Whether a new car should have an electric drive or continue to burn gasoline or diesel fuel in the future needs to be carefully considered in many cases. Many are currently guided in their decision by subsidies. In addition to the mobility behavior, the purchase of an in-house wallbox, workshop intervals as well as the battery-environment benefit must be taken into account. The German automobile club AvD now provides an e-mobility calculator online!
There is currently no car manufacturer that does not have electric cars in its program. The renewed discussion about Apple iCar also makes one thing clear: The electric car market is growing, that new providers will enter the scene.
Only this morning we discussed with a TESLA driver, who had bought his electric car second-hand from a leasing company. It can be driven for nine years without a major workshop visit, because there are simply no annoying inspection intervals, as is the case with gasoline or diesel cars. For it there are many problems, if one stops times on the freeway. Burning batteries were also initial electric car deterrents.
Electric car mobility calculator at a glance
In the first step, the AvD's e-mobility calculator initially refers to preset average values in order to be able to provide a well-founded orientation aid with just a few entries. And not as a theoretical value, but individually tailored to one's own mobility behavior. For this the user selects first five predefined vehicle classes and then enter the average distance he would have to drive in order to annual mileage in kilometers a. In addition, the distribution of the places where the electric car is to be charged – at home, on the road or at work – can be individually selected and is taken into account accordingly in the calculation. On the results page, the user first receives a graphical representation of the total costs. The emissions for both an electric car and a combustion engine. Afterwards, everything can be customized. For example, the useful life of the vehicle or the purchase price of the selected electric vehicle. This is directly opposed to the internal combustion engine.
Also possible subsidies, the consumption values, Energy prices, taxes and maintenance costs can be taken into account. And for those who want to go the extra mile, there are more options. For example, you can calculate the acquisition costs of a domestic charging station (wallbox). Include the subsidies that can be used for this. Users have the opportunity to compare the costs of several possible vehicle types or models. This also brings us closer to the topic of electromobility. If you change individual parameters, you can see very clearly how costs develop and how this affects emissions.
How environmentally friendly are e-cars really?
Researchers from the Frauenhofer ISI Institute have calculated for the WDR program 'die story' that an electric car with a battery of only 40 kWh would achieve 72.000 kilometers would have to be driven in order to achieve an advantage over a gasoline-powered car, especially with regard to the CO2 emissions under discussion. 95 kWh batteries predominate in the luxury segment. Here one would have to calculate approx. 166.000 kilometers to drive climate-neutral compared to the gasoline engine (here a diesel was compared). Meanwhile, the trend is toward electric cars with longer ranges. But battery production currently destroys the environment more than it helps it. The program 'Electric cars: how environmentally friendly are they really?