ELECTRIC VEHICLES( EV) , THE FUTURE OF MOBILITY. ARE WE READY AS A COUNTRY.

ELECTRIC VEHICLE (EV) – THE FUTURE OF MOBILITY.  ARE WE READY AS A COUNTRY?

Living in the early 90’s as a kid was fun because of the likes of James bond popularly known as 007. His movies had gadgets and cars that we thought   were magical and could only be used in the extreme future. Its 2017 and the future is here.

At this year’s Tokyo auto fair, various auto manufactures displayed their electric vehicles range which signaled their readiness for what what is considered as the future of mobility.

All electric Nissan IMX  was showcased at this year's TOKYO AUTO FAIR. Courtesy CNET.

An electric vehicle is a vehicle powered by an electric engine (electric motor / generator) rather than internal combustion engine. As compared to a conventional internal combustion engine, EV’s don’t produce exhaust gases because they don’t use fossil fuel. The first electric vehicle was invented in 1834 by a Hungarian called Anyos Jedlik.

Being ready as a country, is a question which is yet to be answered. There are a lot of challenges the country has to overcome for this to become a reality. Infrastructure is the main obstacle in this situation. Our road systems and network are not of acceptable standards. The existing ones are not maintained and new ones are not constructed well.

Power availability and stability will also be a major challenge because these cars need to be charged at certain points in time when their batteries run out.

A charging station for an electric vehicle . Renault Twizy. Image by chargedevs.com

Our human capacity to also maintain these types of vehicles is negligible to non existence. Even in our recognized auto dealership workshops, the maintenance of highly sophisticated vehicles is a challenge because of spare parts availability and human capacity to work on them.

Economic issues will also be a factor for the penetration of EV’s in Ghana. The financial ability of a middle earning person to purchase an average EV is low. Only the political elite or the rich business men can afford it.

For this to become a reality, the government will have a major say in the penetration of EV in the country. Paris has planned to ban diesel and gasoline engine vehicles by 2030.holland legislators are planning to make diesel and gasoline cars illegal by 2025. The government needs to implement policies and pass laws to make it a reality or else we will be light years behind the technological world. With current situation of used cars coming into the country without any standardization and the ones on our roads not worthy to be called cars while the country is not doing anything about it, this will all be a dream.

The populace also needs to be educated on the benefits of EV so as accept it and move into the future.

Evs have several benefits even though there are challenges as well. Emission and eco system protection is a major benefit. Noise levels from engines will also be reduced. The dependency on fossil fuel stock will also be reduced.

These and many more should prepare us as a country to embrace the future of mobility. Ghana, EV’s are here.