Range anxiety is the driver's fear that a vehicle has insufficient energy storage (fuel and/or battery capacity) to cover the road distance needed to reach its intended destination, and would thus strand the vehicle's occupants mid-way.[1][2][3][4] The term, which is now primarily used in reference to the practical driving range of battery electric vehicles (BEVs), is considered to be one of the major psychological barriers to large-scale public adoption of electric cars.[1][5][6]
The term "range anxiety" was first reported in the press on September 1, 1997, in the San Diego Business Journal by Richard Acello referring to worries of GM EV1 electric car drivers.[7] On July 6, 2010, General Motors filed to trademark the term, stating it was for the purpose of "promoting public awareness of electric vehicle capabilities".[8] The Norwegian equivalent rekkeviddeangst was assigned second place in a list of Norwegian "words of the year" for 2013 by the Norwegian Language Council.[9][10]
The main strategies to alleviate range anxiety among electric car drivers are the deployment of extensive charging infrastructure, the development of higher battery capacity at a cost-effective price, battery swapping technology, use of range extenders, accurate navigation and range prediction and availability of free loan vehicles for long trips.
According to a study by the American Automobile Association, the cure to range anxiety is owning an electric vehicle.[11]
- ^ a b Eberle, Ulrich; von Helmolt, Rittmar (2010-05-14). "Sustainable transportation based on electric vehicle concepts: a brief overview". Royal Society of Chemistry. Retrieved 2010-06-08.
- ^ Backstrom, Michael (May 22, 2009). "Comments of Southern California Edison Company on the California Public Utilities Commission Staff's White Paper, Light-Duty V" (PDF). p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 June 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
- ^ Schott, Ben (January 15, 2009). "Range Anxiety". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
- ^ Rahim, Saqib (May 7, 2010). "Will Lithium-Air Battery Rescue Electric Car Drivers From 'Range Anxiety'?". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
- ^ Jose Gomez-Ibane; Prof. Hermann Bennett; Dean John Haigh; Alfred Wiederer; Ronald Philip. "Policy options for electric vehicle charging infrastructure in C40 cities" (PDF). Clinton Climate Initiative. Harvard. Retrieved 23 July 2010.
- ^ Gordon-Bloomfield, Nikki (16 September 2001). "Electric Car Out of Juice? Pray for an Angel". TheCarConnection.com. Archived from the original on September 18, 2010. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
- ^ "First public citation of range anxiety".
- ^ "How GM Will Use Fear to Sell You a Chevy Volt". 31 August 2010.
- ^ Eric Loveday. ""Range Anxiety" in 2nd Place on Norway's "Words of the Year" List". InsideEVs.
- ^ Årets ord: sakte-tv (in Norwegian) via Quartz, Norway is starting to have more electric cars than it can handle.
- ^ Edmonds, Ellen (22 January 2020). "AAA: Owning an electric vehicle is the cure for most consumer concerns". American Automobile Association.