By Dillon O'Brien
The surge of Electric Cars, Electric cars really started becoming popular from the early 2010s to current time, only getting more popular by the year.
This begs the question, will electric cars eventually put gas stations out of business? “The short answer is no, or at least not in the next few decades. There are just too many gas-engine cars on the road, with after-market suppliers and local garages supporting the repair of internal combustion engines”(Stinson).
Most likely all of these gas stations will turn into superchargers for these electric cars. By 2035 it has been a known goal to have California running on fully electric cars by then.
If this goal does in fact hit “California’s shift away from gas-powered vehicles could mean as many as 80 percent of gas stations would be unprofitable by 2035. The state has some 250,000 station owners and employees”(Krieger).
Tesla is one of the front runners regarding this push to limit or even stop the creation of gas-powered cars with its roaring popularity gained within the last decade.
A graph from the International Energy Agency shows that in 2010 there were only about 50,000 EVs in the world and comparing it to now the world stock is around 40 million. This number is almost starting to double every year.
One of the largest reasons electric cars are being bought today is because of the positive externalities they produce for the earth. Since they are all electric they are not putting out any bad gas toxins into the atmosphere which is already a problem for the world. Another positive is that the oil supply is depleting fast and one day the earth will run out of oil to use for cars, so if people keep buying EVs then our oil supply will last much longer. Because of these reasons, the government is trying to push for electric cars and has allowed EVs to drive in the carpool lane with only one person in the car. Also, huge tax credits have been granted to people who buy EVs
Another thing that is affecting the supply and demand of EVs is the price. With the amount of people who want EVs and the government's subsidies to help people buy them, the price has gone down about 20% in the last year alone. The price for EVs has gone down drastically because almost every car company has at least one EV for sale now. Because there are lots of buyers and sellers, the supply is able to keep up with the demand because these car companies keep price-cutting each other.
This shows how many people are really buying into either trying to preserve our planet, stop paying for gas, or just like the idea of an EV.
The overarching idea is that EVs are growing at an exponential rate every year and if gas stations and car manufacturers don't change to an EV style soon it could be the end for them.
Works Cited:
“As EVs Gain Popularity, What Will Happen to Gas Stations?” Governing, 4 Oct. 2022, https://www.governing.com/next/as-evs-gain-popularity-what-will-happen-to-gas-statio
ns.
published, Rivan V. Stinson. “Will the Gas Engine Soon Be Obsolete?” Kiplinger.Com, 18
Nov. 2022,
https://www.kiplinger.com/personal-finance/will-the-gas-engine-soon-be-obsolete. “Trends in Electric Light-Duty Vehicles – Global EV Outlook 2023 – Analysis.” IEA,
s. Accessed 7 Nov. 2023.