To EV or not EV? That is the question

Following on from last week’s announcement that Oman’s very first electric vehicle, the MAYS, will be on the roads imminently, the gas versus electric debate is probably happening throughout much of the Sultanate of Oman.

Are you, like me, still on the fence about electric vehicles? Or have you made your mind up? Either way, are EVs beginning to look a lot like Marmite, in that you either love them... or not? Most of us though, still have questions. Initially I was dead against the idea, as I couldn’t see past the idea that an EV would be just a glorified golf cart, and anyone who has driven a golf cart knows that they are more like a grown-up toy, than something serious. So, my first thoughts were to stick with a gas guzzler!

But then, seeing the first EVs was exciting. Seeing the ‘golf cart’ transformed into something stylish, uncluttered, and innovative, the only negative appeared to be that everything was linked to Elon Musk, who is himself a marmite! Even now, we can’t decide whether he is self-serving, or a global philanthropist; rich, or just looks it; an entrepreneur or a shyster; a success or a failure, honest or... I know it’s an awful thing to say, but I can’t stand the guy.

His aggression is front and centre, saying “We will not stop until every car on the road is electric,” and had the affront to label the first four models of his Tesla vehicles, the S, 3, X, and Y versions. That’s not humorous, on any planet its disrespectful, at least contemptuous of an entire generation. See Tesla, think Musk, whose eponymous links to EVs are distasteful, and must create market uncertainty, not just for his, but all EVs.

However, the emergence of the second series of EVs as all manufacturers have embraced a global clamour for environmental solutions, has seen some amazing technologies, and vehicle designs emerge, and overnight it seems, we were swept into probably the most exotic vehicular extravaganza the motor industry has seen since the DeLorean. And at the same time, a diversity of purchase and lease options appeared on the scene, encouraging motorists to swing over to the other side of the debate. It was fun time in the EV playground.

The rain on that parade, however, was in the form of the conservationist lobby heavily publicizing images of lithium mines and working conditions, which, it’s fair to say, are disturbing, lithium being the light, heat-resistant, non-renewable element that stores more energy than any other metal, and therefore, in fact, makes renewable energy in EVs, possible. Clearly affecting environments and habitats, the mines are scars, the ponds surreal palates, and both have been labelled ‘the birthplace of batteries,’ which is, I doubt, in praise. I guess, as with all things environmental, we must reconcile ourselves as to the picture we can reconcile ourselves with and move forward.

The alarmists, of course, will point to some pretty spectacular fires, and explosions of EVs which have been widely circulated on social media, and make no mistake, they are scary! However, current research by envirosafe.com is that while, globally, there is a 0.1 per cent possibility a conventional, internal combustion motor vehicle catching fire, in fact, EVs are far less likely to burn, at 0.0012 per cent. Now that’s a significant difference and means that you are 83 times more likely to go on fire in a petrol or diesel car.

Further muddying my own perspective, I hired a hybrid EV for a week, and drove extensively in all weathers, on a variety of roads, and found myself thoroughly enjoying the experience... once I got used to not hearing any engine sound. That was uncanny. Carlos Ghosn, a leading figure in the automotive industry says that “electric cars are “not going to take the world by storm,” that it will be a “gradual process,” but also that “the time is right, in fact the time is critical.” So, is now the time for EVs, or never?