A recent study confirms that electric car owners drive more kilometers on average than those who drive thermal cars. The reasons are multiple and sometimes unexpected.
You may have thought that electric cars, limited by their range, led drivers to limit their travel? However, a recent study challenges this belief by revealing that electric car owners actually travel more kilometers than those of internal combustion vehicles. BloombergNEF, the American media outlet’s energy transition branch, has just taken a closer look at the annual mileage of electric vehicles compared to that of internal combustion engine vehicles in several markets. The study reveals that in China and the Netherlands, where electric cars are already widely adopted, the latter travel 66% and 56% more distance, respectively, than internal combustion vehicles. And yes, electric car drivers drive more, more often and often further than petrol drivers.
A difference in (road) behavior already familiar to those who have chosen electric, which seems to be confirmed over the years and studies, the first of which date back a little, and which of course has several explanations. Which ones? Let’s look at this a little more closely.
First of all, a little personal preamble that confirms this observation: absolutely everyone around me, close or not, and those with whom I have the opportunity to talk, generally tell me that they drive more since they switched to electric. As for my usage, since I took the plunge almost 6 years ago, I have gone from around 10,000 to 15,000 km/year, or even a little more in the last few months. Also, it is not uncommon to collect testimonies from electric car drivers covering impressive distances during their summer road trips. It is even interesting to note that Michelin has released – quite discreetly – a guide dedicated to traveling in an electric car, which lists the best routes taking into account the specificities of this mode of mobility.
First of all, driving electric is cheaper.
Although it is often disputed by diesel fans who boast of being able to do 1000 kilometers in one go, it is a fact: driving electric is easier on the wallet. A thermal car consumes around 7 liters per 100 km, or a cost of €12.95 for this distance at a price per liter of €1.85. In comparison, if we take an electric car that consumes on average 17 kWh/100 km, recharging at home costs around €4.76 for 100 km at €0.28/kWh, and on a fast charging station, this comes to €8.5/100 km. By recharging mainly at home, the average cost is around €6 per 100 km, and even less if you recharge during off-peak hours, which is the case for the vast majority of users concerned, with a price of €0.14/kWh.
Add to that the fact that maintaining an electric car is much less expensive, or even not expensive at all in the case of Tesla for example, which does not require any servicing, and you have a CTO, or in French, a total cost of ownership significantly lower than that of a thermal car. But in the case that interests us, it is the cost of energy, and therefore of travel, that weighs in the balance, with the rather pleasant consequence that we are less hesitant to drive more. This is even more true for some Tesla owners (sorry, them again) who benefit from free charging thanks to the brand’s sponsorship system. Another case – admittedly increasingly marginal – that of electric car drivers who still benefit from completely free charging on reinforced sockets in certain public car parks. Yes, it still exists, but probably not for much longer. The day you find a free gas pump, please let me know, even if in the end it won’t be of much use to me.
Financial incentives encourage more intensive use
The financial advantages offered to electric car owners are another significant factor. Government subsidies, road tax exemptions or reduced parking fees – in Norway for example – often encourage more frequent use of the vehicle. Companies and professionals, particularly in the light transport sector, also exploit these savings. They tend to increase the use of electric vehicles to optimise their operational costs, which is reflected in higher figures for kilometres driven.
A hint of ecology
Even if it is probably not the primary motivation for switching to electric, environmental awareness still has a role to play. Electric vehicle drivers are often people who are sensitive to ecological issues, and the idea of driving more without polluting is attractive. Unlike a thermal car, where each additional kilometer increases the carbon footprint, the electric car allows you to drive “cleanly”, even if we agree that the footprint of electricity production and fine particles emitted by tire wear must be taken into account. Ultimately, this feeling of contributing to the reduction of CO2 emissions, or at least not amplifying them, encourages more intensive use of your electric car for all types of journeys, whether for daily trips or long trips.
Autonomy and charging infrastructure encourage us to go further
Even if it is not progressing as quickly as some would like, the autonomy of electric cars has made considerable progress in recent years. Recent vehicles offer a range of more than 400 kilometers, sometimes even up to 700 to 800 kilometers for certain high-end models. With these figures, drivers no longer have to worry about the distance they can travel on a single charge. At the same time, the development of charging infrastructure, in particular with nearly 150,000 charging points in France, now makes it possible to recharge your vehicle quickly and easily over long distances. The “range stress” has thus gradually faded. With more accessible charging and reduced charging times, drivers feel free to drive more. And they do.
When you favor the road, you cover more kilometers
This is a mechanical effect of electric travel. If you have a little time, managing your range can sometimes take precedence over the frequency of recharges. You will then favor routes on the secondary network over the highway, which has the direct effect of significantly reducing consumption, but above all, sometimes (not all the time) of extending distances. A habit that electric car drivers quickly take up, and which encourages you to take the school route, extending the journey even further. Which also confirms the adage that the journey is as important as the destination. There is also another, more subjective element that often makes us want to go further and longer in electric mode, that of the challenge that some set themselves in terms of eco-driving, which can really become fun and motivating for those who take up the game, just to see how far we can go before recharging, even if it means reaching less than 5% at the next terminal, then to exchange on site with other members of this tribe that is decidedly not like the others. Something that petrolheads may not understand, but we won’t blame them.
When silence rhymes with distance
The last element that tends to lengthen the distances in electric is the silence of operation, which gives the landscapes crossed another dimension, since there is no noise pollution or parasitic vibrations. Of course, a modern thermal is also very quiet at 90 km/h, and some electrics are not free from noise volume, but generally speaking it is by driving in an electric that we measure to what extent noise is a nuisance that tires, whether physically or nervously. If you are less tired, you inevitably go further, for longer.
This is essentially why homo electromobilus is not quite a motorized animal like the others, and why long-distance travel does not seem to frighten it, despite the displeasure of the recalcitrants who see the 2035 deadline as the day of the Last Judgement. And it would seem that, despite a few failures here and there, this species continues to develop to become the majority in the long term. That will make for some lands to discover!
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