Electric Cars
By Raul Hiromu Sumiya
There are many reasons for electric cars to be such a popular subject nowadays. Perhaps the greatest reason is the serious concern over global warming. Every day we are flooded with information about the damage caused to the ozone layer by the burning of fossil-based fuels and the climate disruption fossil fuels generate.
Some specialists claim that global warming is not as serious as others state. However, there is a second reason for the pursuit of alternative and renewable sources of energy to power our cars — the exhaustion of oil (petroleum) reserves in the near future. Although many countries have been considering electric cars as the most feasible solution to the energy problems of the future, Brazil isn’t following this trend, even though it is the 4th largest automotive market in the world. There is a reason for Brazil’s reluctance: ethanol.
In the 1980’s, Brazil developed a technology that enabled cars to run on ethanol. In 2003, a new technology that allowed cars to run on either gasoline, ethanol, or a mixture of both (in any proportion) hit the market in Brazil. Although some countries have similar technologies, it seems most of the world is not that interested in Brazil’s new Flex engine technology. Observing the automotive market in Japan, the United States and some European countries, some electric and hybrid models are among the best-sellers.
The world-wide market for electric cars keeps growing by leaps and bounds, with a wide gamut of new models being presented every day. Unfortunately, electric cars have three large problems. First, their high production cost makes them more expensive than conventional models; second, the duration of the battery is short, which leads to low autonomy as driving time is limited; and last, but not least, it takes several hours to completely re-charge the battery. Despite these issues, the sales of electric cars are booming, while the automotive industry keeps making a great effort to minimize these issues. There’s no question that electric cars have some advantages, such as zero toxic gas emissions and the silence on-board.
Actually, the most popular models nowadays are hybrid cars, which combine an electric and combustion engine working together. The combustion engine is activated only when more power is required, so the car can run solely with the electric engine at lower speeds. This is how the most popular hybrid car, the Toyota Prius, works. However, we must not forget that some other source of energy is required to generate the electricity to charge the batteries of these electric and hybrid cars. Thus, it becomes easier to understand the Brazilian trend toward Flex engines.
Raul Hiromu Sumiya graduated in Computer Science and works as a Business Analyst. He can be contacted at: raul.sumiya@gmail.com.
