[heroiccocoa]

Is there actually a meaningful difference between EV efficiency worth considering though? In contrast to ICEs, most electric motors are already very efficient and the difference comes down to design choices like power and weight (range), and air/rolling resistance, not wasteful inefficiency[1]. Most Teslas have very decent drag coefficients https://www.myevreview.com/comparison-chart/drag-coefficient.

[1] Of course there is a semantic issue at play here as well: efficiency referring to both range/energy as well as power out/power in, and whether anyone actually has the right to drive a 845 hp cybertruck around in the midst of a climate crisis and global mass extinction when ~100 bhp ought to be enough for almost all commuting/leisure use.

[vlovich123]

So unless you live in France or Sweden or some other country that had minimal fossil fuels in the energy mix for the grid, your EV is likely still essentially burning fossil fuels to get around (just burning it 10-20% more efficiently by way of a centralized plant).

[theshrike79]

It's not the efficiency of fossil fuel plants, it's this: What do you think is easier:

  a) Regulate the half-dozen coal plants in the country to clean up their shit and install scrubbers

or

  b) Somehow force 100k already sold ICE vehicles to install aftermarket pollution reduction doodads

_This_ is why EVs are better in the long run, as the grid moves to cleaner production, every single EV in use becomes more environmentally friendly at the same time.

[mcv]

Do you have a source for the 10-20%? ICEs are incredibly inefficient, and I wouldn't be surprised if the grid was twice as efficient, although I too have no source to back it up.

[vendiddy]

What alternative would you suggest as a path to clean energy?

[bryanlarsen]

Efficiency is very important in electric cars, since it is directly related to the two main metrics that consumers appear to consider when buying an EV: cost and range. A more efficient car gets a higher range for the same battery cost or a cheaper battery with the same range. And it compounds: a smaller battery reduces weight, getting back some of the range lost by the smaller battery.