EV 1

Advantages of Electric Vehicles

Cihad Sefa Dağdeviren

Electronics and Communication Engineering - Faculty of Electrical and Electronics

Engineering

040170742

Fatih Mehmethan Yılmaz

Mechanical Engineering - Faculty of Mechanical Engineering

030170105

Feti Yılmaz

Mechanical Engineering - Faculty of Mechanical Engineering

030160139

Emir Ekrem Barutçu

Geomatics Engineering - Faculty of Civil Engineering

010170613

English 201

Ebru Yetiş

June 1, 2021

Advantages of Electric Vehicles

EV 2

Thesis: Although electric vehicles have a lower user ratio due to inadequate infrastructure,

they will be increasingly popular owing to their environmental, economic and safety

advantages.

I. Inadequate infrastructure

A. Insufficient charging

1. Few charging stations

2. Long charging time

B. Insufficient battery

1. Short driving range

2. Short lifetime

II. Environmental advantages

A. Decrease in air pollution

1. Not having exhaust outlet

2. Spreading less greenhouse gas

B. Decrease in noise pollution

1. Using silent engine

2. Using adjustable exhaust sound

III. Economic advantages

A. Electricity advantage

1. Lower electricity price

2. Higher efficiency

B. Purchase advantage

1. Increased government incentives

2. Decreased costs
EV 3
IV. Safety advantages

A. System safety

1. Preventing overheating by using battery management system

2. Providing short braking distance by using regenerative braking system under

safety critical driving situations

B. Crash safety

1. Pre-crash preventions

2. Post-crash preventions

The cars were first produced as electric and have become indispensable thanks to the

conveniences they provide. Electric vehicles, which were first produced in the middle of the

19th century, were able to meet the needs and remained in use for a while. However,
EV 4
widespread use of cars and electric vehicles has created new needs in the face of these

demands, it became disadvantaged compared to advanced internal combustion engine

vehicles, and its share in the automobile industry has gradually disappeared in the early 20th

century. After the electric vehicles lost their share in production, traditional vehicles became

the leader in the car industry; nonetheless, the problems experienced in oil resources in the

1970s and the environmental pollution caused by internal combustion engine vehicles led

vehicle manufacturers to find another source, and electric and hybrid vehicles have become an

alternative and the research has been increased. With the developing technology after these

researches, electric vehicles attracted the attention of manufacturers. On top of that, the entry

of major automobile brands into the electric vehicle industry has led to the comparison of

these vehicles with traditional ones. Even if these discussions encourage the use of electric

cars, the user rate remains low due to concerns among users. Although electric vehicles have a

lower user ratio due to inadequate infrastructure, they will be increasingly popular owing to

their environmental, economic and safety advantages.

The inadequate infrastructure which emphasizes charging and battery issues for

electric vehicles leads to concern among people to not use electric vehicles in daily life. To

start with insufficient charging infrastructure is one of the main problems that decrease the

willingness to purchase an electric vehicle. Primarily the few charging stations have a big

impact on people who want to buy an electric vehicle. Berkeley, Jarvis and Jones pointed out

that over %50 of respondents express that availability of charging stations is the main obstacle

that asserts ‘really serious’ worry with more than four points on the Likert scale. The ‘Public

attitudes to electric vehicles’ questionnaire is coherently empiric proof for this investigation.

This government poll which was carried out by 649 drivers in the UK in 2016 exposed that

recharging is the significant element that discourages buyers from purchasing an electric

vehicle (2018, p. 470). Considering the information above, it can be said that fewer charging
EV 5
stations are a huge concern that negatively affects people’s decisions. For future prediction, if

the number of charging stations will not increase there will not be enough rise in the sum of

electric vehicles in traffic, and also the adoption of electric vehicles will get more difficult. To

eliminate the worries about electric vehicles, charging stations, which is a major issue for

acceptance of electric vehicles in public, have to be solved. Furthermore, the second impact

that affects people’s decision to buy an electric vehicle is the long charging time that causes

more time consumption than fueling an internal combustion engine vehicle. To

summarize Goel, Sharma and Rathore, there are three basic types of electric vehicle charging.

The first one is Level 1 which charges the battery fully in 8 hours and provides a 120-130 km

driving range. Level 1 charging points are mostly placed at work and home. The second main

type of charging is Level 2 which ensures 120-130 km range with 4 hours of charging. Level

2 charging points can be found in public places. The last fundamental type of charging is DC

fast charging which takes 30 minutes to charge from an empty state to full charge that

provides 145 km driving range (2021, p. 8). Taking all these facts into consideration, it is

possible to claim that despite the DC fast charging, it is still a huge barrier in front of the

customer when it comes to purchasing an electric vehicle due to considering fuelling up an

internal combustion engine vehicle takes less than five minutes. Especially for long

destinations the time difference between charging an electric vehicle and fueling an internal

combustion engine vehicle wastes people’s time so it causes delayed arrival. Despite advances

in charging technology, there is still big-time consumption that generates concern among

customers. If the problem of long charging time will not decrease, the attractiveness of buying

an electric vehicle is going to reduce. So the charging technology has to be developed. As a

result, it can be concluded that the inadequate charging infrastructure includes few charging

points and long charging time issues for electric vehicles, which leads to worry among

customers and causes a negative change in their decision to get an electric vehicle.
EV 6
Apart from inadequate charging infrastructure, the other issue that affects customer’s

willingness to pay for an electric vehicle is insufficient battery. For example, short driving

range caused by insufficient battery is one of the most considered problems before buying

electric vehicles. Haddadian, Khodayar and Shahidehpour mentioned, “Electric vehicle

consumers are concerned about long-distance travels—to the point that such range anxiety

appears to be discouraging a majority of potential electric vehicle consumers” (2015, p. 56).

According to one survey, three quarters of American drivers believe that range is the

fundamental disadvantage of electric vehicles (Carley et al. cited in Haddadian, Khodayar &

Shahidehpour, 2015, p. 56). This surely explains that the provided driving range by the

battery is a huge obstacle that affects people’s opinion regarding electric vehicles. The short

driving range causes big concern especially on long destinations, and also the poor

accessibility of charging stations on the road increases this apprehension more. So improving

battery technology will decrease the worries and barriers that people encounter when

purchasing an electric vehicle.  Moreover, short lifetime of the battery is another impact on

customers' decisions before the deal due to insufficient battery. Goel, Sharma and Rathore

stated that instead of the fuel tank and gasoline engine of a traditional vehicle, electric

vehicles are generally produced by electric motors, batteries, chargers and controllers. The

batteries of electric vehicles, which are planned to have a long life, frazzle over time and need

to be replaced several times during the life of the electric vehicle with a high-priced battery

pack. For batteries, an eight-year / 100,000-mile guarantee is provided by the producer at

present (2021, p. 7). Thus, it is obvious that an electric vehicle battery’s lifespan is short

compared to internal combustion vehicles. Additionally, the high cost of batteries makes

people think twice about buying an electric vehicle. To increase the attractiveness of electric

vehicles, to see more electric vehicles in traffic and decrease the concerns of electric vehicles,

battery technology should be advanced. All things considered, the insufficient battery which
EV 7
causes a short driving range and a short lifetime cannot be ignored in people’s decisions and

worries which are significant before purchasing an electric vehicle.

Even though electric vehicles are inadequate in terms of infrastructure, the advantages

of electric vehicles are too great to ignore and environmental factors are one of the biggest

advantages. Above all, it is an undeniable fact that electric vehicles play a very important role

in decreasing air pollution in daily life. For example, one of the most important reasons to

decrease air pollution is that electric vehicles do not emit harmful gases; therefore, they have

no exhaust outlet. According to Xu, Sharif, Shahbaz and Dong, gases from vehicle exhaust

constitute 40% of air pollution in cities. This high gas release causes harm not only to

humans, but also to plants. It is inevitable that this rate will decrease and cities will become

more livable with the widespread use of electric vehicles (2020, p. 1205). They reported that

the findings show that electric vehicles’ reducing gas emissions rate allows people to be less

sick due to polluted air, to increase their enthusiasm to go outside and to make their social life

more efficient thanks to clean air. Plants will also be positively affected in this case. In this

way, not only the low gas emission, but also the increase of healthy plants will help clean the

air and allow people to live in greener cities. In addition, electric vehicles are more

environmentally friendly than traditional vehicles owing to the fact that the greenhouse gases

spread in the production of fuels for electric vehicles are much less than the gases emitted in

fuel production of conventional vehicles. Qiao et al. stated in their article “The gases released

into the environment for the fuels of internal combustion engines are so high that living less

than three kilometers from factories is suicidal for people” (2017, p. 3085). It can be said that

the use of renewable and clean energy sources such as wind turbines and huge solar panels in

electricity generation ensures that the greenhouse gases emitted to the environment for car

fuel production are greatly reduced and it increases livable zones for people. All in all, the
EV 8
widespread use of electric vehicles decreases air pollution because of the fact that they emit

less polluted air than traditional cars during both driving and the production of their fuels.

Besides air pollution, widespread use of electric vehicles plays a very important role in

decreasing noise pollution in cities. First of all, the engines of electric vehicles offer silent

operation due to the fact that electric vehicles run on electricity and have no clutch,

transmission or exhaust pipe. Foley pointed out that electric vehicles are quieter than cars with

internal combustion engines. Wind resistance or tire noises are typically the only sounds

electric vehicles make while driving with only moderate to higher speeds. In cities, the use of

electric vehicles would reduce noise pollution (2019, para. 3). It is clear that noise pollution in

cities adversely affects the psychology of people. Thanks to the widespread use of electric

vehicles, the reduction in noise pollution will reduce irritability, aggression and high stress

caused by unwanted sounds, especially in crowded cities. In other words, electric vehicles

prevent noise pollution and they also enable people to live a more peaceful life. Additionally,

another reason why electric vehicles are considered to decrease noise pollution is that they

generally have exhaust of which sound is adjustable. Since electric vehicles do not emit gas,

they do not need an exhaust pipe; however, the fact that a car does not make any noise

increases the risk of accidents in cities. Hence they have exhausts which make no noise

pollution to prevent accidents. Qiu et al. pointed out that since its harmonics and key rows are

scarcely audible and are often attenuated by a turbocharger, the electrical engine does not

have a small sound range dependent on power controlled processes as compared to the

gasoline engine. To achieve a sporty sound, special exhaust concepts have been created. The

sound level of the exhaust can be changed by adjusting the valve control timings. Adjustable

noises will significantly minimize city exhaust sounds (2020, para. 6). Clearly, in addition to

decreasing noise pollution in cities, adjustable exhausts also decrease noise pollution in

natural habitats. They prevent disturbing animals by shutting off sounds in forest areas and
EV 9
preserving the natural order. Considering the aforementioned reasons, the engine and exhaust

technologies used in electric vehicles have great innovations for noise pollution in cars.

People who are accustomed to the sound and harm of conventional vehicles will realise the

difference as soon as they start driving electric vehicles, which are making a good choice for

themselves and their environment.

Contrary to the fact that electric vehicles are known to be expensive and costly, they

are economically advantageous as a result of the price of electricity due to the variety of the

generating methods and developed infrastructure. To begin with, the economic efficiency of

electric vehicles is higher than the efficiency of conventional vehicles thanks to its

technological advantages and low fuel costs. Primarily, electricity prices are cheaper than

hydrogen and gasoline fuels owing to the multiplicity and efficiency of production methods.

Granovskii, Dincer, Rosen state that electric cars are more economic than fossil fuel cars

when the electricity generated from a gas turbine with 50-60% efficiency and connected to a

high capacity battery and an electric motor (2006, para. 1). It can be said that electricity is the

best option economically as it can be generated from renewable sources and has a highly

developed infrastructure. Additionally, with the developing technologies and the higher

efficiency of electric motors, electric vehicles have become more efficient per unit fuel than

conventional cars. According to Matsenko, Gladchenko, Gaityna, considering only

operational costs, it is possible to spend a kilometer on the road ten times cheaper than with

an electric car and a car with an internal combustion engine (2016, p. 63). From the examples

given above, it is clear that the electric vehicles per unit fuel costs are very lower than the

traditional cars and with the developing technologies like regenerative braking which

generates electricity while driving increases efficiency. In short, one of the most important

reasons why electric vehicles are economically more advantageous is that they operate with

electricity due to the low cost of electricity and high efficiency.

EV 10
Aside from the advantages of operating with electricity, electric vehicles also have

purchasing advantages due to the economic policies of governments that help to reduce CO2

emissions and lower prices thanks to developing technology and increasing production

figures. Most importantly, countries faced with increasing air pollution have been developing

policies that support green technologies such as electric vehicles, causing these products to be

economically preferable. These policies aim to increase the number of electric vehicle

manufacturers and develop the electric vehicle market with cost advantages in production.

Olson stated that government policies plan to increase electric vehicles on the supply and

demand side through research grants, loan guarantees and tax credits, and to reduce the

number of environmentally harmful internal combustion engine cars through higher auto

taxes, tougher emissions and fuel policies (2015, p. 279). Clearly, various policies outlined

above, planned and designed by governments to increase the number of green cars, reduce

CO2 emissions and air pollution, and make electric vehicles economically advantageous.

Besides the advantages of the government policies, with the increase in the number of

automobile brands starting electric vehicle projects around the world, the price of electric cars

has become cheaper. Although the electric vehicle of the same brand is still more expensive

than the traditional vehicle, brands have adopted the policy of switching to the production of

fully electric vehicles. According to Eberhard and Tarpening, “It is now possible to build an

exceedingly quick lithium-ion powered electric sports car that looks good, handles well, and

is a joy to drive, at a lower price than most high-performance sports cars” (2006, p. 9). As

indicated above, it can be claimed that production cost and purchase price of electric vehicles

have been falling, and even today an electric vehicle can be purchased for less than a

conventional vehicle of the same power and similar comfort. Considering the current

conditions, it can be said that electric vehicles will have a superior price advantage within a

decade. As a result, electric vehicles are economically advantageous for both manufacturers
EV 11
and buyers due to government policies that plan to reduce CO2 emissions and increase the

number of electric vehicle users. Additionally, due to the increasing number of companies

entering the electric vehicle market and the increase in vehicle and class diversity, electric

vehicles have become preferable and they will gradually increase the advantages they offer.

Besides environmental and economic advantages of the electric vehicles, they also

offer advantages in safety systems, which make electric vehicles increasingly popular due

to the two main headings, system safety and crash safety. To begin with, electric vehicles

offer plenty of advantages in system safety which make the vehicles more reliable in daily

usage. For instance, the batteries used in electric vehicles have a superiority of preventing

failures such as overheating due to their battery management systems and this system

provides a high level of control over the battery. These battery management systems,

which contain protection devices, can detect possible problems in advance and prevent bad

scenarios such as explosions. Alarms are generated by the monitoring circuits and

moreover the battery is disconnected from the load or charger in case the parameters

exceed the limits determined by the safety zone, with the data provided for the protection

devices by the system (Hu, 2011, p. 6). Overheating of the batteries, which leads to

concerns about safety of the vehicles among the community, is prevented with this

advanced system. Another reason for the electric vehicles to be accepted as safe in systems

is the presence of regenerative braking systems under safety critical driving situations.

Regenerative braking systems provide anti-lock braking and novel control strategy which

not only improves braking efficiency, but also undeniably reduces braking distance.

According to results of Qui, Wang, Meng and Shen’s research, in which the braking

performance is tested under different safety conditions; ice, snow, asphalt, and gravel, there

are 14.71%, 8.03%, 5.86%, and 3.78% increase of braking performance under those critical

driving conditions, respectively (2018, p. 339). They also stated that the results declare that
EV 12
the regenerative braking systems provide more convenient comfortable braking

performance and higher braking efficiency than the other systems, as well as verifying the

availability of the proposed evaluation parameters. Clearly, with the improved braking

performance and adaptability provided by the regenerative braking system, it can be said

that this system will play a big role in the acceptance of electric vehicles by inspiring

public trust. All these examples prove that the system safety, both battery management and

regenerative braking systems, of electric vehicles improves the reliability of the electric

vehicles and helps to eliminate the hesitations about the safety of them.

In addition to system safety, electric vehicles also have safety advantages which

prevent dangerous consequences before and after crashes. For instance, by locating high

voltage batteries and relevant components in well protected zones, the electric vehicles have

pre-crash preventions. Since high voltage batteries are one of the most hazardous parts of

electric vehicles during a crash, they should be protected properly by locating them into crash

protection zones. According to Justen and Schöneburg, in an electric vehicle there are three

protection zones, which are separated from each other in respect to their protection rates.

Among these zones, high voltage batteries are located in protection zone 3 in which the

components have the probability of being damaged less than 2% (2011, p. 4). Additionally,

Sun, Huang, Bisschop and Niu pointed out in their article “A Review of Battery Fires in

Electric Vehicles”, in order not to take the risk of being pierced in case of a crash, lithium-ion

batteries are often placed into specifically strengthened zones of the electric vehicle (2020, p.

1370). By this way, the dreadful odds such as fire explosion are prevented before the crash.

Clearly, as long as the manufacturers of electric vehicles locate the high voltage batteries

considering these protection zones and decrease the risks, the reliability of electric vehicles

will undeniably increase. Furthermore, electric vehicles also have post-crash preventions

which provide advantages regarding safety. Not only pre-collision preventions but also post-
EV 13
collision preventions are important for the safety of both the vehicle and its drivers. When

electric vehicles have an accident, the element that poses the greatest danger is the electric

current released from the damaged battery or electrical transmission components. As Justen

and Schöneburg asserted, electric vehicles use high voltages above 30 V a.c. and 60 V d.c.

which must have improved protection against electric shock. In any severe accident, high

voltage will be cut-off and discharged from the battery to prevent electrical shocks even if

there are serious vehicle damages. With the aid of crash detection sensors which are placed in

different parts of the vehicle, sub-systems linked with extremely high energy will be

deactivated by a short circuit (2011, p. 3). In the light of this information, it can be said that

the probability of electric shock after any minor and major crash would be overcome. Thanks

to the preventions taken for before and after crashes, the electric vehicles prevent the bad

scenarios either way, which makes them more reliable and safer. All in all, electric vehicles

prove themselves as safe by offering various advanced safety systems which will lead them to

become increasingly popular among people.

In conclusion, as a result of insufficient infrastructure, innovation in the industry and

ongoing discussions, the number of electric vehicle users is very low today. However, their

environmental, economic and safety advantages indicate that the popularity of electric

vehicles will increase. In addition, when the infrastructure is sufficient, it will be the first

choice of producers and buyers economically. Compared to conventional vehicles, electric

vehicles are less harmful to the environment and this difference is increasing. Electric

vehicles, which are more preferable in terms of safety, will be more user friendly with the

increase of technologies in this field. With the developing technology, they will increase their

advantages over internal combustion engine vehicles and become the leader in the ongoing

competition. It will be seen how useful this technology is when electric vehicles become
EV 14
widespread. Therefore, support for electric vehicles should be increased in order to provide a

better life for people, nature and cities.

References
EV 15
Berkeley, N., Jarvis, D., & Jones, A. (2018). Analysing the take up of battery electric

vehicles: An investigation of barriers amongst drivers in the UK. Transportation

Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 63, 466–481. doi: 10.1016/

j.trd.2018.06.016

Eberhard, M., & Tarpenning, M. (2006). The 21st century electric car Tesla Motors.

Retrieved from https://www.idc-online.com/technical_references/pdfs

/electrical_engineering/Tesla_Motors.pdf.

Foley, A. M. (2019). Noise and vibration. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 5. doi:

10.1016/s1364-0321(20)30162-3

Goel, S., Sharma, R., & Rathore, A. K. (2021). A review on barrier and challenges of electric

vehicle in India and vehicle to grid optimisation. Transportation Engineering, 4,

100057. doi: 10.1016/j.treng.2021.100057

Granovskii, M., Dincer, I., & Rosen, M. A. (2006). Economic and environmental comparison

of conventional, hybrid, electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Journal of Power

Sources, 159(2), 1191. doi: 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2005.11.086

Haddadian, G., Khodayar, M., & Shahidehpour, M. (2015). Accelerating the global adoption

of electric vehicles: barriers and drivers. The Electricity Journal, 28(10), 53–68. doi:

10.1016/j.tej.2015.11.011

Hu, R. (2011). Battery management system for electric vehicle applications, Ontario.

Unpublished master's thesis. Retrieved from https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/cgi

/viewcontent.cgi?article=6006&context=etd

Justen, R., & Schöneburg, R. (2011, June). Crash safety of hybrid-and battery electric

vehicles. Paper presented at the 22nd International Technical Conference on the

Enhanced Safety of Vehicles(ESV), Washington DC, USA. Retrieved from

https://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/22/files/22ESV-000096.pdf
EV 16
Matsenko, O., Gladchenko, O., & Gaityna, M. (2016). 22nd International Scientific

Conference ''Economics for Ecology''. Retrieved from https://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua

/bitstream/123456789/44691/1/ISCS2016.pdf.

Olson, E. L. (2015). The financial and environmental costs and benefits for Norwegian

electric car subsidies: are they good public policy? International Journal of Technology,

Policy and Management, 15(3), 277-296. doi: 10.1504/ijtpm.2015.071036

Qiao, Q., Zhao, F., Liu, Z., Jiang, S., Hao, H., & Qin, X. (2017). The International conference

on alternative & renewable energy quest in architecture & urbanism. Energy Procedia,

3584-3595. doi: 10.1016/j.egypro.2012.08.033

Qiu, C., Wang, G., Meng, M., & Shen, Y. (2018). A novel control strategy of regenerative

braking systems for electric vehicles under safety critical driving situations. Energy,

149, 329–340. doi: 10.1016/j.energy.2018.02.046

Qiu, Y., Zhou, E. L., Xue, H., Tang, Q., Wang, G., & Zhou, B. (2020). Exhaust systems and

vehicle sound. Applied Acoustics, 161. doi: 10.1016/s1364-0321(20)30162-3

Sun, P., Niu, H., Bisschop, R., & Huang, X. (2020). A review of battery fires in electric

vehicles. Fire Technology, 56, 1361–1410. doi: 10.1007/s10694-019-00944-3

Xu, B., Sharif, A., Shahbaz, M., & Dong, K. (2021). Introduction to sustainable consumption,

production and supply chain management. Sustainable Production and Consumption,

1205-1214. doi: 10.4337/9781839108044.00007