Electric Trucks, Vans & Cars.

Maybe it has been a reluctant move for car manufacturers to adopt electric vehicles into their mainstream production plans. After all, electric vehicles have been around for sometime and not really that much has happened through the years. But it is now gathering general interest at a faster pace and I’m thinking much of this renewed interest is to do with green credentials more than anything else. The consumer is better informed now and more aware of pollution issues, dirty diesel engines, green energy and recycling etc.

Time to make the electric car a reality

The manufacturers will tell you that what they do is ‘driven’ by the consumer – the manufacturer will make what the consumer wants – well, maybe that it is true up to a point (but we can only buy what is on the shelf after all). In part, manufacturers have been slow to take up the challenge and in my opinion have lagged behind in taking the electric car mainstream sooner. The ideas have been there for a while now – but to get them out to the consumer means investment and maybe it’s easier to stay in ‘status quo’ mode.

But, it’s happening now – in part thanks to companies such as Tesla for pushing the boundaries and adopting new ideas demonstrating what the future could and should be like to the slower older thinking companies happy to continue manufacturing old polluting combustion engines.

I’m not saying that vehicle manufacturers haven’t designed electric power technologies into their vehicles – indeed it’s the complete opposite. I’m simply suggesting they have been slow off the mark to bring it to the mainstream market.

Commercial enterprise

Commercial vehicles such as light trucks and vans are already out there doing the business. We already have electric vans, trucks and buses working. For instance, Royal Mail have introduced 100 electric vans form Peugeot. Jersey Post run 15 Nissan electric vehicles. Some London buses are electric – Milton Keynes and Bristol run electric buses. We have had electric trains for some time now – even nuclear powered ships and submarines are powered by electric motors.

Mainstream demand

When the electric car goes mainstream – and if vans and trucks continue to gather apace, we will have to make sure that the energy supply in the UK can keep up with the demand this new technology will place on our infrastructure. The consumer will be concerned about battery power (travel distance on a single charge) and where to charge and re-charge. Get this infrastructure under-way and the electric car will just go vroom!

New research and development will soon lead to faster charging – (in fact some of this fast charge tech is already here) – smaller and lighter batteries with greater travelling distances on single charges. The new government initiative – the Faraday Challenge, will help improve this technology.

I think you can tell, I’m a big fan! Let’s all go electric!

Follow this link to see what a company in Australia is doing: SEA Auto

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Tesla

List of electric car and manufacturers to follow…

See other electric car posts here.