Will consumers choose electric cars over traditional petrol cars in the future - Literature review Example

Will consumers choose electric cars over traditional petrol cars in the future? The climatic changes and the effect of green house gases have raisedconcern for carbon dioxide emission. The United Kingdom Climate Change Act of 2008 has made it necessary to reduce the carbon dioxide emission by 26% by 2020 and by 80% by 2050. The other government around the world is also concerned about the carbon dioxide emission in their country (Wells, 2010, p. 132). The biggest impact of such policies and concern will have on the transportation system which is considered the biggest emitter of carbon dioxide.

This will lead to a rise in the demand for cars which are more environments friendly. The main cars available in this segment are the electric cars and the cars running on bio-fuel. The UK government proposes a subsidy of up to 5000 pounds for electric cars in 2011. Germany plans to invest 500 million Euro in 2009 to develop the infrastructure for electric cars. In this context a very important debate is that whether the petrol cars will be replaced by the electric cars. However Schroder (2009, pp. 7 -10) gives a summary of the problems faced by the electric cars.

According to him the technology of the electric cars are yet to match the cost efficiency, speed and the comfort of the petrol cars. According to him there are two alternatives for the consumer. They can either purchase a comfortable but highly expensive electric car or a less mobile and less comfortable but cheaper electric car. Therefore petrol cars still provide some advantage over the electric cars. Therefore he underlines the need for technological advancement in the electric car segment to make it attractive to the consumers.

There have also been some necessary technological up gradation in this regard. He mentions the capacity of Tesla that is more efficient than the other electric cars and provides the consumers with the some highly demanded features. Moreover he stresses on raising the awareness and popularity of the electric cars to make them more attractive to the consumers. Many consumers are skeptical about the efficiency of the electric cars and giving them a test drive is a good way to reassure them about the efficiency of these cars.

Another important hindrance to the adoption of the electric cars has been pointed out by Kreith and Goswami (2011, p 831). In the initial days the battery capacity of the electric cars could not compete with the efficiency provided by the petrol cars. However technological advancement had made it possible to visualize a world of electric transportation. Moreover, though petrol pumps are available in all parts of the country, electric cars face a problem when the batteries run out of charge. Therefore there can be more battery recharging stations around the country to facilitate the use of electric cars.

However recharging a battery is a time consuming process. Therefore there can be battery exchanging stations where recharged batteries are available. In the above discussion, most of these researches do not give any estimate of the projected number of electric cars in the future or the advantages of the electric cars over the petrol cars other than the environmental concern. Issues such as safety and running costs that can shape the demand have not discussed and our current research will take up these issues.

Bibliography 1. Krieth, F. & D.Y. Goswami, (2011), Principles of Sustainable and Renewable Energy, US, CRC Press 2. Schroder, D. (2009), Entering the Electric Car Market in Germany, Munich, GRIN Verlag. 3. Wells, P. E. (2010), The Automotive Industry in an Era of Eco-Austerity, Munich, GRIN Verlag