Green Cars: Effective, Sustainable Automotives

Written By - The Young Vision Ambassador, Viraj Pathania, Dubai.

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As many industries know, during these difficult times, sustaining a place in the market is becoming very tough. One of which is the automotive industry, which needs to find a more sustainable and efficient way to hold its grip in the market after lockdown. ‘Green’ cars like Plug-in Hybrid, Electric, Hybrid, Conventional, Biodiesel, Hydrogen, Fuel Cell and many more, are in increasing demand and are likely to take center-stage in the automotive industry in the coming years.

Electric Cars

Around the year 1832, Robert Anderson invented the first electric car, but it wasn’t until the 1870s that electric cars became practical. All-electric vehicles (EVs), also known as battery electric vehicles have a high purchasing cost but their maintenance cost is less than that of the purchasing cost. Gasoline engines effectively use only 15% of the fuel energy, while Diesel engines can reach on-board efficiency of 20%. Electric cars, however, can have an efficiency of around 69-72%, which is 4 times more effective than other engines. Here are some renowned electric car models –

Tesla Model 3

Brand Name – Tesla
Model Name – Model 3
Top Speed – 160 mph (Approx. 258 km/h)
Range (When fully charged) – 353 miles (Approx. 568 km)

The production of the Model 3 began in mid – 2017, while the first lot of fully assembled cars came out on July 7, 2017. However, the official launch of the first 30 cars took place on July 28, 2017. It is a four-door fastback sedan which has self-driving hardware with many software features. It is the cheapest yet most efficient model of Tesla. It is named as the world’s best-selling electric car to date.

Porsche Taycan

Brand Name – Porsche
Model Name – Taycan
Top Speed – 162 mph (Approx. 260 km/h)
Range (When fully charged) – 201 miles (Approx. 463 km)

The concept of this beast was released by Porsche in 2015 at the Frankfurt Motor Show 2015 as ‘Mission E’ but it was fully production ready in the year 2019 and presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show 2019 as ‘Taycan’. It is the first electric car designed and produced by Porsche. There are 4 variants of this model, namely – Taycan, Taycan Turbo, Taycan Turbo S and Taycan 4S with an option of Performance Battery Plus only for Taycan an Taycan 4S.

BMV i3

Brand Name – BMW
Model Name – i3
Top Speed – 90 mph (Approx. 160 km/h)
Range (When fully charged) – 174 miles (Approx. 280 km)

The BMW i3 was released in 2013. It is a five-door, B- segment, high-roof hatchback car. Its concept was unveiled at the International Motor Show, Germany, in 2011 and is part of BMW’s ‘i’ sub brand. It is the first electric car released by BMW. In 2018, they introduced BMW i3s which added a SPORT drive mode. Both the cars come with an optional feature called Range Extender (ReX) which comes with a small petrol engine, essentially making it a Plug-in Hybrid Car.

Plug-in Hybrid Cars

As we all know, ‘hybrid’ means a thing made by combining two or more different elements. Here, a Plug-in Hybrid car is a vehicle that is like an Electric car that can recharge, but it also has a gasoline engine that can be refueled. The first Plug-in Hybrid Car production was released in China by BYD Auto’s F3DM PHEV-60 on December 15, 2008. They have high fuel efficiency and longer range because they have different motors that help maintain the high speed and torque of the vehicle. Here are some remarkable plug-in hybrid cars –

BMW i8

Brand Name – BMW
Model Name – i8
Top Speed – 155 mph (Approx. 250 km/h)
Range (Electric Motor) – 34 miles (Approx. 55 km)
Total Range – 330 miles (Approx. 530 km)

The BMW i8 is also a part of BMW’s ‘i’ sub brand and it is a 2-door coupé/roadster variant sports car. Unveiled in the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show and released in 2014, it is the world’s top selling plug-in electric sports car. It is also known as BMW Vision Efficient Dynamics. It has a hybrid synchronous motor and is one of the fastest plug-in hybrid cars in the world.

Mercedes E 300 e & E 300 de

Brand Name – Mercedes
Model Name – E 300 e & E300 de
Top Speed – 155 mph (Approx. 250 km/h) both
Range (Electric Motor) – 31 miles (Approx. 51 km) & 34 miles (Approx. 54 km)
Total Range – 652 miles (Approx. 1050 km) & 772 miles (Approx. 1242 km)

Under the E-Class, Mercedes launched E 300 e and E 300 de. Both the models are same but the only difference is between their engines – the E 300 e contains a Petrol-Electric engine whereas the E 300 de contains a Diesel-Electric Engine. They are executive saloon plug-in hybrid cars and have nine-speed auto and rear-wheel drive. Even after having a diesel engine, it cruises very smoothly and quietly.

Toyota Prius Plug-in

Brand Name – Toyota
Model Name – Prius Plug-in
Top Speed – 139 mph (Approx. 224 km/h)
Range (Electric Motor) – 34 miles (Approx. 55 km)
Total Range – 640 miles (Approx. 1030 km)

This 5-door liftback compact car was launched on January 2012 by Toyota in Japan, and by late 2012 it was available all around the world for customers. Its second-generation model was released in 2016 and is still being produced. The Prius Prime is best known for its fuel economy and has an MPG of 133. It consists of a Planetary gear with eCVT.