A charging station at a mall in Springfield, Virginia (Robert Knopes/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Is America Ready for Electric Cars?

General Motors, one of the world’s largest car manufacturers, announced in January that it plans to produce only zero-emissions vehicles by 2035. That means a huge shift from gas-powered engines to electric motors. GM’s announcement, which comes as the new Biden administration is looking for ways to ramp up the fight against climate change, is likely to put pressure on competing automakers to make similar commitments. Indeed, Volvo declared in March that it plans to sell only electric vehicles by 2030. But is a nation long accustomed to gas-guzzling cars and trucks ready to plug in instead? An electric car advocate and an economist face off about whether the electric car’s time has arrived.

April 19, 2021

Do Americans want cars that are faster, more environmentally friendly, and cheaper to maintain? Of course. How about cars that are quieter and more comfortable? Definitely. That means America is ready for electric cars.

Before electric cars were introduced into the American market about 10 years ago, they were ridiculed as oversized snail-paced golf carts. They’re actually pretty powerful and incredibly reliable. They’re also fun. In fact, no mass-produced gas car can rival the acceleration of an electric car. The newest Tesla goes from 0 to 60 in under 2 seconds.

Electric cars are better for the environment. Gas cars emit toxins produced by burning gasoline; those toxins pollute the air we all breathe. Electric cars produce no emissions. To be fair, power plants that generate our electricity do create some pollution and carbon emissions. But every year, those levels drop as the electrical grid becomes more reliant on renewable energy like solar and wind power. So an electric car actually becomes more environmentally friendly every year that passes.

Electric cars are environmentally friendly and cheaper over the long term.

Electric cars are cheaper to own over the long term. In most of the U.S., the electricity needed to charge your car costs the equivalent of gasoline at about $1 a gallon. And you never need to go to a gas station; you just plug it in at home and charge while you sleep. Electric cars require almost no maintenance: no smog checks, no oil changes. Even brakes last longer since regenerative breaking, which puts energy back into the battery as the car slows down, reduces wear on brakes.

And finally, why are electric cars more comfortable and quieter? With no pistons banging back and forth, there’s no vibration—and no engine noise.

Most people focus on the environmental case for electric cars—and it is undeniable. But if you simply like good, efficient cars or don’t like the smell of gasoline on your fingers, you’ll agree that electric cars are the best choice. The moment for electric cars has arrived.

—MARC GELLER

Director, Electric Auto Association

Electric cars, which are powered by rechargeable batteries, may be the wave of the future, but for the next decade or so they’ll remain expensive niche products that won’t dominate the U.S. marketplace.

Part of that has to do with how Americans use their vehicles. In 1903, more electric vehicles were sold than any other type. But they were being used for short pleasure drives, not work. Today, Americans buy more pickup trucks than four-door sedans. If you’re looking for a heavy vehicle that’s meant to haul things long distances, a gas-powered motor is better suited to that than an electric one.

Most of today’s electric cars need recharging every 200 miles or so. For most people, that makes them practical only for short local trips. But Americans want to buy a car that’s also good for vacations and hauling things from Home Depot. It’s likely to be the end of the decade before better and cheaper batteries allow that to happen.

Electric cars will remain a niche product for the next decade or so.

Electric vehicle proponents also underestimate the scale of shifting the car industry from gas to electric. In 2021, manufacturers around the world will make more than 750 models and sell nearly 100 million new vehicles. But in the U.S., 98 percent of them will still be powered by gas engines. Even when improved batteries make electric cars cost-effective, converting hundreds of models to electric will take a couple decades. For example, more than a ton of lithium is needed to produce car batteries for 100 electric vehicles. We’ll need more lithium mines and specialized refineries, but opening a new mine can take a dozen years. It will therefore be the 2030s before the global supply chain can produce enough batteries for electric cars to dominate gas-powered vehicles.

There’s no doubt that electric cars have potential. But they’re still in their infancy. They remain too expensive and impractical for most American consumers, and it will take a decade at least for that to change.

—MICHAEL SMITKA

Professor Emeritus of Economics Washington and Lee University