David Watson, CEO and Founder of told 91探花:
“It鈥檚 encouraging to see from the Bloomberg NEF forecast that electric vehicle (EV) production cost is predicted to fall below that of fossil fuel vehicles by 2027. Falling costs continue to lower barriers to adoption and help us on our way to an electric future.
鈥淗owever, lowering production cost is just one piece of the puzzle needed to make the transition a reality.聽 Whilst cheaper production will translate to cheaper EVs in showrooms, the cost of keeping that new vehicle on the road is every bit as important to the consumer. The industry needs to think holistically about ensuring EVs are affordable to run, as well as to buy.
鈥淭he answer lies in smart-charging. Smart charging enables drivers to draw power from the grid into their EVs at times of peak supply, when energy is cheapest. In some cases, drivers can even be paid to charge using smart charging technology – making EVs extremely cost efficient to run.
鈥淔or example, using a smart-charging app like Ohme鈥檚 with a time-of-use (TOU) tariff brings down the approximate cost of driving 10,000 miles down to 拢167 annually for Nissan Leaf drivers, and to 拢208 for Tesla X drivers. That鈥檚 compared to 拢444 and 拢556 respectively using ‘dumb’ charging with the same cars, or approximately聽拢1600 for petrol聽vehicles covering the same distance. Prioritising innovative technologies that can reduce the day to day operating costs of an EV聽will be critical if EVs are to become the norm.
鈥淎nd the benefits of smart tech do not just end there. As the cost of EV ownership falls and we see more EVs on the roads, our national grid must be better equipped to withstand the power demand that comes with a聽huge influx of EVs.聽聽By using smart charging technology, we can prevent power surges which might otherwise be caused by large numbers of EV drivers plugging in at the same time.聽 Smart charging platforms use data insights to shift energy聽demand by time and location allowing electricity to be consumed effectively and sustainably, and ultimately ensuring the grid isn鈥檛 pushed past breaking point.
鈥淭he bottom line is that whilst the EV revolution is firmly underway, we need to focus on adopting smart charging technologies at scale, so that we can break down听补濒濒聽the barriers to electrification and make EV ownership affordable, attractive and accessible to all.鈥�
