Electric Vehicle Challenges and Roadmap towards Mass Adoption

The government bodies all across the globe are working with complete due diligence and are focusing on the pragmatic shift from standard combustion to Electric vehicles with the sole aim of achieving a net-zero carbon emission in the future. But there are myriad number of hindrances that have been observed in the last couple of years that are continuously restricting the widespread adoption of Evs.

The European Union as a whole has warned that this initiative of the electric car revolution will result in unemployment in a large scale. As Per the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, there would be a much smaller number of auto-workers left in the industry with the requirement of a much higher technical skill-set that will be needed in the new EV sector as there will be a mass layoff of nearly 7% of the European workforce.

Three eMobility market challenges impacting the EV adoption

As the EV market continues to evolve, EV manufacturers worldwide have proclaimed unwavering support for EV adoption. Norway wants its total new-car sales by 2025 to be 100% electric, and the United Kingdom and France would like to end the IC engine vehicle sales by 2040.

BASF, one of the leading electric battery material suppliers across the world, shared a 360-degree insight on the top 3 consumer concerns influencing electric vehicle adoption, including the role that the advanced battery technologies play in mitigating those challenges.

1) The higher cost of the EVs.

Procuring an EV is an expensive proposition. The additional price of buying an electric vehicle instead of a conventional one generally is due to the high cost of battery involved. It can create a huge difference of around several thousand euros. Some of the crucial factors for this are the raw materials used in the battery, along with the expensive procedures that are involved in battery production. With a price tag of approximately 500 euros/ kWh for a mid-size vehicle with a battery capacity of around 20kW, the price of the battery system summed up to almost 10,000 euros.

Innovative & advanced battery technologies with a higher energy density and improved production processes can reduce the overall cost of the battery in the future to an estimated range from (100 - 250) euros/kWh. If an individual can assume an affordable and safe energy supply, then the higher cost of the EVs is partially compensated by the fact that the price of the fuel is obviated.

2) Lack of a proper EV infrastructure

EV charging station hold the market share of 9.47 billion dollars in 2020 and is projected to reach $142.46 billion by 2030 with a CAGR of 31.14%. As of September 31, 2021 there were 2,147,070 electric vehicles (BEV and PHEV) in the United States and 109,307 charger ports.

European Union countries have a total of 225,000 EV charging stations installed . Ev sales in the European Union have increased by 89% in 2020. European Union countries are among the frontrunners when it comes to adopting electric mobility.

EV infrastructure, especially in Asian countries like India is not available in plethora. Less adaption of EV’s by the people compared to IC vehicles has led to a decrease in the rate of EV sales in the country.

2021 witnessed the sales of 3,29,190 electric vehicles in India, representing a 168 per cent rise over last year's sales of 1,22,607 units. With a combined market share of 90%, 2-Wheelers and low-speed L3 Category 3-Wheelers are the most adopted electric vehicles.

China experienced the most electric car sales across the Asia Pacific region in 2020, with nearly 1.16 million electric cars sold.

Moreover, the poor governmental policies regarding the Evs have adversely impacted the market growth. Hence, the government policies require more inclusiveness of both

the supply and demand chains instead of being dependent only on the demand-side policies. Seamless charging facility is also not widely available in the Asian countries due to higher market bifurcations.

However, the OEMs continue to improve the infrastructure and charging stations in major cities and along major highways.

Currently, India accounts for a total of 1,640 operational public EV chargers. Out of which, nine cities – Surat, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Chennai – account for approximately 940 stations

This challenge demonstrates the reason quick charge capabilities are an important development.

3) EV Range anxiety

Range anxiety is the fear of an EV owner that an EV's battery doesn't have a sufficient amount of charge left in the vehicle to reach its final destination.

Volvo even found that a whopping 58 % of drivers say that range anxiety is a barrier for purchasing an electric car. The manufacturer also reports that while 65 % of EV drivers had range anxiety when they first purchased an EV, the feeling is fading away after a couple of months of usage.

The main strategies to eradicate range anxiety among EV drivers are the development of higher battery capacity at a cost-effective price, deployment of extensive charging infrastructure, use of range extenders, accurate navigation, battery swapping technologies, etc.

Solutions to eradicate these problems include:

Highly advanced technological innovations will help to make EVs a practical reality for everybody across the globe.

To achieve shorter charging time, a longer battery range, and lower costs, the supply chain management needs to work collaboratively to build better and more durable quality batteries.

BASF, for example, has teamed together with other companies to ensure that it has 360-degree access to the best technology available in the market and adequate talent & expertise while increasing its production capabilities. Recently TODA and BASF expanded their collaboration further to form BASF Toda America LLC (BTA). The focus of this initiative taken is to provide support for the growing customer demands of Evs in the North American region.

"BASF is sheer focused on the perfection of the battery materials that are powering today's electric & hybrid vehicles and developing the next-gen technology for meeting the estimated needs of the battery market," stated Heiko Urtel, the business director for BASF battery materials in the North American region & the Chief Executive Officer of BTA. He also stated that "The chemistry that we are currently developing is an enabling factor for charging time, price, and durability of the EVs – the key aspects that will help to make the EVs even more attractive to consumers in the future than they are currently."

CONCLUSION

With Norway holding the largest share in terms of percentage of EVs in the European Union & the Netherlands holding the largest density of public charging stations across Europe, more initiatives are required to be taken to ensure that the other countries follow suit. Despite plug-in sales growing approximately by 43% against a worldwide light vehicle decline of nearly 14%, this growth is still highly concentrated in some specific regions across the globe, and Evs total share among the light vehicle market is still only about 4%.