Whether Aussies like it or not, the automotive future contains electric vehicles (EV’s), rather than gasoline or diesel powered cars.
All areas of the consumer car market are steadily embracing electricity.
Regardless of whether it’s a $2 million dollar Ferrari or the more accessible hybrid plug-in Toyota Prius, the electric vehicles are both equipped with batteries to save fuel and use electricity to sustain their speeds.
However, all-electric cars are still struggling to get the attention of car buyers in Australia. They have battery limitations that prevent them from being adopted on a larger scale.
This is all about to change though, with the coming of Tesla’s supercharged alternative.
Tesla Model S
Tesla has the bragging rights of being the first car maker to really drum up public interest in electric cars.
In the past, gasoline powered vehicles enjoyed the advantage of being able to go the extra mile with one full tank, compared to what a battery powered car can manage.
But this rapidly changed with the introduction of the Tesla Model S, which can negotiate a total distance of 500 kilometres with one single charge.
That is really a very remarkable feat for a car that runs quietly, can outrace most cars from a red light, as well and achieve zero emissions to boot.
Although the 500 km range is really impressive, the car still needs to be plugged in when it loses its electric juices, and if the car runs out in the middle of a long road trip, that could pose a massive problem.
Charging an electric car is really not as simple as plugging it into a wall socket, or pumping the tank full of gas in a matter of minutes.
Admittedly, Tesla has done a fantastic work in the United States where it played a significant role in connecting the entirety of that nation with the company’s Supercharger networks.
The Supercharger stations are charging points where the Tesla Model S can be charged in about 40 minutes.
Still a long way to go in Australia
But in Australia, Tesla’s supercharger network is rather limited. In fact, there are only two of these networks, one in Melbourne and another in Sydney. Australia’s electric car market won’t function as well as in the U.S. if this situation is not resolved.
However, Tesla promises that by the end of 2016, there will be an increase of Supercharger networks for Australian electric cars so that travelling between Brisbane and Melbourne will be possible without the fear of getting stranded.
The rates at which the batteries are recharged also vary. It will depend primarily on the electricity that the charging station has access to.
In some instances, EV drivers were able to recharge their batteries in about 50 minutes, while in other stations around one hour and ten minutes.
Due to the limited inland population in Australia, Tesla will be forced to limit the numbers of charging points to the east coast. This will mean that those travelling or living in rural areas will have to think twice before they make the trip using electric vehicles.
