Conclusion

Electric drives have high efficiency compared to internal combustion engines, and vehicles powered by these systems can achieve low energy consumption under suitable conditions. It can stated that no other drive system offers higher efficiency.

On the other hand, traction batteries store a very small amount of energy compared to fossil fuels at the same weight. Both, power transmission and charging efficiency are deteriorated by losses, and the operation of the battery in winter time is also problematic; its internal resistance increases significantly and the driving range can be half compared to summer time.

Efficiency of internal combustion engines is much lower than that of electric drives and the ratio is even worse in uneffective driving modes, such as acceleration or operation in cold state. Exhalations produced directly on the streets of cities are definitely a big problem. The carbon footprint of these vehicles is also being increasingly discussed. In addition, the carbon footprint of oil extraction, transport and refining must be added as well.

However, on the other hand, the carbon footprint of electric vehicles is currently not negligible too. The footprint created during the production of large traction batteries is compensated after tens of thousands of kilometers, and the origin of the electric energy beeing used for charging is, of course, also a big problem. Currently, electric cars are not more efficient in terms of carbon dioxide emissions than modern cars with internal combustion engines.

So the issue is definitely not black and white, and as in all technical areas, here we find many pros and cons without a clear winner.

From a technical point of view, hybrid vehicles, which make it possible to profit from both technologies, probably make the most sense. Electric propulsion here makes it possible to cover problematic operation modes of the internal combustion engine, and pure electric driving would significantly increase the quality of life in cities as well as in small towns. At the same time, an internal combustion engine operating in optimal mode can achieve much lower consumption with the assistance of an electric drive and thus also significantly reduce emissions. Moreover, it enables to solve long distance travelling and the production and installation of very heavy and expensive traction batteries dimensioned for hundreds of kilometers can be avoided.