“Electric cars catch fire all the time.”
“They take many hours to charge.”
“The batteries don't have enough autonomy.”
“There is nowhere to load them.”
“For a long trip you need a diesel.”
Zero-emission vehicles generate many hoaxes and exaggerations, due in part to the fact that the majority of the population has not yet tried them: according to the Spanish Association of Automobile and Truck Manufacturers (Anfac), in 2023 54,857 electric vehicles were sold in Spain, a 5.7% of the total.
We analyze the main myths—some have some truth—with the help of industry experts.
“They come out burning at the slightest moment”
It's a hoax.
“The fire rates of electric vehicles are lower than those of combustion vehicles, as the NHTSA—the US state road safety agency—has demonstrated with its reports,” comments David de Diego, judicial expert expert in electrical at the Association. of Insurance Appraisers and Breakdown Commissioners (APCAS).
“These vehicles can burn due to a very strong impact, or due to a manufacturing fault.
What is certain is that when they burn they enter an electrochemical spiral and you have to know how to put them out, because adding water does not work.
It is better to use thermal blankets that drown the fire.”
Norway, the country with the largest implementation of electric cars in the world, has seen between four and five times more fires in gasoline and diesel cars than in electric cars.
Meanwhile, the European Lashfire project found that neither the total energy released nor the toxins released during an electric fire are greater than those of a thermal one.
“They break down a lot”
No. “The electric vehicle differs from its combustion mirrors in the simplicity of its mechanics, since, as it does not have friction or wear elements, it hardly has any repairs and its inspections are very simple,” says Arturo Pérez from Lucia, director of Aedive—the electric vehicle association.
Luis Valdés, disseminator on electric mobility, says: “Most manufacturers give very high guarantees, of 150,000 and even 200,000 kilometers, because they know that it is very difficult for them to break down.
Álvaro Sauras, vice president of the Association of Electric Vehicle Users (AUVE) and director of Autofácil
magazine
, adds: “In a gasoline car, after 120,000 kilometers you assume that you will have to change parts.
In an electric car it is very difficult to have a problem before 300,000″.
Miguélez, director of the National Association of Vehicle Sellers (Ganvam), puts a but: “The batteries weigh a lot, so it is likely that the wheels will wear out sooner.”
Interior of an electric car, at a gas station.
ALEX ONCIU
“You have to change the battery after seven years”
Probably not.
“LFP type batteries, the most common, can last from 2,000 to 5,000 cycles.
If a cycle is 500 kilometers, it would be between one and 2.5 million kilometers.
The only thing that can happen before it loses a little autonomy (no more than 10%),” says Lars Hoffman, tester of these models on the All Electric channel.
It is true that a few years ago there was greater battery degradation, but now it no longer happens and they are also covered by the manufacturers' coverage.
Expert witness De Diego points out: “Batteries are evolving every year and react better than expected.
In addition, electric drivers tend to drive more efficiently to recharge the engine, which extends the life of the battery.”
“There are very few charging points”
Aedive points out that in October 2023 there were already 27,420 publicly accessible charging points in Spain, so the data for the end of the year will be close to 30,000.
And another 8,000 are in the administrative process.
“With current batteries and high-power recharges, the user experience is similar to that of combustion vehicles,” says its director.
It is true that ultra-fast chargers - more than 150 kilowatts (kw/h) - are only 6% of the total, according to a count by EL PAÍS.
In the main corridors there is usually no problem, but in the more remote ones it is advisable to plan the trip and stops beforehand.
Luis Valdés points out: “Traveling with an electric car is simple, the problem is rather the lack of slow charging points in the city, for those who do not have a garage.”
“The batteries have little autonomy”
One of the most widespread myths is that batteries offer little autonomy.
“The problem is that there are those who think that it has to last 800 kilometers, like a diesel, but the truth is that on a day-to-day basis it is rare to travel more than 200 or 300 kilometers and for that the current ranges are sufficient,” says Félix. García, spokesperson for Anfac, the automobile industry association.
Hoffman, from All Electrics, adds: “Nowadays, any electric car worth around 30,000 to 40,000 euros can cover 300 kilometers on the highway, and much more in the city.”
Miguélez, from Ganvam, highlights that most electric vehicles already allow you to move around the city in normal use with a single charge all week.
It is true that vehicles with more autonomy, 600 to 700 kilometers, are already in the highest price range.
“There is little mention that the range increases when you slow down or drive downhill.
It is one of the great pleasures of driving an electric car: seeing how the battery is recharged while driving efficiently and taking advantage of the slopes,” says May López, from Companies for Sustainable Mobility (EMS).
“They take a long time to load”
Depends.
“We must keep in mind that there are two types of charging, the slow one, which you do at home, and which can take eight or ten hours, and the fast one, more occasional and during trips, which can take 15 to 30 minutes” says Hoffman.
“But if you think about it, the normal thing is to stop, have a coffee and go to the bathroom, so the travel time doesn't increase much.
And it is greatly compensated by slow charges, where you just have to plug it in and forget about it, while with a combustion one you would have to go to the gas station once or twice a week,” he adds.
Miguélez, from Ganvam, third: “In addition, there are more and more convenience recharges, which can be used in supermarkets or public parking lots while doing another activity.”
Several electric cars at a collective charging point.
Mario Tama (Getty Images)
“You can't buy an electric car if you don't have a garage”
In this case, there is a certain basis.
“If you do not have a regular slow charging point, which could be at home or at work, it is not the ideal situation,” acknowledges Sauras, from AUVE.
It is an obstacle in a country in which 65% of the population lives in apartments and 16% rents (INE data), which means that many urban populations do not have a garage or nearby parking.
“To make it simpler, many slow charging points would have to be introduced in cities, as is already happening in the Netherlands or the United Kingdom, where almost every streetlight can be converted into one of these points,” he continues.
This measure would require the involvement of city councils.
“They only serve to get around the city”
Some of the cheapest vehicles are designed for urban trips that do not exceed 200 kilometers per day - the most common - while the mid-range allows you to travel just over 300 kilometers on the highway.
“Those who drive with the sole interest of getting there quickly and without stopping will still prefer a combustion car, but for a normal trip with stops it will not take longer,” says Hoffman, who adds: “I have been traveling by electric for five years. and I've never had a problem.
For example, I went from Madrid to Warsaw in two days.”
Miguélez, from Ganvam, proposes: “Electric rental cars —
carsharing
—, very popular in cities, make a lot of sense in rural areas, because they encourage the use of shared vehicles in depopulated areas.”
This is what the Vive program does, for example, which takes these vehicles to small towns in empty Spain.
More information
Through Spain by electric car: the map of charging points shows how far you can go
“You need 25
apps
to recharge”
It's a bit exaggerated but it has some truth.
“Many electric users have between eight and ten charging applications, although there are more and more points where you can pay with a card,” says Sauras, from AUVE.
García, from Anfac, adds: “There are applications that allow you to pay in different companies, but there is still a lack of interoperability between operators.”
And he asks to look at Portugal, which implemented a universal payment system at charging points.
“We triple our sales of pure electric vehicles, it is clear that there is something we are not doing well.
There is no need to invent anything, you just have to copy these countries,” he points out.
Luis Valdés, a user for years, explains: “I travel throughout Spain with four
apps
that I trust, but a unified registry that works in real time would be needed.”
The Ministry of Ecological Transition has yet to make a state registry.
A Tesla driver charges his vehicle on Europa Street in Barcelona. Albert Garcia
“They are much more expensive”
Yes and no.
“In the most economical vehicles there is a price difference.
For example, the car of the year 2023, the Jeep Avenger, costs 36,000 euros for electric and 22,000 for gasoline.
But from 40,000 euros onwards they are worth the same,” says Hoffman, who tests one electric car per week.
Sauras, from AUVE, completes: “Chinese models are dropping prices a lot.
The BYD Dolphin costs 32,000 euros with 204 HP and more than 300 kilometers of autonomy and is better than combustion cars of that price.
Prices go down every year.
And then there is energy: if you drive about 30,000 kilometers a year, you can save about 2,000 euros in fuel.”
Furthermore, the aid from the Moves Plan can reach up to 7,000 euros per vehicle, although there is a long delay in collecting it.
“They pollute more when they are produced”
The manufacture of batteries requires a lot of energy - which may or may not be renewable - and mining, but the carbon footprint is offset during the useful life of the car, by not needing fossil fuels, as shown by different reports from both the Council International Clean Transportation (ICCT) and Transport & Environment (T&E).
This last entity has created a tool to compare the total emissions of cars (manufacturing and use) based on many variables.
“On average, an electric vehicle emits three times less CO2 than its combustion equivalent if it is manufactured in Europe, and its footprint is also smaller even if it is made in China,” summarizes Carlos Rico, from T&E.
“They are a fad”
“This myth is based on the fact that many European countries have had purchasing aid and have just withdrawn it.
In Germany, for example, it was 10,000 euros per unit.
But electric vehicles are going to continue selling: we estimate that this year 8% and next year 9%,” says Miguélez, from Ganvam, who calls for stable and simple aid and tax deductions for these vehicles.
López, from EMS, third: “In June 2023, for the first time, the registration in Europe of 100% electric vehicles (BEV) exceeded the share of diesel (15.1% compared to 13.4%).
And although new sales of cars, vans and buses fell, BEVs maintained their growth, increasing their share to the detriment of diesel, both nationally and in Europe.”
Furthermore, the slow pace of sales in Spain cannot make us lose perspective: according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), in Norway they already account for 82% of sales, in Denmark and Sweden they exceed 36% and even in neighboring Portugal they are 18%.
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