Third part of a series on electrification in New Mexico.
Tesla came up with the original software defined car for their EVs. Software defined vehicles connect many of their components together with software. They are able to send over the air updates to update their features and functionality along with bugs and safety recalls. Traditionally components were connected to a slow bus and configured at the factory before installing in the car. For safety recalls this requires bringing the car back to the dealer to have them update the configuration of the component which is much more expensive and once the car rolls off the lot there are no new features. Software defined cars also are aware of events happening throughout the car allowing them to respond appropriately. If a door is opened the car can check to make sure it is in park and, if not, put it in park for you. This allows many features like using an app on your phone to turn on the heat to warm the car before leaving the house. These are good examples of where electrification allows additional features not just for heat pumps and induction stoves but for cars.
Development times for software defined cars are much shorter. An EV can be sold with conservative charging curves while long term tests determine if it is safe to charge at higher rates. Then the charging curve can be updated through an over the air update. Matrix headlights have been in use in Europe since 2014. This allows just the pixels that would blind the oncoming car to be dimmed allowing better visibility. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) finally updated their rules to allow matrix headlights in 2022. However the required time consuming testing protocol differed from Europe. Both Tesla and Rivian sold cars with these headlights and then later enabled them with a software update once they had finished the required testing.
Legacy car companies have largely failed so far in developing software defined vehicles. There are excellent EVs available that are not software defined but there are also many that have been cancelled or delayed due to development problems. If there is one expertise that legacy car companies do not have it is writing software and that is becoming the critical skill to remain competitive.
There are not that many software defined cars available in the United States while starting in about 2020 most Chinese companies have been making software defined cars. This means their development times are much shorter than legacy car companies and their costs scale much better. In China most electric vehicles (EVs) are cheaper than the internal combustion engine (ICE) equivalents. Used EVs have largely reached price parity with ICE cars in the United States. New EVs are still more expensive than ICE vehicles partly because in the United States EVs are directed mostly at the luxury market. The cost of EV batteries dropped 20% last year and are continuing to drop which should reduce prices further for EVs. Since legacy car companies have struggled with software defined cars their development times are longer than Chinese companies and new EVs are slower to market. This currently results in fewer options and some market segments with few or entirely missing any EVs in the United States.
Norway has an EV market share of 97%. The market share for EVs in China is up to 45% for 2024 and growing rapidly. China tracks New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) which are EVs and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs). Chinese brands have 76% of the worldwide market in NEVs. They have 82% of the market in Brazil while in Thailand their market share is 77% and 70% market share in Mexico. Chinese companies are aggressively expanding in other countries and very soon American car companies will lose all their foreign markets and will only be viable in the United States because of government protection from competition from China.
Charging is largely not a problem in the United States since the Tesla Supercharger network has been opened to almost all EVs. Most charging is done at home. In cities and along interstates DC chargers are mostly available. There are still some charging deserts but these line up with places it is hard to find gas stations and they are gradually being filled in. Level 2 charging is becoming common at hotels and is available at RV parks since that is what RVs use. Charging at home is much cheaper than gas. Level 2 is pretty cheap and often free as it is included in the cost of staying at a hotel or RV park. DC fast charging costs about the same as fuel costs for a ICE car. There still is not much competition for DC fast charging and the utilization rates are only starting to get high enough for the charging networks to start to make money. Part of that is the number of EVs still is not high enough to make fast charging economically viable. In rural areas the fast chargers are not that fast and charging can be a lot slower. Because charging slows down when the battery is nearly full it makes charging stops longer in rural areas where charging to near full either to get to the next charger or because in some areas it is advisable to have a full charge (or a full gas tank) before leaving town.
Operating costs are variable with the cost of charging the most important. If it is not possible to charge at home (or work) then it may be necessary to use a lot of DC fast charging which does not save much on fuel costs. If the car manufacturer has their own charging network the DC chargers in their network have a lower price for their cars. DC charging networks often have a membership with a monthly cost that unlocks these lower prices. These are options for those that cannot charge at home or work. There is much less maintenance for an EV but when maintenance is required it tends to be more expensive. Insurance costs have been rather high for EVs. Generally EVs cost less to operate than ICE cars and often cost a lot less but it depends on your situation.
Lower cost EVs were starting to enter the market in the United States but they are getting impacted by government policies. Still, domestic and foreign car companies in the United States and charging networks can see where the future lies and they are continuing to move ahead despite the headwinds. If you can find an EV model that fits your needs and have access to low cost charging then it may make sense to get an EV.