The history of the electric vehicles industry: What next?

Here, with Volkswagen Dealer, Vindis explore what other developments the electric vehicles industry is experiencing and what effects they are having as a whole

The UK is working hard to provide more charging points across the country, whilst manufacturers work to improve battery life and mileage range.

Nissan has recently launched its new Nissan Leaf with longer range and a one-pedal driving system. The new Leaf is said to be able to travel around 50% further on one single charge than previous models.

The Nissan Leaf is already branded as one of the most popular all-electric motors with over 283,000 sold since the model launched in 2010 – only coming behind the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV.

Nissan’s one-pedal driving system is expected to transform the driving process. The system, which at the press of a button turns the accelerator into an e-Pedal, can function to start, accelerate, brake and stop the vehicle. Whilst drivers can still choose to operate their vehicle with a separate accelerator and brake, the system, if used, will also provide added energy efficiency gains.

It’s evident to see that the electric vehicle market is performing better than ever before, averaging over 4,000 new registrations per month in 2017. Considering only 3,500 electric vehicles were registered in the entire year of 2013, the industry has witnessed significant growth over the past few years – with the popularity growth attributed to the developments in the industry that are slowly but surely overcoming the initial setbacks of electric vehicles.

Batteries

The faster-charging batteries available, take up to 30 minutes at a rapid charging point to fully recharge – however, new research, as reported on by the Express, suggests a solution to this problem.

Researchers claim they could have developed an ‘instantly rechargeable’ method that recharges an electric battery in the same time as it would take to fill a gas tank – a solution to the biggest headache of electric vehicles. But what would this mean for the EV industry? Well, this would revolutionise the industry, as battery life and its charge has been the biggest challenge for the industry. The new method is said to use fluid electrolytes to re-energise battery fluids – reducing the need for new infrastructure to support further recharging solutions.

Charging points

It’s reported that by May 2017, there were more than 4,300 charging locations, with 6,700 charging devices and 12,500 connectors. However, if the popularity of EVs continues, we will need to continue to build more charging points to fill the demand. And if we are to overcome the ongoing headache that is a full battery charging time of 8 hours, we will need an influx of rapid charging points which can charge up to 80% of an electric battery in just 30 minutes, as opposed to slower charge points. Thanks to a multi-million-pound deal with ChargePoint back in May 2017, InstaVolt are installing at least 3,000 rapid charging points across fuel station forecourts across the UK.

However, we will need to create new infrastructure to power the charging points. According to the National Grid, peak demand for electricity could increase by 50%, if and when the nation switches to electric vehicles – which could be sooner than we think now that a new pan-European EV charging network has been announced too.

IONITY, set up by the BMW Group, Daimler, Ford, and the VW Group with Audi and Porsche, launched the network early November 2017, and plans to work on 20 ultra-rapid charging points has already begun as they target for 400 points across Europe by 2020. 2018 is forecast to see the network expand across more than 100 locations with the intentions of making long-distance EV travel easier.

As the UK government continue to outline their plans to reach their 2040 target of eliminating petrol and diesel cars, we can expect to continue to see significant developments within the EV to overcome some of their biggest headaches and make EVs more appealing to drivers.

If manufacturers can truly cut down the time it takes to recharge the battery and develop batteries that can travel further, the industry could be revolutionised and experience an influx of drivers wanting to get their hands on an EV.

Watch this space!

Sources

http://www.nextgreencar.com/news/8211/ionity-ultrarapid-charging-network-launches-in-europe/

http://www.nextgreencar.com/electric-cars/statistics/

http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/cars/813735/Electric-car-charging-battery-new-technology