{"id":19221,"date":"2022-04-05T09:04:03","date_gmt":"2022-04-05T13:04:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=19221"},"modified":"2022-04-05T09:04:03","modified_gmt":"2022-04-05T13:04:03","slug":"electric-cars-fuel-efficiency-tesla-rivals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=19221","title":{"rendered":"Drivers May Not Care About Fuel Efficiency, But Investors Should"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article comes to us courtesy of\u00a0EVANNEX<\/a>, which makes and sells aftermarket Tesla accessories. The opinions expressed therein are not necessarily our own at InsideEVs, nor have we been paid by\u00a0EVANNEX<\/a>\u00a0to publish these articles. We find the company’s perspective as an aftermarket supplier of Tesla accessories interesting and are happy to share its content free of charge. Enjoy!<\/em><\/p>\n

Posted on<\/span>\u00a0EVANNEX on April 05, 2022,\u00a0by<\/span>\u00a0Charles Morris<\/p>\n

Most drivers understand the concept of fuel efficiency, expressed in miles per gallon (although very few base their purchasing decisions thereupon). But when it comes to the efficiency of electric vehicles, the picture is less clear. Most probably assume that an EV is more efficient than a gas-burner (which it is) and leave it at that.<\/p>\n

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Above: Tesla Model 3 parked at a street-side charging location (Unsplash:\u00a0Rick Govic<\/a>)\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n

Despite the daily drumbeat of disinformation emanating from the oil industry and its enablers, driving electric is\u00a0unequivocally cleaner<\/a>\u00a0than driving fossil, and if you do most of your charging<\/a> at home, it\u2019s substantially cheaper. But this doesn\u2019t mean that the efficiency of an EV doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n

EVs produce no local emissions, but manufacturing them, and generating the electricity that runs them, do have environmental footprints. Electricity isn\u2019t subject to the wild price swings that characterize the oil market, but it isn\u2019t free. So, if you want to be green, and\/or save money, you need to know how to compare the efficiency of different EV models.<\/p>\n

The EPA rates EV efficiency in terms of\u00a0miles per gallon equivalent<\/em>\u00a0(MPGe). This is a friendly figure for buyers who are familiar with the concept of miles per gallon, and it allows you to (sort of) compare the efficiency of an EV to that of a fossil vehicle. For example, a 2021 Tesla Model 3<\/a> Standard Range Plus has a combined MPGe of 142. However, a more meaningful figure is kilowatt-hours per mile, a direct measure of how much energy is used to drive a given distance.<\/p>\n

EPA efficiency figures for most models sold in the US can be found at\u00a0fueleconomy.gov<\/a>. This is a valuable resource, but it doesn\u2019t tell the whole story. The greenness and the true cost of any vehicle\u2014EV, PHEV, hybrid or dinosaur-burner\u2014depend on many factors, including the efficiency of a particular model, the region in which it operates, and the type of driving it\u2019s used for. You can get a much more detailed picture at\u00a0Carbon Counter<\/a>, an online tool that allows you to compare the lifetime emissions and total cost of ownership of various models, and to plug in figures that reflect your personal situation.<\/p>\n

Some automakers are more concerned about efficiency than others. Two that stand out are Hyundai<\/a>, whose 2020 Ioniq Electric<\/a> has the lowest emissions and the third-lowest lifetime cost of the models currently listed by Carbon Counter; and Tesla<\/a>, whose 2020 Model 3 Standard Range Plus has just a whiff more emissions than the Hyundai. Larger and higher-performance vehicles are inevitably less efficient, but all of Tesla\u2019s vehicles are among the most efficient in their respective classes. Audi<\/a> and Jaguar<\/a> lie at the other end of the efficiency spectrum\u2014the e-tron<\/a> and I-Pace<\/a> are among the most expensive and highest-emission plug-in models you can buy.<\/p>\n

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Obviously, consumers ought to use these tools to evaluate the relative efficiency of available models, and make their decisions accordingly\u2014but will they? Of course not. Surveys consistently show that only a small fraction of car buyers consider environmental responsibility or operating costs. Consumers buy cars that are currently perceived as cool, and coolness correlates strongly with size and performance.<\/p>\n

However, those who invest in automakers, as opposed to autos, have different priorities. Savvy stock market investors care about profits, not prestige, and as automakers electrify, they may find that more efficient models are more profitable. Stephen Wilmot, writing in the\u00a0Wall Street Journal<\/a>, argues that, generally speaking, more efficient EVs cost less to manufacture, and thus should deliver higher margins.<\/p>\n

Wilmot notes that small EVs rank high in efficiency ratings, while Rivian\u2019s R1T electric pickup truck is at the bottom. No surprise here\u2014pickups are heavy and have poor aerodynamics. They\u2019ve always been gas-guzzlers, and upcoming pickup trucks from Ford and GM will surely be electron-eaters.<\/p>\n

This has no effect on consumer preferences\u2014in the US, pickups consistently outsell every other segment (some have called the Ford F-150 the most popular consumer product in history). However, from an automaker\u2019s standpoint, there\u2019s a big financial difference between a gas pickup and an electric pickup. \u201cThe difference between a gas-guzzler and its electric counterpart is that the manufacturer bears part of the cost of EV inefficiency upfront through battery purchases, rather than leaving the consumer to shoulder it all at the pump,\u201d writes Wilmot.<\/p>\n

In order to deliver the generous range<\/a> that buyers want, automakers need to equip EVs with large battery packs, and batteries are expensive. They\u2019re also heavy, so the weight\/range dynamic is a self-reinforcing one. \u201cIt is a feedback loop: If you have an efficient vehicle, you need fewer batteries, which in turn makes it more efficient,\u201d Arne Brethouwer of EV Database told the WSJ.<\/p>\n

In other words, the less efficient your vehicle is, the more expensive, heavy batteries you\u2019re going to have to install in order to deliver the desired range. This means higher manufacturing costs and lower margins. Tesla\u2019s relentless focus on efficiency may well be one of the reasons for its envied double-digit margins. As Wilmot points out, Teslas deliver more range per kilowatt-hour than other brands, and this is due not only to the company\u2019s\u00a0superior battery technology<\/a>, but also to energy-saving innovations in\u00a0climate control<\/a>,\u00a0body design<\/a>\u00a0and other areas.<\/p>\n

Legacy automakers\u2019 formidable financial resources will allow them to sell EVs at low margins, or even at a loss, for a while. But as EVs make up an ever-larger part of their sales, this can\u2019t last\u2014they will be forced to bring down battery costs, and thus to improve efficiency. Those that succeed in doing so will have a competitive advantage.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the EV age, fuel efficiency is cost efficiency too,\u201d Wilmot concludes. \u201cInvestors would be wise to pay attention to it, even if consumers don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

===<\/p>\n

Written by:\u00a0Charles Morris<\/a>;\u00a0Source:\u00a0Wall Street Journal<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article comes to us courtesy of\u00a0EVANNEX, which makes and sells aftermarket Tesla accessories. The opinions expressed therein are not necessarily our own at InsideEVs, nor have we been paid by\u00a0EVANNEX\u00a0to publish these articles. We find the company’s perspective as an aftermarket supplier of Tesla accessories interesting and are happy to share its content free […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8313,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-e-cars"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19221"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19221\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}