Plugging In, Dutch Put Electric Cars to the Test

[cpzilliacus]

N.Y. Times: Plugging In, Dutch Put Electric Cars to the Test

AMSTERDAM – When Patrick Langevoort's company issued him an electric vehicle two years ago, the first months were filled with misadventure: he found himself far from Amsterdam, with only a 25 percent charge remaining, unable to find the charging point listed on a map. Though the car was supposed to travel 100 miles on a full battery, he discovered that cold weather and fast driving decreased that range.

But electric vehicles have improved, the network of charging stations in the Netherlands has expanded and drivers like Mr. Langevoort are getting used to the particularities of electric driving. "I used to be a real petrol head,"  said Mr. Langevoort, who works for a company that manages electricity networks. "Now, I've sold my petrol car."

Although a number of European countries and a few American states are aggressively promoting the use of electric vehicles to reduce planet-warming emissions and pollution, the Netherlands provides perhaps the ultimate feasibility test. If electric vehicles catch on anywhere, it should be here: a small country – about 100 miles east to west – with gas prices of about $8.50 a gallon and a long tradition of environmental activism.

[Chris]

Coincidentally there was a newspaper article about the lack of sales of electric cars in the Netherlands today. So far there are about 1,400 electric cars (out of a vehicle fleet of 10 million) and very few of them are owned by regular citizens, most of the electric vehicles are owned by businesses and governments.

Electric cars are actually not that cheap to operate, unless you have your own solar panel installation. The price of electricity combined with the range it provides does not make them much cheaper to drive than fuel-efficient diesel cars. And that is not taking into account the very high cost of purchasing an electric car compared to a small city car.

By the way environmentalism in the Netherlands is not as big as it is often portrayed. The green party has only 2.5% of parliament seats, much smaller than Germany for example.