Advantages and Disadvantages of Electric Vehicles Essay Example

Electric vehicles are becoming widely more common, and some people see them as the future for our transportation. Some companies have even switched to mostly producing electric vehicles or even only producing them to support this view. With manufacturers making these switches one question becomes more inherently obvious, should there be a switch to all electric vehicles? I believe there shouldn’t be a switch to only producing electric vehicles, but they should still be produced alongside, gas, diesel, and hybrid vehicles.

Some people who push for a switch to all electric vehicles may do so because they believe that electric vehicles use fewer natural resources and leave less of a carbon footprint. While this can be true in many cases the United States Environmental Protection Agency states that the amount of carbon pollution produced from powering the vehicle depends on how an areas local power is generated (Electric Vehicle Myths). In areas where they do not utilize renewable energy sources that produce less carbon pollution there is no environmental benefit from electric vehicles compared to standard vehicles.

The most detrimental aspect of electric vehicles would be with the production of the lithium-ion batteries used to power the vehicles. The main issue seen with using these batteries is that there is more carbon pollution generated when producing a lithium-ion battery than when producing a standard engine. Another issue seen with using lithium-ion batteries would be that the distances an electric vehicle can travel before needed to be charged is often less than the distance a standard vehicle can travel before needing to be refueled (Explaining Electric & Plug-In). Although the issue of distance before charging can be improved, the process of doing so would involve producing other types of batteries witch in turn would lead to more generated energy and carbon pollution.

Another downside would be the cost of purchasing and electric vehicle. The United States Department of Energy states that although the cost of powering an electric vehicle may be lower, purchase prices can be significantly higher (Electric Vehicle Benefits and Considerations). This could pose an issue as not everybody would be able to afford purchasing an electric vehicle. Along with the purchasing cost being a possible issue with electric vehicles, the cost of producing the batteries is also greater than the cost of producing a standard engine. The greater cost of producing the batteries stems from having to mine the resources needed, and the cost of assembling the battery.

With all this information being looked at electric vehicles still can have a positive impact on the environment due to them having little to zero tailpipe emissions. Along with the tailpipe emissions being a positive, they also can produce less carbon pollution if located where renewable resources generate local energy. These positives and negatives are what lead me to believe that car manufacturers shouldn’t switch to only producing electric vehicles, but they should keep producing them alongside gas, diesel, and hybrid vehicles.