It cannot be denied that the arrival of the electric car is being gradual and the sales figures, which are around 5% of the total market in Spain, are not as good as was thought at this point in the film.
But those who access this technology clearly immediately become convinced that the decision they have made has been the right one and notice that the savings in cost per use are so important that they use the car much more than they did before. But didn’t they say that electric cars are not prepared for long trips?
I’m not saying this, but rather a study carried out by the ‘Mechanical Reports’ portal, according to data collected by the DGT based on odometer readings during ITV inspections until June 2023.
The conclusions are categorical: “Passenger cars powered by diesel and gasoline are not the ones that register the most mileage, on average, each year.”
These are the average mileage data for each type of vehicle according to its type of propulsion:
PropulsionMopedMotorcycleTourismVanTruck up to 3500 KgTruck more than 3500 KgBusIndustrial TractorGasoline1.6622.81711.4259.1158.94214.97922.771Diesel3.50110.98313.79616.79513.90025.7104 5.73789.139Electric2.8633.25620.46012.3079.37023.96642.317Other/Unspecified1.1841.56322.06710.31112.52520.57035.789Butane2.20325.71117.19714.3 2016. 14828.006LPG1.3134.98129.26422.90020.82036.16457.227CNG12.87930.54727.03520.89629.30055.541LNG2.2894.11722.08915.32421.70992.6 9672.816Hydrogen23.88921.37120.24819.141Biomethane2.57614.87613.84419.04332.60740.560Ethanol9.595Biodiesel2.41712.5744.94325.45582.832
According to this, electric passenger cars are recording more annual kilometers on average than diesel, gasoline, biomethane, biodiesel and ethanol.
The average number of kilometers traveled by BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle) models is 20,460 kilometers per year, a figure that in the case of diesel is 13,796 km and, in the case of gasoline, 11,425 km. This represents 48% more, which is a very important difference.
In thousands of kilometers
Mechanical reports
And if these data seem surprising to you, things are even more incredible when you analyze some cases in which professional use of vehicles such as vans, trucks and buses is assumed, since electric propulsion is not far removed from these sources of energy. energy.
Electric vans travel an average of 12,307 km per year, behind the 16,795 km of those powered by diesel engines, but ahead of the 9,115 km of those powered by gasoline.
In the case of trucks less than 3,500 kg, those powered by electricity have traveled an average of 9,370 kilometers per year, ahead of gasoline vehicles (8,942 km) but behind diesel vehicles (13,900 km). A trend that is replicated in other means of transport such as trucks weighing more than 3,500 kg and buses, although in these cases the gap with other sources of propulsion is even more acute.
The conclusions that can be obtained from this study are clear: Yes, the electric car today represents a greater financial outlay than a comparable model equipped with combustion mechanics.
But the cost per use is very lower and if this is associated with a greater number of trips, as well as greater mileage, it ends up translating into a much shorter amortization period.
And we cannot forget that the majority of electric vehicles are used daily in cities, which is where they are most efficient, which also means reducing pollution and improving air quality.
At Auto Bild we are passionate about cars and we still like the furious roar of a sports car with a V8 engine. But, if it is about day-to-day efficiency, we are not going to deny the virtues of electric cars, which they have. And lots.