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    Today is World EV Day 2021, time consider an electric car for your next vehicle

    Happy World EV Day! Thanks to the wonders of international timezones.. over the next 48 hours, Thursday 9th September will arrive across the world and serve as a day to reflect on where the world is at with EVs and think forward to where we’re heading.

    Individually, I’d recommend that you use this day to think about your own vehicle ownership situation and when your family may make the move to an electric vehicle.

    Right now, electric vehicles are still targeting the higher end of the market, which just reflects where we the industry is at, particularly in cost reductions on the most expensive component, the battery. Thankfully prices are moving south and EVs are more affordable than ever.

    The great news is, EVs start around $40k, for something like the MG ZS EV, but the most popular EV in the country, the Tesla Model 3, now starts around $60K thanks to some new state Government incentives. The story won’t stop here and within the next couple of years, we’re likely to see the new EV price drop to sub $25k, where a lot more of the market buys. By 2025, there’ll also be a well established second-hand EV market in Australia, so look out for bargains there.

    While we’d like more models in the market today, that is changing and there’s at least half a dozen new EVs on their way to Australia in the next 12 months. Make sure you check out the Electric Vehicle Council who maintains a list of the EVs currently available on the market.

    Almost every week now, we’re getting announcements from automakers, committing to end their ICE development programs and moving to 100% electric drivetrains in new products somewhere between 2025 and 2035.

    Countries are also committing in a big way, to both encourage automakers to ship zero-emission products by a deadline (most around 2030-2035). The reason 2035 is a critical date, is that vehicles often have 15 year lifespans, so if we sell the last ICE-powered vehicle in 2035, that gives us 15 years to have that off the road, if we are to meet a 2050 zero-emission goal for all industries, with transport making up a significant portion of those emissions.

    One of Australia’s biggest challenges is it’s size and thankfully the charging infrastructure is improving rapidly, solving one of the biggest blockers for potential EV owners. The Federal Government, via AEMO is funding thousands of chargers across the country with co-investment proving to be a successful approach. This means you can go on that family holiday, or weekend road trip, with the charging options every 100-150km to support those drives.

    Globally there is also a lot of momentum building with EV sales exploding in many countries. This is helped by some very visual representations of electric vehicles, namely racing categories Formula E and the newest off-road racing, Extreme E.

    If you’re looking into buying an EV, then our dedicated Electric Vehicle category page is definitely worth a look.

    As we head towards the end of 2021, the future couldn’t be clearer, the future of virtual all transport is going electric. Given the question is not if, but when you’ll upgrade to an EV, it is imperative that you think forward to your next vehicle upgrade.

    The reason this decision is so critical, is that cars often represent our second biggest asset, behind our homes. What is about to occur, is that 2nd-hand ICE vehicle prices are about to plummet, in light of changing consumer sentiment and cheaper EVs. No longer can you expect a certain resale value for your existing vehicle, so if you leave this too late, the amount of buyers will reduce as they all add EV as a requirement for their next purchase. With less buyers, the prices will not be sustainable and if you’re the one holding the keys after 2025, you should expect significantly less for that ICE vehicle.

    Electric Vehicles are something to look forward to, to aspire to, they are better in virtually every single way. We see the world’s top performance records falling to EVs, we see ranges dramatically growing and prices coming down as battery technology improves. The ongoing costs are obviously far lower with recharging generally around 1/3rd the cost of refueling and maintenance of an EV being little more than a tyre change and refilling the wiper fluid.

    The driving experience of an EV is also significantly improved. There no engine and exhaust noise, which enables you a better audio listening experience, or for better conversations with passengers. There’s also better driver assistance features included in EVs, as automakers focus on putting their best tech in the cars of the future.

    While the up-front costs of an EV are still higher than comparable ICE models, what you also need to appreciate is that our interior spaces are being reimagined by automakers, so if you want a car that’s clearly designed for the future, you need to buy EV and by the way, not having a drivetrain tunnel (even on an AWD) is a significant advantage. If the EV is created from the ground-up, you’ll also be able to access additional storage in the frunk.

    Finally we also have to discuss the interface to your vehicle. With an EV, we’re talking about your phone being your key to unlock your vehicle, just walk up and get in, sit in the seat, put it in reverse and go, with some EVs dropping the on/off button in favour of seat and brake pedal sensor activations.

    So with all that, I wish you a happy EV Day for 2021 and let us know in the comments if you’re already an EV owner or are considering your first. For some progressive Aussie’s, they may already be living in the future-state of solar on the roof, battery in the garage as well as being a dual-EV household, if that’s you, congrats!

    Personally I jumped into EV ownership back in September of 2019 and haven’t looked back. You can read my full review of the Tesla Model 3 Performance here.. as well as my comprehensive 12 month review here.

    More information on World EV Day at https://worldevday.org

    Jason Cartwright
    Jason Cartwrighthttps://techau.com.au/author/jason/
    Creator of techAU, Jason has spent the dozen+ years covering technology in Australia and around the world. Bringing a background in multimedia and passion for technology to the job, Cartwright delivers detailed product reviews, event coverage and industry news on a daily basis. Disclaimer: Tesla Shareholder from 20/01/2021

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