- Wall Street Journal reporters in four countries—the U.S., China, Germany, and Japan— each spent three weeks driving an electric vehicle, and in the resulting video story, we learn that ease of charging is very different depending where you live.
- The often discussed problem of range anxiety is very real during road trips, they found.
- China is leading the way with its state-controlled charging infrastructure—even in a rural area, the reporter could find a place to charge.
The reality of EV ownership is still one of compromise. That’s what eight reporters from the Wall Street Journal learned during a three-week test that asked them to fit EVs into their lives. The experiment spanned the United States, China, Japan, and Germany and showed that where you live really does affect the day-to-day experience. In Detroit, the assigned car was the local Chevrolet Bolt EV, while the Nissan Leaf was assigned to reporters in Houston and Tokyo. The Los Angeles reporter got a Hyundai Kona, the Raleigh, North Carolina, reporter had a Jaguar I-Pace, and in New York City, the EV was a Tesla Model 3. In Berlin, it was a Mercedes-Benz EQC, and in Shanghai, it was the locally built Buick Velite 6.
Overall, the reporters found that everyday tasks like errands and commuting were well served by the EVs. But those with a garage or parking spot where they could charge their vehicle overnight had a more seamless experience. In Germany, reporter William Boston had to walk five minutes from his house for overnight charging, while other reporters relied completely on public and private charging stations.
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Location played a huge role in how well the experiment went for the reporters. In China, reporter James Areddy found plenty of charging for his Buick Velite 6. The charging infrastructure in that country is run by the government and it’s pushing hard for a transition from ICE to EV. Automakers and buyers are incentivized to buy electric vehicles, and the result of that push is that 50 percent of all EVs sold in the world are purchased in China.
In North Carolina, reporter Valerie Bauerlein had a tougher time. A 133-mile road trip in a Jaguar I-Pace took eight hours because of difficulty finding somewhere to charge. Michigan-based automotive reporter Nora Naughton spent 30 hours on the road during the 265-mile drive from Plymouth, Michigan, to Sleeping Bear Dunes in the northern Lower Peninsula, mired by cold weather that dinged her Chevy Bolt EV’s range and slow chargers including a six-hour stint at one of the stations.
As expected, the Tesla Model 3 in the group had the easiest time with stations. The company’s robust charging network made New York–based reporter Lee Hawkin’s experience a bit more seamless—even though he did have to wait to charge in some instances.
Nearly everyone else in the test had to do meticulous planning for road trips, and in a few cases, the reporters were riddled with anxiety due to their dwindling state of charge as they pulled up to stations.
The big takeaway is that the charging infrastructure in most countries is still lacking in certain areas and that even if you own a long-range electric vehicle, it might be best to make it your second car or rent a vehicle for road trips.
While none of these revelations is all that shocking, it’s still an interesting experiment, and the video is well worth a watch.
Source: Motor - aranddriver.com
