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Electric Vehicles: Literature Review

Kevin Camarena

The University of Texas at El Paso

RWS: 1302
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Abstract

As our world becomes more concerned about the state of the environment, many start to

think about new methods we could implement do lessen the impact we have on the earth. One of

these new aspects of environmental awareness is the integration of electric vehicles as a

replacement for traditional cars powered by fossil fuels. However, the research and development

of new technologies is time consuming and costly leading to others questioning if investing in

electric vehicles is worth the effort. Those who support the development of electric cars say it’s

part of the necessary change the world must accommodate in order to reduce our impact on the

environment and maintain our current way of life as fossil fuels become depleted since they are a

nonrenewable resource. Though, this shift in production and attention to switching our forms of

transportation will greatly affect those that rely on keeping traditionally gasoline powered cars.

Such as automobile manufacturers, oil companies, communities dependent on oil production, and

countries that have oil as their main source of export for their economy. Many have brought up

recent trends in manufacturing to predict how electric cars will fare in the future and others have

looked into the various outcomes that will arise if electric vehicles replace traditional vehicles as

the primary source of transportation for most people. The research brought up expands on the

ideas brought up by people on both sides of the issue.

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Electric Vehicles: Literature Review

Electric vehicles signal a coming of change for the future. With change people must

know how to adapt and if adapting to change is a possible route to take. 4 questions have been

brought up in this literature review in order to solve the concerns many people have on the

adaption to electric vehicles. The 4 questions brought up here are:

1. What is an electric vehicle?

2. How do electric vehicles compare to gasoline powered vehicles?

3. What are the consequences of society adapting to electric vehicles?

4. What policies have been proposed to address the advantages of utilizing electric or

gasoline powered vehicles?

The adaption to electric vehicles is what many consider a necessary step for the world to take

to ensure a better world for the future. However, many also consider the investment in

developing electric vehicles to be an unnecessary expense that diverts resources away from more

important issues. So, research, development, and answers are needed to know how to proceed

with this new technology.

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What is an electric vehicle?

An electric vehicle is a car that uses electricity from a fuel cell or a battery to power its

engine (What Are Electric Cars? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.ucsusa.org/clean-

vehicles/electric-vehicles/what-are-electric-cars). An electric vehicle can either be powered

completely by an electric motor or being a plug-in hybrid car that utilizes gasoline or diesel fuel and

electricity or be a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. The hydrogen fuel cell vehicle uses the energy from a

chemical reaction of mixing hydrogen and mixing it with the atmospheres oxygen passed through a fuel

cell to power the vehicle. Electric vehicles recharge by using the electricity from an electrical power grid

and regain some of their energy while braking using their regenerative braking feature

(https://www.energy.gov/eere/electricvehicles/electric-vehicle-basics). Regenerative braking is achieved

from gathering the energy that is usually lost through braking which in turn generates electricity for the

electric motor. Using an electric vehicle for daily transportation greatly reduces one’s carbon footprint. As

shown in figure 1, as part of a survey conducted by UTEP student K. Camarena the results found that

73% of participants agreed that electric vehicles are better for the environment than gasoline powered

vehicles. These findings go along with the sentiments of environmental advocates that support utilizing

electric vehicles for the sake of the environment. As stated by Enel SpA chief executive officer,

Francesco Starace "Electric cars are intrinsically cheaper than gas or oil fueled cars because they're

simpler and their maintenance is a lot easier,”. Due to the lack of foreign agents present in electric

vehicles this makes it less likely to experience build up that damages the engine or makes it less efficient.

Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles only byproduct is water and heat which does not contribute to any pollution

from tailpipe emmisions like traditionally powered cars (Larminie, J., & Lowry, J. (2012). Electric vehicle

technology explained. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons).

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Do you think electric vehicles are better for the

environment than gas-powered vehicles?
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1 2
Yes- 73.17% No-26.83%
Figure 1

How do electric vehicles compare to gasoline powered vehicles?

Electric vehicles currently cannot match the standards traditional gasoline powered

vehicles have set since their inception. As shown in figure 2, as part of a survey conducted by

UTEP student K. Camarena, 68% of participants agreed that gasoline powered cars were more

efficient than electric vehicles. This public sentiment derived from the survey goes along with

the current automation standards that electric vehicles still do not reach current standards that

traditional gas-powered cars have set. However, electric cars have shown improvements in recent

years that if continued as projected will quickly overtake gasoline powered vehicles. Jess

Shankleman from Bloomberg states in her article that “electric cars will be as cheap as gasoline

models by 2025” and BNEF states, “electric vehicle sales will surpass internal combustion

engine sales by 2038”, this development can be seen in figure 3. This expansion will be due to

batteries for electric cars becoming inexpensive rather quickly and the cost of manufacturing

electric vehicles steadily dropping (Shankleman, J. (2017, July 06). The Electric Car Revolution

Is Accelerating. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-06/the-

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electric-car-revolution-iaccelerating). We have already seen this massive development in

technology, popularity, and adaption to electric cars on a small scale in the form of the company

Tesla. In WIRED’s YouTube video they explore the relatively quick progress electric cars have

made in recent years using Tesla as its primary example. Since Tesla’s founding in 2003 it has

already achieved the milestones it set using flashy sporty electric vehicles to make a name for

itself in the automobile industry. This was done in an effort to make the electric car popular and

appealing to consumers so when they made their affordable car it would be quickly adopted in

the mass market.

A major factor right now that detracts people from adopting electric vehicles more

quickly is the lack of convince in their daily lives. One comment from a Chicago local explains

an aspect of this well “I feel if Chicago really wants to promote electric vehicles they need to

start thinking about solutions and ways to provide more charging stations either in church

parking lots, commercial parking lots or at curb sites,” said Ortiz. “I don’t think people will walk

more than two blocks for a charging station, so there have to be more.” (Wisniewski, M. (2018,

June 05). Why electric cars are gaining ground slowly in the United States. Retrieved from

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/wisniewski/ctbiz-electric-cars-getting-around-

20180529-story.html). When asked by a news reporter if Germany would ban sale of gas and

diesel cars in the future Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel stated, " if we quickly invest in

more charging infrastructure and technology for electric cars, a general changeover will be

structurally possible,". This comment by German Chancellor Angela Merkel signals that policy

makers are thinking of ways that will make it easier for most people to transition to electric cars.

While this comment by German chancellor Angela Merkel may not affect the life of the Chicago

resident or solve their problems with electric cars, it may have an effect on other policy makers
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across western countries that are considering legislation for electric vehicles and how to

implement them into their communities.

Do you think electric vehicles are more efficient

than gasololine-powered vehicles?
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1 2
Yes-31.71% No-68.29%
Figure 2
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Figure 3: [Digital image]. (n.d.). The Electric Car Revolution Is Accelerating. Retrieved from

https://www.bloomberg.com/businessweek

What are the consequences of society adapting to electric vehicles?

The ramifications of the world adapting to electric vehicles for its main form of

transportation is that it would greatly affect the economies of the world and countries who rely

on oil exportation as their main source of economic trade. The United States will experience

some of these consequences in the form of losing its income from the gasoline tax (McMahon, J.

(2018, June 04). Who Pays For Roads Once Electric Vehicles Defund The Gas Tax? Retrieved

from https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2018/06/04/who-paysfor-roads-once-electric-

vehicles-defunct-the-gas-tax/#15d8388b3e0a). From every gallon of gasoline, the US collects

18.4 cents and 24.4 cents on diesel fuel. According to the tax policy center, the US made $44

billion in 2015 from taxing fuel alone. This will create a noticeable drop in revenue for the US
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government once the mass market adopts to electric vehicles. As stated in an article by

Bloomberg, “The global shift toward electric vehicles will create upheaval for the auto industry:

from oil majors harmed by reduced gasoline demand to spark plug and fuel injection

manufacturers whose products aren’t needed by plug-in cars”. Recent numbers by Bloomberg’s

New Energy Finance indicate that 13 million barrels of oil are being displaced daily by electric

cars. BNEF had recently edited that number to actually be 8 million barrels a day but stated that

the number is “likely understated”. This indicates that electric cars are having a major impact on

the distribution of oil worldwide and will likely continue to have an impact on oil production and

distribution. While the rise of electric cars will certainly have an impact on oil production and oil

dependent economies it will also have a great effect on production of raw materials necessary for

the production of electric cars such as graphite, nickel, aluminum, cobalt, lithium, and

manganese. The demand for graphite alone will experience a 6,453% increase from 13,000 tons

a year to 852,000 tons by 2030. While certainly some industries will suffer or collapse, those

industries will have to adjust or find a way to integrate themselves into different avenues to

survive. This is a major setback that those opposed to adopting electric cars bring up. Since the

economy will have a major shift if this transition to electric cars occurs it will displace many

different fields of oil production. Placing most of the economic setbacks on those employed by

oil production which will ultimately destabilize the economy and cause more harm than the

possible benefits it might achieve.

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What policies have been proposed to address the advantages of utilizing electric or gasoline

powered vehicles?

Various governments across the globe have implemented policies in their laws to account

for utilizing electric cars. Such as government subsidies and incentives for driving electric

vehicles. Countries such as England, France, Germany, India, Norway, China have announced

plans to ban the sale of gasoline and diesel-powered cars in the future. England and France have

announced to ban those cars by 2040 and India even sooner by 2030. With Norway currently

being the leading country in distribution of electric cars, having 40% of cars sold being electric

or hybrid vehicles (C. (n.d.). These countries want to ban gas and diesel cars. Retrieved from

http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/11/autos/countries-banning-diesel-gas-cars/index.html). France’s

government official Nicolas Hulot stated that the goal of banning the sale of gas and diesel cars

by 2040 would also help car manufacturers “innovate and become market leaders”. This thought

process in policy makers indidcate that many governments of the world will also play a hand in

transitioning the populace to switch to electric vehicles. Done by forcing production and society

to change as a means to clean up the environment and find a solution to dwindling fossil fuel

resources. Opponents of transitioning to electric vehicles will argue that this is too much

interference in the economic process and will lead to the economy experiencing negative

repercussions and higher spending. The Paris agreement is an example of the governments of the

world coming together to find solutions to improving the environment. The Government of

China and India are among those countries that view the transition to electric cars as an extreme

necessity in their country because of their horrible air quality that has increased health problems

among their citizens. Countries with the biggest economies such as the United States, European

countries, and China are among those that are most ahead of installing charging stations and
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providing subsidies for electric cars. This indicates that they will also be the first countries who

experience the benefits of the newest developments of electric vehicles.

Conclusion

While research has shown that most people agree that the transition to electric vehicles is

neccesarry for the protection of the environment and the only alternative for when fossil fuels are

ultimately depleted there are still many on the opposing side. There are still many people who

are opposed to the transition to electric cars from traditional gas-powered cars because of the

economic ramifications of the switch or because they view developing electric cars as a waste of

time, money, and resources. This creates division in the population which will lead to more

obstacles and problems for policy makers when they try to integrate electric cars into their

community or when they try to maintain the current standard of using traditional gas-powered

vehicles. Leading to slow progress on both sides of the issue leading to further hostility and

polarization. This is why communication, research, and problem solving needs to be

implemented in order to unify both sides of the issue to satisfy those who want to continue

developing electric vehicles for the future and create economic safeguards for when industry

changes and various avenues of production pivot in new directions.

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References

Shankleman, J. (2017, July 06). The Electric Car Revolution Is Accelerating. Retrieved from

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-06/the-electric-car-revolution-is

accelerating

The Tesla Model 3: The Culmination of Elon Musk's Master Plan | WIRED. (2017, July 27).

Retrieved from https://youtu.be/zG7uLvtzGJc

Larminie, J., & Lowry, J. (2012). Electric vehicle technology explained. Chichester: John Wiley

and Sons.

What Are Electric Cars? (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.ucsusa.org/clean-vehicles/electric-vehicles/what-are-electric-cars

Electric Vehicle Basics. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.energy.gov/eere/electricvehicles/electric-vehicle-basics

McMahon, J. (2018, June 04). Who Pays For Roads Once Electric Vehicles Defund The Gas

Tax? Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2018/06/04/who-pays

for-roads-once-electric-vehicles-defunct-the-gas-tax/#15d8388b3e0a

Wisniewski, M. (2018, June 05). Why electric cars are gaining ground slowly in the United

States. Retrieved from http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/wisniewski/ct

biz-electric-cars-getting-around-20180529-story.html

C. (n.d.). These countries want to ban gas and diesel cars. Retrieved from

http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/11/autos/countries-banning-diesel-gas-cars/index.html