Cars, buses, motorcycles, trucks,
helicopters and even ships.
Electric vehicles are slowly but surely making
inroads into the transportation industry,
but is this enough to actually
change the way we travel?
Here in Singapore, there were more than
930,000 vehicles on the road in 2018.
Only 707 of them were electric.
That doesn’t sound like much, but just five years
before that, there were only seven electric vehicles.
That’s a 10,000% increase.
Now we’re seeing more charging points and electric
car-sharing services popping up all around the island.
But what about the
rest of the world?
Well, China, Europe and the United States
led in electric vehicle, or EV, sales in 2018,
with nearly two million electric
cars bought between them.
But they make up only a tiny fraction of
the world’s automobiles as a whole.
In the Nordic countries however, EVs are
starting to command a sizable market share.
Nearly 50% of Norway’s
cars are electric.
Traditional automakers, start-
ups and even unlikely brands
are hungry for a share of what they
hope will be a lucrative market.
In 2018, the top sellers were Tesla, Beijing
Electric Vehicles, BYD and Nissan,
but the electric drive isn’t
confined to personal vehicles.
Electric tuk-tuks and mini-cabs are
also popping up all over the world.
Not to mention hoverboards, segways and even
laptop-sized super cars that you can carry in your bag.
But with more electric vehicles, you’re going
to need the infrastructure to charge them.
Countries like the USA, China and India are all laying
out milestone targets for the electric-car industry,
whether by providing more charging points or
phasing out carbon-emission cars altogether.
But that's only one
part of the equation.
As the electric vehicle industry grows,
more talent and resources will be required.
I visited electric vehicle expert Subodh
Mhaisalkhar to find out more.
So in a place like Singapore, the government
is more inclined to let the private sector lead.
In other countries around the world, where there is an
over-arching commitment towards the environment,
the city has been more than willing to
provide the charging infrastructure.
As of today, EVs are much more expensive
than a conventional petrol car.
However, in the next five years, it's predicted the cost
of an EV will equal the cost of a petrol-driven vehicle.
At that point, it will be a no-brainer
for people to switch to an EV car.
The main draw for a switch to electric transport
is of course, reducing our carbon footprint.
But electricity still needs to be drawn from somewhere,
and power plants aren’t exactly pollution-free.
Thirty-eight percent of the world’s electricity
still comes from burning coal,
the source of energy that
causes the most pollution.
Americans still depend on coal to generate
more than a quarter of its power,
while it makes up about
60% of China’s energy mix.
With more electric vehicles and charging stations
being built, demand for electricity will also increase.
According to future projections,
electric vehicles will cause
global electricity consumption
to rise 6.8% by 2040.
This brings up the question of whether
any positive environmental impact
of an electric transportation system
will be significant enough.
If the savings just aren’t there, will
a global adoption be worth it?
The switch from a petrol vehicle to a hybrid or a full
electric, will really save emissions by at least 20 – 30%.
So you’ll see first buses which are hybrid,
and then buses which are electric vehicles.
And I think that will make a huge difference.
And that will probably be the most sustainable
form of transport that we’ll see going into the future.
But there might be other factors hindering
the mass adoption of electric vehicles.
It would be impractical to build charging
infrastructure in countries with mountainous terrain
or incompatible electrical grids,
like Nepal or Pakistan.
And let’s face it, the range of electric passenger vehicles
available on the market now remains modest.
The motorcycle scene is also buzzing
for a slice of the electric pie,
with an array of dirt bikes,
scooters, and mopeds.
Established marquees like BMW, Vespa and
Harley-Davidson are also joining the game.
But just 11 months after the debut of Harley’s
fully electric motorcycle, the LiveWire,
the company has halted production after it
discovered a problem with its charging mechanism.
And Dyson, more famous for its vacuum cleaners and
fans, has also abruptly cancelled its electric car project,
citing difficulties in making
it commercially viable.
Despite Dyson’s exit, traditional auto manufacturers
and new players are pushing ahead with their plans.
The list includes Apple, with its rumored electric car
project, and Google’s parent company, Alphabet.
It might mean that we can expect a few
surprises in technological innovations.
As interesting as it would be to watch heritage brands
marry their distinct styles with electric capabilities,
a loyal customer base might not be enough
leverage for a foray into the electric industry,
given the difficulties
companies are now facing.
But it’s not just the consumers
who will need to be won over.
New electric car manufacturers
have more barriers to entry,
such as forming a network of suppliers and sales,
which gives traditional automakers an edge.
Electric transport has
taken to the skies as well.
I’m here at the Intelligent Transport Systems
World Congress, surrounded by the latest revolutionary
products in transportation, like this ‘vertiport’
infrastructure for electric sky taxis.
It may seem farfetched. But not when you consider
that there are already working electric aircraft.
I caught up with Duncan Walker of Skyports
and Volocopter’s Florian Reuter
to find out their plans to shape
the future of air transport.
Flying cars, flying taxis, have
been talked about for ages.
And we looked across the technology spectrum and
said, "Okay, what’s changed to make this a reality now?"
And we looked at batteries, we looked at carbon
fiber and how you can mold carbon fiber.
And we thought actually, now this is becoming
a reality, the technology is there, it’s available.
We see so much progression in a number of
technologies, that are all coming together.
You have this tipping point where suddenly, we are
now able to build a vehicle like the Volocopter,
which individually, wasn’t possible
you know, five years ago.
Volocopter, in collaboration with Skyports, aims to
develop a commercial air taxi service in Singapore.
There’s a, I would say, global will to make this happen
in order to enable CO2 or emission-free transportation.
I think we have no choice
but to become emission-free.
And the only technological possibility
that we currently have is to go electric.
We are absolutely convinced that it’s going to
be a meaningful way of moving around cities.
It’s not going to be the solution and all
cars come off the road immediately.
We see it very much as an integrated
part of the transport network.
Back on the roads, electric vehicles still make up less
than 1% of the billion vehicles being driven today.
Disrupting that will
take a bit of time.
But now that there are more
players and more solutions,
we can expect more diversity, innovation
and infrastructure in the scene.
Which means you might be plugging into an
electric city of the future sooner than you think.
Hi, thanks for watching my video.
Subscribe if you haven't already
And comment below if you have
thoughts on the race to electric.
