When it comes to developments in electric cars, as each year passes so the interest in the ecological goodness of the electric powerplant increases.
Fossil fuels have a limited lifespan on this earth, and the sooner we make the change to renewable ways of powering our engines the better.
Just recently Chinese carmaker Nio launched a sleek new sedan with an estimated 1000km range, while the Tesla Model S has brought high acceleration to the electric car, with zero to hero figures of under six seconds.
The Nio also has all the sensors needed for autonomous driving, so that’s a serious look into things to come.
Both companies are doing very well on the share market by the way, which is a good measure of people’s confidence in what they are dong and, importantly, what they might very well do for cars.
So now we have range and acceleration in the EV segment, which were two factors that kept people favouring the petrol engine over electric power. Charging time has also been a thing, as people try to shift from the quick fill-up to a plug in refill that takes a considerable amount of time. Times, however, they are a changin’.
And EVs started off looking quite bland and unexciting. That’s changing, too. Just take a look at Hyundai’s new venture.
Hyundai recently announced plans to release all of its EVs under the brand Ioniq, and that its first offering there would simply be known as ‘5’. Based on the retro-styled Hyundai 45 concept, this glimpse of the EV, to be launched in February, is pretty kwaai.
The South Korean carmaker says the Ioniq 5 will have a range of about 500km and also boasts an 800V battery system that allows for super fast charging. We’re talking an 80% charge in 18 minutes. Another cool feature is the 22V plug inside the car that allows the owner to power any device on the go. Cool for camping.
It’s the look that’s so classic, with that clamshell bonnet that spans the width of the car, thus reducing panels and creating a clean front end.
So, ja, the future starts now, and the shift to EVs is inevitable.