Through an article about Renault and Stellantis (Peugeot, Citroën, Fiat, etc.), Capital gave the pen to Georges Nurdin, an economist. According to him, the electric car is a serious mistake, in several respects. The problem is that this article is riddled with errors which cast doubt on its primary motivations.
The electric car dies hard. Between misinformation and lack of information, the general public is subjected to numerous contradictory data, voluntary or not. The latest error? A free forum, offered by Capital to Georges Nurdin, economist and essayist.
In this paper, which is more reminiscent of a position financed by the oil lobby than a journalistic article, we find numerous inaccuracies and errors, but also a lot of bad faith.
The purpose of this article is clearly to properly dismantle the electric car, and to somewhat question the idea of banning the sale of thermal cars in 2035 in Europe. And in certain other regions of the world, contrary to what its author indicates, such as for example in the United States, in certain States.
More expensive electric cars: yes, but
Georges Nurdin tells us that the price of electric cars is “from 33.3% to 67.7% above the equivalent thermal vehicle”. It is true that price parity between thermal and electric cars should not arrive before 2027 or 2028. But if we take into account the ecological bonus, and above all, the lower maintenance and energy cost of the electric car, then everything is reversed according to many reports.
But the worst lies elsewhere. Not on the primary anti-Chinese side of a European who places the blame for global warming on Asia. Forgetting then that the vast majority of its consumer products are manufactured there, and that Europeans are therefore also responsible for Chinese pollution. Also forgetting that we cannot solve the problem of global warming by saying that cars or planes only represent “x%” of the problem, as Bon Pote reminds us.
No, the worst lies elsewhere: on the lifespan of the batteries.
A disposable battery: but what an idea
The man tells us that maintaining an electric car is expensive (which is false, let’s remember), but above all that “the battery must be replaced every 5 or 6 years (it loses its charging capacity) and as it represents 70% of the cost of the vehicle, you might as well buy a new vehicle”. Is this statement due to bad faith or the total incompetence of Georges Nurdin on the subject? Or a deliberate desire to misinform on this sensitive subject? Or all three at once?
Difficult to say, but what is certain is that this economist is talking nonsense. The first mass consumer electric cars have been produced for more than 10 years. We think in particular of the Renault Zoé, Nissan Leaf or even Tesla Model S. The lifespan of the batteries is much longer than that of cars.
The autonomy decreases with time and kilometers traveled, it is true. But at Tesla, for example, the battery loses around 10% of its capacity in 10 years and 300,000 kilometers traveled! So yes, sometimes the battery no longer works or drastically loses a lot of autonomy, because of a defective cell for example. In this case, it is possible to change the entire pack, or only certain cells.
The price of the battery
And no, the battery does not represent 70% of the cost of an electric car. Yes, a battery is expensive. Renault estimates that it represents around 40% of the price of a car like a Mégane E-Tech.
In short, technically, this article published on Capital is a web of errors and approximations. How to give weight to the rest of the statement, which was originally interesting, but which loses all its credibility. Because in fact, switching French households from thermal cars to electric cars is not trivial, whether in terms of charging or finance.
But let’s not forget that the charging network is being deployed at great speed in Europe and particularly in France. And that price parity should soon arrive, in particular thanks to cars like the Renault 5 E-Tech, the future electric Twingo or the new Citroën ë-C3.
Peddling false information on a media as well known as Capital is a mistake, a serious error. This will potentially mislead many consumers, and delay the switch to electric even further. Transformation however necessary as all studies prove. Yes, the electric car is not without its flaws. But it remains less harmful than the thermal car.