“The stove in the cabin becomes a lordship”: the expert spoke about the disadvantages of electric vehicles
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News regarding electric vehicles has been mixed in recent weeks. On the one hand, the giants of the global automobile industry are adjusting plans for the “electrification” of their products in the direction of preserving cars with internal combustion engines in the future. On the other hand, the fleet of electric vehicles, including in Russia, is growing, and transport strategies planning their distribution remain in force. Is it profitable to operate an electric train in our conditions and is it worth betting on such a machine here and now? MK found out.
According to traffic police statistics, which were published in February of this year, in Russia in 2023 the number of electric vehicles in use increased by 75%. Now there are 39.7 thousand units throughout the country. As a percentage of the total fleet, however, this is only 0.07%.
At the same time, the “number of electric trains” is growing most actively in the capital – here over the past year there have been seven times more electric cars (the second and third places in this ranking were taken by the Kaliningrad region – three times, and the Moscow region – twice). In Moscow, the increase is significant and in absolute numbers – more than 6 thousand cars.
One of the main advantages for electric vehicles in the Russian capital, which may be why their number is growing so actively here, is free parking, as well as a network of city charging stations free for registered users. Moreover: electric cars not only have the right to park for free in all city paid parking lots, but also received exclusive parking and charging spaces on the road network.
“It was because of the preferences that I decided to try an electric car,” says investment company manager Alexey Bulgakov. — I purchased for myself “for life testing” a used electric “Japanese” at a total cost of about 1 million rubles. The car turned out to be very interesting and even fun to use, and the benefits are significant: according to rough calculations, while working in the center, I have already saved about 200 thousand rubles on parking in several months. As for free refills, it’s not always possible to use them, but the savings are very significant in any case.
However, as MK’s interlocutor predicts, these economic benefits will last no more than a few years. “When there are several times more “electric trains” than now, they will take up a significant share of parking spaces in the center, and this will mean that even with an increase in prices you will not get free spaces. This means that benefits will have to be cancelled. Perhaps this will be done in 2025–2026,” noted the owner of the electric car.
However, for now the authorities, on the contrary, are agitating citizens for the speedy “electrification” of personal cars. In addition to the arguments already mentioned, electric cars in Moscow are not subject to transport tax, and on a federal scale they have the right to free travel on toll roads.
That is why the network of metropolitan electric filling stations is expanding. By 2030, it is planned to build 30 thousand of them – on the streets, as well as in the parking lots of retail, office and even residential buildings. True, at the moment the issue of ensuring fire safety has still not been resolved – the batteries of electric trains tend to explode, and extinguishing the fires of such vehicles is much more difficult than usual.
In operation, not even talking about preferences, an electric car has its undeniable advantages, added Alexey Bulgakov. Its regular maintenance is much cheaper – primarily due to the fact that there is no need to change the engine oil. And other components of an electric vehicle require much less regular maintenance.
“But there are also major disadvantages, especially for our climate,” continued the owner of the electric train. — In order for the power reserve to remain somewhat acceptable, you have to give up heating the cabin in winter; from the point of view of energy consumption, this turns out to be a luxury – whereas with an internal combustion engine, the stove simply utilizes excess heat from the engine. True, most versions of electric “Japanese” cars have heated seats and steering wheels, as well as heated windows, including the windshield, so it’s quite possible to drive without a heater.
Meanwhile, several high-profile world news contradict the “electromobilization” trend. Thus, Apple announced the closure of the corresponding project; earlier plans to curtail the production of cars with internal combustion engines were adjusted by Mercedes-Benz and Toyota. Thus, Russia (following China, which in recent years has become a leader in the “electrification” of vehicles) may suddenly find itself at the forefront of progress. Because our incentives for electric vehicles show no signs of slowing down: for example, the Ministry of Industry and Trade recently excluded passenger cars and light trucks with internal combustion engines from the preferential leasing program. But I kept electric cars.
“Since we are talking about leasing, it is obvious that the policy is aimed primarily at updating commercial vehicles, including taxis and car sharing,” says Ilya Levin, a marketer at a large dealership center. “This will not have too much of an impact on individuals, since they use other mechanisms, primarily lending.
Moscow, by the way, is stimulating the transition to electric traction in taxis and car sharing. For such consumers, the 30–40% difference between an electric train and a car with an internal combustion engine is not so critical—lower operating costs are more important. As a result, in a few years we may find ourselves in a situation where corporate “fleets” will be increasingly represented by electric vehicles, and cars with internal combustion engines will remain for conditions more severe than large cities… And private owners – however, no one guarantees that No new restrictions will be introduced for gasoline and diesel cars.
Newspaper headline:
Where is the train going?
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