This is how far the range goes

Electric mobility is a difficult topic in Germany. After all, in 2010 the German government had set the goal of having one million electric cars on German roads by 2020. The target is being missed by a long way and has been corrected to 2022. Earlier this year, the consulting firm McKinsey identified three main reasons among German motorists that would deter them from buying an electric vehicle. Around 25 percent said that the e-mobiles were simply too expensive. Also a quarter of those surveyed said that the range was still too small. And one in five complained about the inadequate charging infrastructure.

There is nothing we can really do about the vehicle prices and the few charging points. Apart from pointing out that the Federal Government intends to provide around 300 million euros for at least 15,000 new charging stations by 2020. In addition, the purchase of a battery electric vehicle will be subsidised with 4,000 euros, there are grants for wallboxes and electricity, low insurance premiums and a tax exemption for ten years. Nevertheless, this seems to convince almost nobody.

No fear of the range

But there is something we can do about the “range anxiety. According to research by JATO Dynamics, there is no longer any real reason to worry about getting stuck with a dead battery on the way to your destination. Unless, of course, you’re on holiday in the Mediterranean.

While the average range of battery electric vehicles in Germany in the first quarter of 2015 was just 160 kilometres, by the end of 2016 the figure had more than doubled to just over 395 kilometres. After that, however, the capacity curve no longer followed a continuous upward trend. On the contrary: With regular ups and downs, the average range fell to around 381 kilometers by the second quarter of 2018. But since the third quarter, the battery manufacturers have done a good job. The range increased to an average of 516 kilometers in the second quarter of 2019. Figures from the National Platform for Electric Mobility (NPE) also make it clear that this so-called range anxiety is probably more of a psychological than a technical problem. 80 percent of Germans only cover just under 40 kilometers by car every day. That leaves enough time to recharge.

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