Only about a quarter of the output energy powers the vehicle, three quarters is lost through conversion processes. "This is because hydrogen trucks have a decisive disadvantage. "In truck traffic, especially on long-distance routes, pure e-trucks will in most cases be the cheaper and more environmentally friendly solution," said Catharina Modahl-Nilsson, Chief Technical Officer of Traton Group, in a statement. Germany's EV charging network growing slowly The BNEF study assumes that 70% of all newly sold passenger cars in the EU could be battery-powered as early as 2030.īut as the consumer EV revolution emerges on the horizon, how far can the technology be adopted by heavy commercial trucks, trains, planes and ships? By comparison, an EV consuming around 15 kilowatts (kWh) of electricity for 100 kilometers of travel would, at an average electricity price of 20 euro cents per kWh, cost just three euros.ĭue to this significant cost advantage, experts expect battery-powered EVs to soon dominate mainstream markets. But electric models will achieve price parity with their fossil fuel counterparts by 2026 and will be 10-30% cheaper by the end of the decade, according to a Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) study.Įven better, EVs harness around 95% of the energy used when driving, as opposed to a combustion engine that loses two-thirds of energy as waste heat. And with oil prices reaching a record high in recent months, EVs are increasingly cheaper to run.Īt a current fuel price of roughly two euros per liter, it would cost 14 euros for someone to drive a diesel car 100 kilometers. Until recently, EVs cost almost twice as much as internal combustion cars. EVs much cheaper to run - and soon to buy The expansion of charging infrastructure in many countries has added to the allure of EVs.
In Norway, for example, 84% of new car sales in January were EVs.Ĭompared with high-carbon petrol vehicles, zero-emission cars make less noise, accelerate much faster and don't spew out CO2 as they drive. Beyond the Tesla electric vehicle (EV) hype, battery-powered cars are finally starting to dominate a market long ruled by the combustion engine.