((PKG)) THE AGE OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES
((TRT: 04:14))
((Topic Banner: Age of Electric Vehicles))
((Reporter/Camera/Editor: Jeff Swicord))
((Map: Jefferson, Maryland))
((Main character: 1 male))
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Ronald Kaltenbaugh
President, EV Association, DC region))
My journey actually started with solar. Back in 2008, put solar on our house. And then through solar, I met people that are doing EVs [electric vehicles]. The motivation is around climate change. Motivation expanded because it’s just better. It’s fun to play with all the high-tech stuff. And ultimately it will save you money too.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Ronald Kaltenbaugh
President, EV Association, DC region))
This is a Tesla Model 3. Tesla started out with some higher-end sports cars. This is more their more affordable car. And actually, quite frankly, one of the best-selling cars in the world. It’s really picked up in sales quite dramatically.
((Ronald Kaltenbaugh
President, EV Association, DC region))
A couple of things about the car is kind of unique. One of these is these handles right here. The door handles are flush. That’s all about efficiency. And you just push on the back here and the thing pops open and now you can open the door. So, that’s a little bit different but actually a lot of other manufacturers are now copying that because even in a gas car, that’s more efficient, less resistance and so forth.
((Ronald Kaltenbaugh
President, EV Association, DC region))
This car has 18-inch wheels. And it has these plastic covers over the wheels that help with efficiency. Bigger tires are going to take more energy to run the car whether it’s gas or electric. So, you can get, you know, fancy 20-inch wheels on an EV but your range is going to go down.
((NATS))
((Ronald Kaltenbaugh
President, EV Association, DC region))
Most EVs that were designed as an EV from the get-go, not retrofitted from an earlier design, has space up front. And so now I opened up the front trunk or frunk as it’s often called. And it’s not a lot of space. And that’s the front trunk.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Ronald Kaltenbaugh
President, EV Association, DC region))
Charging the car, panels definitely pay for themselves over time.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Text-on-Video:
Annual fuel cost for Tesla Model 3 = $500
Annual fuel cost for similar gas car = $2000
Source: USDOE))
((Ronald Kaltenbaugh
President, EV Association, DC region))
So right now we have a, it’s 30-amp charger. So, the Tesla charges in about pretty much empty. It’s like eight and a half hours or so. They’re very practical today. The biggest obstacles are people just not knowing, you know, how it all works especially on road trips.
((Ronald Kaltenbaugh
President, EV Association, DC region))
It’s a little bit scary at first. And it becomes really a non-
Issue. So, in the Tesla, because they have a very extensive supercharger network which is integrated with the car, I can just tell the car I want to go somewhere.
((NATS: Ronald Kaltenbaugh
Navigate to Boston, Massachusetts.))
((Ronald Kaltenbaugh
President, EV Association, DC region))
So, I told the car to go to Boston and it is going to figure out the route. Now a lot of cars will do that, you know, figure out a route going somewhere but what’s different here is that it’s not only figuring out the route to go but where to stop and charge at Tesla supercharger stations.
((NATS))
((Text-on-Video:
There are over 1200 Tesla supercharger locations in the U.S.))
((Ronald Kaltenbaugh
President, EV Association, DC region))
So, that’s the car telling me my first, where I need to go. And it’s telling me now here is the route and where to stop and charge, how long to charge for. And it did it for me in a few seconds. Now, other cars don’t have, aren’t as this sophisticated yet. A few are but not too many. But there are apps for your smart phone, apps for the web, where you can do basically the same thing, just not quite as integrated.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Text-on-Video:
In 2020, 87% of EV sales worldwide were in China and Europe.))
((Ronald Kaltenbaugh
President, EV Association, DC region))
Why the U.S. is lagging in EV sales as opposed to China and Europe? There is some reasons for that.
((Ronald Kaltenbaugh
President, EV Association, DC region))
The U.S. is much more heavy on SUVs and trucks. Those aren’t going to be the first vehicles to get electrified. Fuel economy rules, they’re stricter in China and in Europe.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Ronald Kaltenbaugh
President, EV Association, DC region))
The key to being successful is going to be expanding charging, getting charging in low-income areas, around purchase incentives. All those things are going to, you know, work themselves out and eventually we’ll catch up and hopefully surpass them.
((NATS))