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EV Range Anxiety, Is It Gender Based?

Is electric car range anxiety skewed one way or the other between men and women? Do women fear running out of range more so than men? While I’m sure there is a case for both sides on this, I think there is definitely a bias between the sexes.
Tesla Roadster

If Electric Vehicles traveled 200 miles and could be charged up in 5 minutes, I don’t think this common EV objection would be very common at all. The fact is, currently EVs don’t go as far as their gas car counterparts. However, with the Chevy Bolt, the Generation II Nissan Leaf, and the much anticipated Tesla Model III, we are all about to see the average EV range move up from 80 miles to close to 200 miles! The increases in battery capacity has been improving so much so in recent years that the original Tesla Roadster that had over 200 miles of EV range, when retrofitted with today's batteries, increased its range to over 400 miles.

So do I think Range Anxiety will be with us forever? No I don’t. As the battery capacity keeps improving, there will be less and less Range Anxiety however today it is still a very common occurrence, even in my house (and no it is not me that fears getting stuck in an EV).

You see, I don’t fear running out of power in my electric vehicle because I converted my first car into an EV in 2008 and had used computer UPS batteries for fuel. It was an experiment and I only had 72 volts of power and only about 15 miles of range. I can’t tell you how many times I broke down a mile or two from my home. I learned quickly that I could get stuck pretty easily in the hills of northern NJ if I didn’t prepare in advance my route before I left. That has become commonplace for me. This was before the very first charging station was installed in NJ. I got to meet lots of my nice neighbors this way. One nice lady even came outside with a 12 volt car battery charge and asked me if I could use it.

Now it is much easier. Apps on your smart phone such as PlugShare.com can help you plan your route in advance and with more and more range showing up in today’s EVs, it will be much less necessary to even need these.

Also See

Electric Vehicle News and Reviews
News Opinion
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Comments

sparklee (not verified)    May 28, 2015 - 7:09AM

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This article presents absolutely no data and has an offensive stereotype that presents women as ignorant with respect to electric vehicles.

Please revise your article. Presentation of actual data would be preferred to this anecdotal encounter.

paul (not verified)    May 28, 2015 - 11:02AM

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I agree, blogspam is sexist.

Everyone has a learning curve which must be followed before they become comfortable with new technology. People are creatures of habit and modifying learned behavior takes time. People of all genders, races, incomes will come to learn to drive and charge electric vehicles.

Innovations like Tesla's range assurance software which plans routes with charging stops and warns you before you attempt an ill-advised trip will help to make the transition smoother.

Douglas Stansfield    June 7, 2015 - 6:18PM

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I have no hard and fast data on this but used the example of my wife to explain a great point that the next versions of the EVs listed will help to eliminate this disease. I tried to write it in a cute way. I was not trying to be sexist in any way. Thanks for reading.