of the buzz and controversy surrounding electric cars. With more and more automakers producing electric cars, trucks, and SUVs – there’s no denying that this trend is here to stay. In fact, a report by Bloomberg NEF indicates that by 2040 EVs will make up around 70% of all new vehicle sales.

At the moment, however, electric cars in Indiana are still a relatively new sight on the road – so there’s a lot of incorrect information going around. To help clear up these misunderstandings about EVs and their impact, let’s dive in and examine some of the most common myths and misconceptions.

Drivers who own gasoline vehicles rarely have to worry about straying too far from the nearest gas station – but what about electric vehicle owners? While electric cars in Indiana obviously give drivers the option to charge at home, what happens when you need to top off the battery on the road is a top concern of many would-be EV drivers.

Skeptics maintain that there simply aren’t enough EV charging stations yet to make owning and driving an electric car on a daily basis a reasonable choice. However – the network of electric DC fast-charging stations in the US is already 6,000 strong, with new stations being added at a rapid pace. If you live in a major metropolitan area, you won’t need to travel far to find a charge point.

In 2022, the Biden administration announced plans for the government to fund the construction of an additional 500,000 electric charging stations by 2030. For most US drivers – EV charging stations are already readily available, and access is set to improve rapidly as time goes on and EVs become more commonplace.

When electric cars first came onto the scene, their range was certainly lackluster. This led many drivers to conclude that they simply weren’t a feasible option to use as a daily driver. However, that’s no longer the case for electric cars in 2022. Technological advances in recent years have made it so that modern electric cars in Indiana can offer substantially more range than their predecessors.

For example, in 2020 the average EPA estimated range among all EV models was more than 250 miles. For reference, the US Department of Transportation estimates that the average American drives about 35 miles per day. This means that an average electric car owner would be able to satisfy their daily driving needs while only needing to fully recharge their vehicle once per week. At the same time, technology that allows at-home charging overnight is becoming more affordable, and many workplaces are beginning to offer charging stations for their employees to use during the day. All of this is combining to make “range anxiety” a thing of the past for drivers seeking electric cars in Indiana. 

For many drivers, one of the most compelling reasons to choose an EV is their smaller carbon footprint. Since electric engines don’t produce emissions, they’re better for the natural environment and reduce the amount of greenhouse gasses released into the atmosphere.

Still, some people are under the misconception that EVs are actually worse for the environment than traditional gasoline engines. The argument is that since these vehicles run on electricity, they cause power plants to release more CO2 than a gasoline engine would produce. This is simply not the case. Even when accounting for the increased power plant production, driving an electric vehicle still typically results in lower emissions than an average gasoline powered vehicle.

One final myth that is often repeated is the idea that the higher emissions required to manufacture EV batteries negates the lower emissions from their operation, even making these vehicles more harmful to the environment than gasoline models.

While the manufacturing process for electric cars in 2022 does currently produce more emissions than that of traditional models, it’s the lifetime emissions of the vehicle that really matter. Research shows that over the life of a typical EV, total emissions will still be substantially lower compared to one with a gasoline engine. This means that you can feel good about going electric when choosing your next new car for sale in Schererville, IN.