Is there an environmentally friendly vehicle in your future?

Like many Australians, you might be looking into environmentally friendly cars. No doubt you’ve considered the benefits. If you’ve done some homework, you’ll know that there are options available, but it can be interesting trying to negotiate all the acronyms.

Let’s see if we can make the picture a bit clearer.

Most vehicles on Australian roads today are still powered by conventional engines – either petrol or diesel. Just to kick off the acronyms, these are often referred to as internal combustion engines (ICE).

Some vehicles run on alternative fuels. Flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) can use petrol or E85, which is a mix of 15% petrol and 85% ethanol.

Fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) use pressurised hydrogen, which generates electricity to power the vehicle. The advantage of alternative fuels is that they burn cleaner than petrol or diesel engines, which helps reduce carbon emissions.

Then there are Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs), which aim to provide the power of a petrol engine with the fuel savings of an electric motor.
Australians are also showing a keen interest in Electric Vehicles (EVs). You can charge these at a public charging station or at home.

First of all, environmentally friendly cars can make a difference by reducing your petrol costs. Because they are designed to be more fuel efficient (or use no fuel at all if we’re talking about electric vehicles), you’ll get an immediate improvement and savings in the long run. Typically, if you’re a city commuter in stop-start traffic, you’ll see bigger savings than if you’re doing highway kilometres.

Yes, green vehicles can cost more to buy initially, but when you add in reductions to maintenance and insurance, the overall costs balance out.

Beyond the daily savings, there’s a bigger picture. Green or eco cars are part of a global shift towards looking after the planet.

Greenhouse gas emissions from regular engines are contributing to global warming and driving an environmentally friendly vehicle helps to preserve resources and provide more sustainable alternatives.

You might just sleep a little better at night knowing you’ve made a responsible choice that helps build a better future.

Environmentally friendly vehicles are relatively new, even though the technology has existed since the early 1900s. The price of manufacturing has now brought them to a point where they have become affordable for a mainstream market.

However, the supporting infrastructure is still catching up. Even so, it’s no longer the case that your EV is only suitable for short trips. In the UK, there are now more electric charging points than there are petrol stations.

Australia isn’t far behind, with 2307 public charging stations* (up by 40% over the last twelve months), so range anxiety is becoming less of a thing these days. And if you choose a PHEV, you’ll have greater flexibility.

As the market continues to grow and the technology keeps advancing, the savings will also increase. Battery prices were once one of the biggest costs for electric cars, but that cost has plummeted over the past decade.

This means that automakers can make and sell EV’s at similar price points to comparable internal combustion vehicles in some markets, creating a realistic tipping point for many more people to go green.

No longer a fringe choice reserved for buyers with deep pockets, eco cars are being developed and sold by more mainstream manufacturers. Worldwide, the demand is growing and the major car companies are expanding their ranges to offer a wider choice across their line-up.

One example would be Mitsubishi. Of the seven vehicle types they sell, two are now available as Plug-in hybrid (PHEV), the popular Outlander SUV and the Eclipse Cross.

The Eclipse Cross Plug-in Hybrid showcases the future of driving as Mitsubishi sees it. Drivers can plug in, charge up and zip around town electrically with zero tailpipe emissions, or use petrol power for longer journeys with remarkable fuel efficiency.

The opportunity to combine all the driving experience and advanced technology with enhanced fuel economy and environmental benefits is fresh territory for a brand of this scale and means that Australians can shift up to a greener vehicle while still staying within their budget.

Big car companies such as Mitsubishi now ensure that they are conducting business in an environmentally and socially sustainable and considerate manner. They have clearly defined policies such as an environmental charter, code of conduct and corporate standards of conduct that are designed to build trust from the inside out.
So, it’s not just cars that are changing, it’s the companies building them.

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