In the distant 2004 the documentary Super Size Me he explained, through a bizarre experiment, the possible consequences that the human body faces when it relies too much on fast food. Although on not completely scientific assumptions, Morgan Spurlock’s film had the merit of underlining how the problem of obesity in the United States was not to be underestimated. Even electric cars are now in danger of overshooting the scalegoing Over Size from every point of view.
With the evocative title Super Size EV, Emission Analytics has published a small essay in which he shows the distortions of the current electric car market. To begin with, he points out how the electric onesvery promising in terms of emissions, are on average 39% heavier, 40% larger and 44% more expensive than internal combustion engine cars. All this in a market where every single car weighs more, contributing to the increase in emissions generated by tires. All things considered, only the weight of petrol-fueled SUVs remains constant, but in terms of pollution, worsening is noted as their market share has increased (see image below, source Emission Analytics).
The historical context has changed. By 1997, in Europe, cars had become about 500 kilos lighter, at least until the first decade of the 2000s. In the United States, after the 1973 oil crisis, cars had lost 400 kilos in five years, on average. So today we are talking about an opposite trend. There are several reasons why vehicles weigh more today. For example, customers seem to prefer larger cars, with high wheels, and here we cannot fail to underline the media-advertising push of the car manufacturers. Then we must not forget the entry of safety devices, sometimes ‘heavy’. Finally the emission rules, which do not reward lighter cars. More generally, the implementation of more exhaust after-treatment technology to meet increasingly stringent regulations on pollutant emissions has required more physical space on the vehicle, and higher prices to maintain profit margins.
The risk, therefore, is that, without a significant incentive, consumers will hold back from buying electric cars. Many may simply choose to keep their existing ICE vehicle or buy a second-hand one, in any case leaving them on the roads longer than normal. Currently, the average life span of a vehicle in Europe is 14 years. If this period were to increase due to the high price of electric vehicles, it would undermine the reduction of CO2 desired by Europe.
There are two possible solutions: one in line with the Green Deal, while the other should contain a political backtrack from the European government. The first is to work hard and hard for reduce the cost of producing electric cars and establish, together with the builders,weight limits‘that can help revive the market. The second, a thesis espoused by Emission Analytics, is by go back to incentivizing light hybrid cars, taking them beyond the 2035 limit, so that the European car fleet can be renewed and the possibility that the average life of vehicles exceeding 20 years can be eliminated. In both cases, however, SUVs are assumed to be stopped in their ascent.
Unfortunately, both roads are difficult to pass through today. It can be seen from the trend of manufacturers, who absolutely do not seem willing to propose small cars or solutions capable of making cars lighter.
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