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Surveys show that almost half of the Lithuanian population plans to buy an electric car in the next decade. While many only dream of a clean vehicle, the famous photographer Andrius Aleksandravičius has driven several thousand kilometers in an electric car.
According to statistics, Lithuanians are the most optimistic about electric cars among all the Baltic countries: up to 92% support these changes. Lithuanian population. In reality, however, only a small percentage of compatriots use this tool. According to SE Regitra, in our country only 2,074 net electric cars are registered. A. Aleksandravičius is among the thousands of that couple.
The winner of the national and international photo competitions may not be a completely typical Lithuanian pilot, since concern for the cleanliness of nature is one of the most important criteria for him. It is not surprising that a young man has befriended ecological transport for many years, but only this year he sat in the new power plant “VW e-up!” steering wheel. And he began to carefully calculate costs, investments and kilometers.
What led to such a choice, what are the advantages and disadvantages of such a solution. About this, in a detailed conversation with A.Aleksandravičius.
– How long have you been friends with an electric car?
– I only started driving at the beginning of the summer and I have already screwed 13 thousand. km. I really travel a lot for work to Klaipeda, Vilnius, Kaunas. This year, the mileage was further increased by the fact that there were no more pleasure trips abroad, where he was driving a rented car. So I traveled around Lithuania more than usual.
It’s no secret that electric cars seem very expensive to the average consumer. Did the purchase empty your pocket a lot?
– How did you look? Yes, some models are really hard to afford (one of the market leaders, Tesla, costs 50 thousand euros and more: automatic shipping), but the maniac cost around 22 thousand. euros. But do not forget that 4 thousand. compensated by the state incentive program available to all the inhabitants of our country. Also, another thousand. It can be obtained for the destruction of an old polluting car. My final commitment amount (€ 18,000) is not higher than the price of a normal new car of medium size or even small. It is true, as far as I know, due to the popularity now the value of this model in our market has increased (to 23.5 thousand). But it is still available to a wider range of consumers than a few years ago.
– Have you not thought about buying a used car for several years?
– I would consider about 12-13 thousand. to buy a used electric car for up to five years, for which he would have received 2,000 instead of 4,000. euro of state compensation. But I liked this model specifically because the Germans recently updated it and installed a higher capacity battery. On the other hand, a used car battery will last less than a new one and then replacing it would be very expensive. So, after weighing these arguments, the balance weighed in favor of the new item.
Andrius Aleksandravičius
– How many kilometers do you normally travel on a full charge?
– In the city about 300 km, on the highway – up to 200 km. Let’s say when driving from Kaunas to Klaipeda or Palanga, you have to stop to charge the car once.
– How long does the charging process take?
– It depends on the battery model and the percentage you want to charge. If it didn’t arrive without any supplies, charging takes 20-30 minutes. Consequently, the longer you charge, the higher the charge. True, more than 80 percent. Charging the capacity is irrational, because then the process slows down considerably, and from what I’ve heard the battery is not very useful. At home, you can charge from a simple socket overnight, and if you set up a personal station, a couple of hours is enough.
The problem is that sometimes the stops do not work, or irresponsible drivers take up space unnecessarily to charge the battery and leave the car for a long time.
– The lack of charging stations is an issue that is frequently intensified in Lithuania. Have you had to deal with it?
– For example, in the center of Kaunas and around the stops are enough, they are missing in any more remote neighborhood. Or, on the weekend, when traveling to Klaipeda at charging points, congestion can occur, although there may be three stops on that section of the road. The problem is that sometimes the stops do not work, or irresponsible drivers take up space unnecessarily to charge the battery and leave the car for a long time.
– How much did you spend on fuel during this time, that is, to charge the car battery?
– You could say: exactly zero. In Kaunas, where I mainly charge, I didn’t even need paid stops. Fast charging stations have been delivered in Vilnius, but they are chargeable. From what I remember, 1 kilowatt-hour of fast charging costs 30 cents, a simple one costs 20 cents. I have calculated that if I charge from the usual electrical network at home, the cost of the 100 km would reach about 1.4 euros, but at the moment I only charge for free in the city, so I drive for free. I have calculated that before it cost me about 6 euro cents to travel 1 km. It turned out that I saved about 800 euros over the entire four-month period, which is equal to the lease payments for a new car.
– How much does it cost to repair an electric car?
– The fact that there is still not much to attend to. There is no need to change the engine oil as it simply does not exist, other routine driver concerns disappear as well. The first service is scheduled after exceeding 30 thousand. km. And that’s just changing the air filter. As I mentioned, replacing the battery can be expensive at a later date, but it is a very long-term prospect, unless 8-10 years pass.
– Is the electric Volkswagen your first clean car?
– Before that, I was driving a hybrid Toyota Prius. He was a veteran of about 10 years who I befriended for another four years. It ran about 5 liters of gasoline every 100 km, but at the time it didn’t seem like much. It is true that you had to replace the battery (the price of a new battery can exceed a thousand euros – automatic shipping). Today’s electric car batteries are much more expensive. Modern hybrids, on the other hand, are much more reliable. If you were to buy such a car, the dairy would be charged from the electricity grid, because then the electricity alone could travel 40 to 50 km. So a walk around town would be clean and free. Also, you always have the option of starting the gasoline engine at the end of the trip.
– And parking would cost nothing …
– Parking in the city is free for electric cars and rechargeable hybrids. I mean not only special places for an electric car, but also common places. Knowing that an hour of parking in the city center costs as much one euro as two, it is not difficult to calculate that I save a lot of money every day. True, in big cities you have to get rid of red tape, fill out an application for free parking, but it is also done electronically, so there are not many problems. By the way, I don’t have to pay a significant entrance fee to the Curonian Spit, which makes trips to the sea very attractive.
The manistic up has a 61 kW engine, but it is light, around 1.3 tons. So it lacks dynamism. If I want, I can also downgrade a BMW to a stoplight.
– Probably the insurance premiums do not differ from the usual ones?
– There is no difference between helmet insurance and civil liability.
– For many, however, the car is not only a rational vehicle but also a fun toy. You probably don’t even try to compete with conventional machines?
– Why? On the contrary. The manistic up has a 61 kW engine, but it is light, around 1.3 tons. So it lacks dynamism. If I want to, I can also damage a BMW at the stoplight (smiles).
– Another important point is the capacity of the car. From the outside, it seems difficult to store all the items you need for your trip …
– Recently, my friend and I took a tourist trip for two weeks, so we stacked a lot of other things, tents. Everything fits, although there really isn’t much space. The trunk is not large, but for ergonomics, it has all my photographic equipment with accessories.
– What about driving comfort?
– Although it is a small car, it has the advantages of high-end cars: heated seats, heated glass and mirrors. In winter, this will be very relevant, because through the mobile application you can preheat the interior of the car by phone and sit in a cozy atmosphere after leaving home. Of course, then the power consumption also increases, but in the additional case, when the battery is discharged on the journey, the so-called turtle mode is activated a few kilometers away, which deactivates all the additional functions and helps to reach the nearest charging point.
– Of course, ecology cannot be overlooked. How important is nature conservation to you?
– It is very important to me. I categorically dislike that old diesels sneeze with smoke balls, poisoning the air we breathe. Wondering how they pass a roadworthiness test? But here is another question. As I understand it, you can resent, protest, but it is better to start changing the world on your own. That is what I am trying to do.
Photo by Andrius Aleksandravičius
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