Range anxiety
Range anxiety is the driver's fear that a vehicle has insufficient energy storage (fuel and/or battery capacity) to cover the road distance needed to reach its intended destination, and would thus strand the vehicle's occupants mid-way.[1][2][3][4] The term, which is now primarily used in reference to the practical driving range of battery electric vehicles (BEVs), is considered to be one of the major psychological barriers to large-scale public adoption of electric cars.[1][5][6]
The term "range anxiety" was first reported in the press on September 1, 1997, in the
The main strategies to alleviate range anxiety among electric car drivers are the deployment of extensive
According to a study by the American Automobile Association, the cure to range anxiety is owning an electric vehicle.[11]
Responses to range anxiety
The range anxiety will limit the ability of the all electric car to be used in certain specific applications, even if the battery costs come down.
— Bill Reinert, National manager of advanced technology at Toyota’s U.S. arm, 2010[12]
Range anxiety may be exaggerated, as recent studies have concluded that most daily trips can be accomplished within the range of an inexpensive electric vehicle.[13]
The concern that users of all-electric vehicles may become stranded has led to public calls for extensive public
Electric vehicle manufacturers have sought to quell range anxiety concerns through increased battery capacities to extend the vehicle's range. REVA has a proprietary technology called "Revive", which is a battery reserve that can be released by electric vehicle users by texting or calling an operations center.[5] Using a range extender solution, as implemented in the Chevrolet Volt or the BMW i3, the internal combustion engine switches on to recharge the battery before it is empty.[1][17][18][19][20][21][22] Another method is the proposed Ridek modular vehicle approach whereby a vehicle's chassis could be exchanged for one containing a larger-capacity battery at a network of chassis-exchange stations before embarking on a long journey.
Since lack of information can be a contributing factor, a good navigation system[23] with knowledge of the battery capacity and remaining distance can minimize the fear. There is also the possibility to minimize the fear before buying a vehicle.[24]
The American Automobile Association (AAA) has started a road-recharge pilot program in six cities: Knoxville, Los Angeles, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle and Tampa. EV-driving AAA members can use the truck's level 3 charging capacity to recharge a Nissan Leaf to 80% capacity in 30 minutes.[25][26]
Battery swapping
As the electric car emerged as the main competing technology in the late 1890s until the 1920s, the concept of exchangeable battery service was first proposed as early as 1896 in order to overcome the limited operating range of electric cars and trucks. The concept was first put into practice by Hartford Electric Light Company through the GeVeCo battery service and initially available for electric trucks. The vehicle owner purchased the vehicle from General Vehicle Company (GVC, a subsidiary of the General Electric Company) without a battery and the electricity was purchased from Hartford Electric through an exchangeable battery. The owner paid a variable per-mile charge and a monthly service fee to cover maintenance and storage of the truck. Both vehicles and batteries were modified to facilitate a fast battery exchange. The service was provided between 1910 and 1924 and during that period covered more than 6 million miles. Beginning in 1917 a similar successful service was operated in Chicago for owners of Milburn Light Electric cars who also could buy the vehicle without the batteries.[29]
- Better Place
The Better Place network was the first modern commercial deployment of the battery switching model. The Renault Fluence Z.E. was the first electric car with a switchable battery available for the Better Place network in operation in Israel and Denmark.[30] Better Place launched its first battery-swapping station in Israel, in Kiryat Ekron, near Rehovot in March 2011. The battery exchange process took five minutes.[31] As of December 2012[update], there were 17 battery switch stations fully operational in Denmark enabling customers to drive anywhere across the country in an electric car.[32]
By late 2012 the company began to suffer financial difficulties, and decided to put on hold the roll out in Australia and reduce its non-core activities in North America, as the company decided to concentrate its resources on its two existing markets.[33][34][35] Better Place filed for bankruptcy in Israel in May 2013. The company's financial difficulties were caused by the high investment required to develop the charging and swapping infrastructure, about US$850 million in private capital, and a market penetration significantly lower than originally predicted by Shai Agassi. Less than 1,000 Fluence Z.E. cars were deployed in Israel and around 400 units in Denmark.[36][37] Under Better Place's business model, the company owns the batteries, so the court liquidator will have to decide what to do with customers who do not have ownership of the battery and risk being left with a useless car.[38]
- Tesla Motors
The first stations were planned to be deployed along
Range extender
- Series plug-in hybrids
However,
On the other hand,
- Chevrolet Volt
In December 2012, two years after the Volt was launched, General Motors reported that cumulative miles driven in electric mode had passed the 100 million mark on November 30, 2012. The carmaker also reported that Volt owners have driven more than 65% percent of the time in all-electric mode, and on average they drive around 900 mi (1,400 km), or a month and a half, between fill-ups.[57][58] A similar report, issued by GM in August 2016, reported that Volt owners have accumulated almost 1.5 billion miles (2.4 billion km) driven in EV mode, representing 60% of their total miles traveled.[59] A 2014 analysis conducted by the Idaho National Laboratory using a sample of 21,600 all-electric cars and plug-in hybrids, found that Volt owners traveled on average 9,112 miles in all-electric mode (e-miles) per year, while Leaf owners traveled 9,697 e-miles per year, despite the Volt's shorter all-electric range, about half of the Leaf's.[60]
- BMW i3
BMW i is offering the BMW i3
The range-extender option costs an additional US$3,850 in the United States,[65] an additional €4,710 (~ US$6,300) in France,[66] and €4,490 (~ US$6,000) in the Netherlands.[67]
Free loaners
As a mitigation to range anxiety issues, some carmakers are offering the use of a gasoline-powered standard car for free with the purchase of an electric vehicle to mitigate, thus allowing their customers to cover long trips on a certain number of days per year.
- BMW i
BMW i is planning to offer additional mobility packages for trips where the range of an BMW i3 would not be enough to allow customers to cover longer distances, including the provision of a conventional BMW vehicle on a given number of days per year.[68] In areas of high sales, BMW will also offer a roadside assistance program, which, instead of a tow, the assistance vehicle will provide a charge so the i3 can travel to the next charging station.[69]
- Fiat 500e
In April 2013, Fiat North America announced a program to allow customers to cover longer travel distances, as each
See also
- List of electric cars currently available
- List of modern production plug-in electric vehicles
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External links
- Anxiety Attack, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Review
- Overcoming Barriers to Electric-Vehicle Deployment: Interim Report (2013), U.S National Research Council
- EV Owners Address Range Anxiety, TorqueNews