Electric vehicles (EV) aren’t just for early adopters anymore. With more than one-third of Southeast Asian consumers considering EVs for their next vehicle purchase, the demand from people in Asia and Oceania to learn about EV ownership is increasing.
To help, the fourth video of Nissan’s EV Education Series, addresses three facts to easily explain the simplicity and advantages of EV ownership. Tim Jarvis, Australian explorer and environmental scientist, and Naya Ehrlich-Adam, founder of sustainable food business Broccoli Revolution in Bangkok, Thailand team up to bust some of the common myths around owning electric vehicles.
Battery-powered cars reduce spending on fuel and maintenance
With fewer moving parts in an EV, owners can save on maintenance costs as well as fuel. Most drivers in Southeast Asia travel less than 80 kilometers a day, using approximately 5.6 liters of petrol. By driving the LEAF with a 40kWh battery, vehicle owners can save up to USD $6.00 per day or over USD $2,190 per year. In Australia and New Zealand, for every 1000km travelled, LEAF drivers will save approximately USD $50.00 by charging the vehicle’s battery, compared to a petrol-driven car.
Maintenance and service costs are also considerably lower for EVs. In the US for example, EV owners experience an average savings of more than USD $650 per year. Thanks to growing sales, it’s predicted that the cost of an EV will drop below that of conventional-fuel vehicles by 2040.
EVs have the same space as standard cars, and can accelerate like one too
Many consumers believe that EVs have limited space and acceleration. However, EVs today offer a full-powered vehicle experience especially designed for modern drivers, and without a tailpipe engine, they have much larger space allowances as compared to regular cars. For example, the LEAF has 435 liters of space in the trunk – the equivalent of filling a conventional bathtub to the brim with luggage, and still having room to spare. It also can comfortably accommodate up to five adults.
Boasting 148bhp, the LEAF can accelerate from 0-100km/h in 7.9 seconds. The car’s battery pack also sits down in the chassis for a low center of gravity that allows the car to hug the road, for greater speed and stability.
Owners of EVs are driving sustainably into the future
One of the key benefits of EVs for modern-consumers is that the car sends zero emissions into the atmosphere and is environmentally friendly. Air pollution is the highest environmental consumer concern in Asia-Pacific, with 85% of people extremely or very concerned about this issue.
Thus, electric vehicles with zero-emissions and virtually silent operations, present a viable solution for owners to help do their part for an improved urban future. As Tim Jarvi sarticulates in this latest video, “If everyone drove electric cars, we would be in a far better place.”
