Automotive

Retrato de Catarina Veiga
Yes, but probably not just yet. The latest iterations of the venerable internal combustion engine are still competitive, both from an environmental and an economical standpoint.
Catarina Veiga
 
The forecasts for global electric vehicle (eV) sales are undoubtedly ambitious – 2 million vehicles sold by 2020 – which reflects the high hopes that both manufacturers and governments are placing on this technology. So far, actual sales have been somewhat lackluster: in 2011 approximately 44.000 electric vehicles were sold, instead of the expected 66.000 units (Exhibit 1). It is not yet an immense difference, but it does raise some questions about the feasibility of the 2020 goal. In this scenario, should you, as a consumer or someone responsible for a company car fleet, buy an electric car?
Exhibit 1 – Global electric vehicle sales forecast for 2010 – 2025 (excludes electric scooters and bicycles)
Exhibit 2 – Comparison between the carbon footprint of a Volkswagen Golf 2.0 Diesel and a Nissan Leaf, for several countries
Exhibit 3 – Fuel consumption for eight vehicles in the same segment as the Volkswagen Golf
Exhibit 4 – Environmental and economical cost comparison for the Nissan Leaf, Volkswagen Golf and BWM Series 1, for Portugal and Germany
Exhibit 5 – Savings/costs of choosing a Nissan Leaf or a BMW Series 1 over Volkswagen Golf
 
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