The change from the automotive industry to electromobility is here. From 2035, according to a proposal, only new electric vehicles will be registered in the European Union. The EU wants to be climate neutral by 2050. Many car manufacturers are already announcing that they no longer want to build combustion engines in the future. Audi wants to switch completely to Stromer from 2026, Volvo four years later. For drivers, however, there are still many unanswered questions. How reliable are the manufacturers’ range specifications? And what about the range in winter? Or on the highway? We answer the most important questions and answers.
Which electric models are there already and which are still to come?
The range of electric vehicles is now large. In addition to an extensive selection of SUVs of all sizes, there are compact and small cars, vans, and even e-sports cars are offered by some manufacturers. This year alone, 20 new models are to come onto the market, including the electric Mercedes E-Class (EQE), the BMW 4 Series (i4) and the long-announced Tesla Model Y. VW is adding the ID.5, BMW wants one Build electric 1 Series, even the hip-hop swank car of the 1990s, the GMC Hummer, is returning as a Stromer. Only the station wagons that are so popular in Germany are not found by customers – not a single one. Which is probably because the rest of the world prefers sedans and SUVs. At least Volkswagen promises a remedy with the VW Aero B Shooting Brake, an electric equivalent to the Passat. But that shouldn’t come until 2023.
What are the current delivery times?
Anyone who orders an electric car needs patience. The entire automotive industry is currently suffering from a lack of chips, which is delaying production and delivery. In addition, there is the great demand for electric vehicles. This means that even to the simple question of how long buyers have to wait for their car, manufacturers respond with the precise vagueness of the CDU election program for the federal election: “Unfortunately, it is not possible to make a general statement about the delivery times of our models,” explains for example Audi on request. The online car broker Carwow is a little more precise and operates at regular intervals the waiting time of the cooperating dealers is published. Accordingly, none of the electric Audi is available with a delivery time of six months. With the e-Tron GT, the waiting time is even more than a year. It doesn’t look much better with other manufacturers. It is noticeable that the delivery times are significantly shorter for many French brands such as Peugeot, Citroën and Renault. According to Carwow, the BMW i3 and the Tesla Model 3 are the fastest available.
How reliable are the range figures for electric cars?
400, 500 up to 600 kilometers – if the manufacturers have their way, there has long been no range problem with e-cars. These are determined according to the more realistic test cycle WLTP (Worldwide Harmonized Light-Duty Vehicles Test Procedure). “The range information is much closer than it was five years ago,” reassured e-mobility expert Volker Blandow from TÜV Süd. With one caveat: “Under real driving conditions, these values are difficult to achieve – just like with conventional vehicles.” The range of electric cars is influenced by power guzzlers such as heating and navigation, cold temperatures, high speeds and your own driving style, so that the range information is more ideal.
What influence do factors such as cold in winter have?
The operation of electric cars is particularly critical when temperatures drop. The conductivity of the battery is lower after the start, in addition there are air conditioning, seat heating and radio, which also draw electricity. This can lead to the range being reduced by up to 20 to 30 percent. Anyone who covered 400 kilometers in their electric car in the summer will only cover around 300 kilometers. The came to an even more dramatic result ADAC in a joint test with the Austrian automobile club ÖAMTC. The Mitsubishi i-Miev lost up to 50 percent of its range at a temperature of zero degrees in city traffic at 30 km / h compared to driving in summer at 20 degrees.
How much range does an electric car lose on the motorway?
Another range killer is the Autobahn. Up to 90 km / h an electric car has no problems with its range. But just as with gasoline or diesel engines, energy consumption increases enormously at higher speeds. The reason for this is the greater wind resistance, explains Volker Blandow. “That means it makes a very big difference whether I drive 100, 130 or 150 km / h”, says the expert from TÜV Süd – because the wind resistance essentially determines consumption. A longer drive on the motorway can also reduce the range by 20 to 30 percent.
Is the depreciation of an electric car greater than that of a diesel or gasoline engine?
E-cars are booming, but in terms of the overall market they are still a niche product. 48 million cars are registered in Germany, only four percent with alternative drives – including mild hybrids and plug-in hybrids. As a result, electric cars have hardly played a role in the used car market – there are simply too few of them. A look at Mobile.de shows: In August 2021, the sales portal listed 1.2 million vehicles with gasoline, diesel or hybrid drives – but only around 31,000 electric cars. In addition, the high subsidies distort the market. A new Stromer is often cheaper than a young used car.
Another factor: while early e-cars only achieved a range of just over 100 kilometers, this has almost doubled with each new generation of models. That made the few used Stromers uninteresting for buyers. All of these factors mean that the depreciation of an electric car is currently slightly higher than that of a gasoline or diesel. In March of this year, Deutsche Automobil Treuhand (DAT) found that used prices for electric cars had fallen significantlywhile vehicles with conventional engines stabilized. In December 2020, the value of a three-year-old gasoline vehicle was on average 56.6 percent of the new price, that of a diesel was 52.5 percent and that of an electric vehicle was 50.6 percent.
How long will e-cars be funded? And what happens after that?
Car buyers can still access the subsidy rates of up to 9,000 for an electric car and up to 6,750 for a plug-in hybrid until December 31, 2025. The program is a real success – in the first half of 2021, car owners will apply for the innovation bonus for 274,000 vehicles. It is the main reason that the sales of electric cars are booming, without them the Stromer would still be unaffordable for many buyers. It remains to be seen whether the funding will be extended beyond 2025, because it is expensive: It cost 1.25 billion euros the state alone in 2021. However, Volker Blandow from TÜV Süd is certain: “From 2025, electric cars will be cheaper than diesel or gasoline vehicles.” His prognosis: The expensive subsidy for the state will be superfluous because electric cars have arrived in the mass market.