Proton power: Drivers ride the electric wave

THE FUTURE of automobiles is electric.

In TT and around the world, more people are switching to electric cars. With better features and easier maintenance, electric cars are quickly becoming the automobile of choice for drivers.

At the launch of the Proton eMas 7 at the Ansa Motors' official showroom in Grand Bazaar, Valsayn, on June 5 drivers were able to see, feel and test what could be described as one of the latest evolutions of electric vehicles.

They were wowed over the many features of the car which ranged from safety and security, to comfort, entertainment and even mental health.

Sector head of Ansa Motors Ltd Jean-Marc Mouttet told Business Day said while TT was a little slow in the adoption of the vehicles, drivers are quickly catching on to the many benefits of hybrid and fully electric cars.

Mouttet was not the only one to speak on the evolution of electric cars. Specialists in the energy sector, as well as the retail and used vehicles sector also agree that electric cars which are easier to maintain are becoming cheaper in the showrooms almost to the point where it is becoming competitive when compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.

Several experts have said, with the list of benefits and evolution in technology, people are quickly getting on to the electric wave.

Proton eMas 7– The evolution of EVs

The launch of the eMas 7 came just five months after its debut in Malaysia, Ansa Motors said in a media release. The launch also coincided with the opening of a newly-upgraded showroom designed specifically to cater for EV customers, which offers a dynamic, immersive environment where customers can experience all the features of the EV firsthand.

The list of features include level-two advance driver assistance systems which is technology that helps drivers with various aspects, from safety to parking and to comfort.

Peter Maraj, senior development and training officer at Ansa Motors, explained several of the safety features at the June 5 launch. He said the eMas 7 has a five-star safety rating.

“It got five stars in adult occupancy protection, five stars in safety assist systems and five stars in pedestrian protection,” he said.

“It has autonomous emergency braking. While driving, if you turn to check your phone in your bag (not advised) the vehicle will automatically stop before you hit a car with the assistance of radars and cameras. The vehicle will also warn you before you hit.

“It has dynamic brake support. Let’s say you are driving down the road and you are slowing down and the vehicle’s sensors detect that you are going to hit an object because you are not slowing down enough, it will apply more pressure to your brakes.

“If you are going past the white line the vehicle has lane departure warning and prevention which will warn you if you are going past your lane and gently pull you back into your lane. It also has emergency lane assist which will aggressively pull you back onto the road if you are going at a high speed and you seem to be going off the road.”

With regard to power, the eMas 7 can accelerate from zero-100 in 7.1 seconds through an electric drive unit which produces 160kW of power and 320 newtons of torque.

He added that along with the safety and power it also has a wide range of features for comfort and entertainment, including the Galaxy Flyme car audio system by Geely with 16 premium speakers including speakers in each of the headrests.

The car also has a 15.4-inch, 2.5k touchscreen for navigating features and 33 storage compartments.

One of the more talked-about features was its “relax” mode.

“It practically has an on-board therapist. You know when your husband stresses you out, you can go in the vehicle sit and you can pick what kind of ambient sound you want. If you want to hear the ocean or rain falling or you want to hear the forest, you can set the mode, how long you want the mode for and relax.”

What is also notable is the price and its affordability.

At the launch, Maraj also said customers can experience big savings on fuel by switching.

“If you spend $500 in petrol a month, in our eMas 7 vehicle you will spend $20 on electricity for the month

“If you live in the South and work in Port of Spain and you spend $2,000 a month on petrol. Your electricity bill will go to $80 a month.”

Mouttet said the eMas 7 was the next evolution of the Proton brand with its state-of-the-art technology and features.

“Now that it is partnered with Geely, one of the largest Chinese manufacturers in the world with a host of top-brand cars, it was just a natural progression,” he said. “The market that we are seeing, not just in TT but in the region as well, is moving very quickly into this area and this car is just the perfect fit.”

More adoption for electric vehicles

Mouttet said customers are quickly adopting electric vehicles, because of its features, savings and its carbon footprint.

“It gives you the best of both worlds,” he said. “The electric vehicle has the environmentally conscious components behind it. The consumption of energy was dramatically reduced, the carbon footprint was reduced, and even the cost of maintenance was reduced. It really is the future of the industry and where it is evolving.”

Founding president and CEO of the Caribbean Energy Chamber Eugene Tiah, who has also been an avid advocate for electric vehicles said the the benefits far outweigh the concerns.

“I have always been an advocate for EVs for a long time,” he said. My first EV was a Nissan Leaf. I bought it seven years ago.

“I spent about $3,000 on tyre changes. I had the vehicle for five years. That would tell you how reliable and less maintenance intensive EVs are compared to internal combustion engine vehicles.”

Mouttet said the market for EVs is now expanding.

“People will tend to have an initial reluctance and that may be why it took a little while before we started to see the traction that we are getting. Initially when eclectic cars came into the market there were concerns on battery life and the replacement cost of batteries but the industry has evolved rapidly and as a result of that the technology that is coming into these cars are second to none.”

Tiah said something similar, noting that the number of EV customers and the community itself has also evolved.

“When I got my first EV there were only a few people who had bought one at that point in time. The community has since grown. We have a whatsapp group of EV drivers. When we started the group there were just two of us and now we have about 40 or 50 people in that group.”

With increased infrastructure, such as eight charging stations nationwide including Preysal, Tunapuna and Port of Spain, Tiah said concerns such as range anxiety are quickly becoming things of the past. He also said the maintenance costs for EVs make them highly competitive as compared to ICE vehicles.

“There is no engine, so you have no regular maintenance like oil filter changes and other things that relate to ICE engines. Other than that the cost of running an EV is significantly lower based on the cost of electricity in TT. Then you have savings in the cost of fuel. So, there is actual saving in the cost of running the car and the fuel they use.

“From a maintenance and operating standpoint the cars have been reliable, they are usually well-engineered, they have a low maintenance profile and cost versus ICE engines. They do require dealers to step up and effect change in terms of support for the vehicles, they would have to train their technicians, but other than that parts and other things it is quite competitive.

“More established vehicles that have been around for a long time would be a supply chain that supports that but with the current state of procurement and the access to information and so on, getting parts is not as complicated as you would think. All of those factors in my mind have made it a good choice.”

Camara Wiltshire, one of the first customers to buy the eMas 7, told Business Day he switched to the EV from European cars and now, he is never going back.

“This vehicle is excellent. Coming from European vehicles, which is heavy on the road, masculine and powerful this fits the bill hands down.”

He said he previously owned an Audi Q5 and Q7, but was blown away by the performance of the eMas 7.

“It is an electric vehicle and we are going into that age,” he said. “So I decided to take a jump on it. I am very comfortable with this vehicle.”

He said Ansa Motors was able to bring the vehicle at a very reasonable price point. They also had a six-year warranty on the car and an eight-year warranty on the battery.

“So, you don’t have to worry about anything. It has tremendous safety and security features. You just have to walk toward the car and it switches on. Actually, it is on right now.”

Used EVs also becoming more affordable

TT Automotive Dealers Association president Visham Babwah said EVs are also becoming more technologically advanced and affordable in the roll-on, roll-off market.

He said older fully electric vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf would go for around $175,000, but prices for hybrid vehicles are now becoming on par with ICE vehicles and in some cases are even cheaper.

“The price of EVs is really determined by the driving range, because the more range you have to get out of a battery, the more costly it will be,” he said.

“Although the prices might be a bit low it is still out of reach for a lot of people. The price points will also have to be determined by the warranty as well, because when a battery goes and you have to change the battery, people have to understand that there is a cost attached to that.

“For hybrids, it is still not the most affordable but we are getting used hybrids for about $135,000. The cost of an ICE vehicle may be about $30,000-$40,000, because hybrid vehicles have certain tax exemptions.”

In the 2021 budget presentation, then minister of finance Colm Imbert removed tax concessions on private motor cars, which meant that they would attract customs duty, motor vehicle cars tax and VAT. But the lowest duties were put on hybrid and electric cars, CNG cars and small engine cars to encourage their use.

Babwah added that because of banks making concessions, electric and hybrid vehicles have become even cheaper.

“The banks have made adjustments to their loans in terms of the duration,” he said. “Loans for new vehicles have a payment time of ten years, which would get people a better service ratio so they would be able to afford a new car. But we need to understand that you cannot knowingly or unknowingly put people in debt for such a long time.”

Still there are significant challenges for EV users. Babwah said people would still benefit from cheaper cars and Tiah said that more enabling factors are needed to make EVs more accessible.

“I think there needs to be some enabling action. For example, The reason why public charging has not really developed is because there is only one entity in TT that can sell electricity right now – that is TTEC.

“So, you have some regulatory reforms that need to occur for other people to be able to retail electricity. So they could buy from the wholesaler and then they could retail it just as people retail gasoline. Those are some of the enabling actions that need to happen for people to want to invest in infrastructure so they can get a return on investment.”