Increasing Electricity Prices Threatens The Early Growth Of Electric Vehicles

Electricity prices are increasing worldwide and it has implemented a major effect on many industries. but in its experimental stage, the Electric Vehicle industry has suffered the most because of its’s early stages and the fact that it directly involves electricity even on the peer(consumer) level. Investors have lost faith in the industry and have gone into safe mode for the time being as the threats of potential recession are also buzzing in the market and the European EV market has been the most affected as most European countries have shown a reduction in their sales of EVs.

Until recently the sale rate of electric cars had been gaining in attractiveness as the cost of petrol was increasing but since the prices of electricity also joined the trend the sale has gone down drastically. The German EV market has shrunken three times as compared to last year due to the electricity price increase.

The electric car buyers who are charging their cars at home or through contracts with charging operators have been forced to surge price rises of 10% or more. Germany is expected to foresee even more expensive electricity as the electricity price is co-related to that of gas and Russia closed the German supply of gas two weeks ago.

There are a number of popular EV charging station operators in Germany and all have been forced to increase the price of electricity in order to stay in business. Allego is one of Germany’s largest charging station operators, and it raised its prices at the start of this month from 43 cents a kilowatt hour to 47 cents. Express charging has risen the price from 65 to 70 cents a kilowatt hour while its fastest charging option has gone up even beyond from 68 cents to 75 cents a kilowatt hour.

Stefan Bratzel an expert German automobile analyst, who is also the founder of the Center for Automotive Management (CAM) suggests that the economy has no plans for adjusting Electric Vehicles in this time of history. In an interview with German media he said;

“The electricity price explosion could end up being an acute danger for vehicle transition, and we need to be damn careful about it. If electric cars become more expensive to use, the surge in electric mobility is in danger of collapsing, because hardly anyone is going to buy an electric car,”

Including Bratzel, many electric car advocates are now calling on the German government to ensure that the electricity price remains at least under the price of petrol, which they say is crucial to the future of electric cars. If the electricity price goes above the petrol price, the EV industry as well as the government would have to face the consequences of a potentially huge industry ceasing to even exist.

Future Of Electric Vehicles In Pakistan:

The government of Pakistan has recently started to support the growth of electric vehicles and mobility mainly due to the ongoing climate change crisis. It has formed policies that can prove to be sufficient for the normalization of EVs in Pakistan. The first Pakistani Electric Vehicle was revealed on 14 August this year called Nur-E 75 which was planned and built by the DICE Foundation, an American non-profit organization managed by expatriate Pakistanis in the US, Europe, and other countries, with assistance from local academia and industries.

Dr. Khurshid Qureshi, Chairman, Founder of the DICE Foundation, and an expert in the development of autonomous vehicles, stated during the presentation that Pakistan has only imported innovation since its inception 75 years ago, whereas others such as South Korea and China have thrived throughout the time frame.

Other than that there is a unique EV startup called ezBike that is operating only in Islamabad right now and the success it got has urged the co-founder and CEO Muhammad Hadi to think about expansion to other cities as well. The startup provides Electric bikes to the users to drive on their own rather than Uber or Careem and they are charged by the time they spend o the vehicle. ezBike works in three steps.

Find and Reserve

Use the app to locate an ezBike near you. You can make a free 15-minute reservation, and walk to your reserved ezBike. When you are next to your reserved ezBike, scan the QR code on it to activate it and start your ride.

Ride and Enjoy

You can drive everywhere within the ezBike coverage area fast and carefree. We make sure the batteries are charged. If you want to stop somewhere, simply pause your ride from your ezBike app so you are billed at a lower rate when the bike is not in use.

Park and Lock

Once you have arrived at your destination, you can easily park the ezBike at a suitable location. You can end your trip using the ezBike app when you are parked correctly within the coverage area. After your ride, you can use the ezBike app to get trip information and see the charges.

These developments can really prove to have an impact on the Pakistani industry and in 10-15 years Pakistan has a great chance of achieving the normalization of Electric vehicles in the country.

Read More: Pakistan unveils its first electric car prototype ‘Nur-E 75’ on 75th Independence Day