I believe most people who have experienced a pure electric car can't go back to gasoline vehicles. But why are electric vehicles so appealing? Looking beyond the surface, today let's talk about the differences between electric and gasoline cars in terms of energy conversion efficiency.

First, let's clarify a common misconception: calling electric vehicles 'new energy vehicles' is not entirely accurate. On June 11, 1895, the 'First International Automobile Race' was held in Paris, France. There were 22 participating vehicles (some sources say 23), including 16 internal combustion engine vehicles (what we commonly call gasoline cars today), 6 steam-powered vehicles, and 1 pure electric vehicle.

The result of the race was that only 8 vehicles reached the finish line over 1,100 kilometers away: 7 gasoline-powered cars and 1 steam-powered vehicle, with the 7 gasoline cars taking the top seven places. This race established the absolute dominance of gasoline cars throughout the 20th century. The single electric car failed to reach the finish line due to its limited range.

So, electric vehicles have existed for at least about 130 years; they are not a new phenomenon that appeared only today. Of course, this doesn't prevent us from continuing to refer to vehicles powered by energy carriers such as electricity and hydrogen as 'new energy vehicles.' This is a side note and won't be elaborated further.

Why do people generally think electric vehicles are cost-saving? Let's make a rough calculation and comparison from the perspectives of energy costs and efficiency for gasoline and electricity.

First, let's look at energy density.

      Gasoline：

lOne kilogram of gasoline contains 44 MJ (megajoules, same below) of energy

lOne kilogram of gasoline equals 1.37 liters

lone liter of gasoline contains 32.12 MJ

Assuming the price of one liter of gasoline is 8 yuan, the unit energy cost of gasoline is: 8 / 32.12 = 0.25 yuan/MJ

Electricity：

lOne kilowatt-hour (1 kWh) of electricity contains 3.6 MJ of energy

lWith a typical household electricity cost of 0.6 yuan per kWh, the unit energy cost of electricity is: 0.6 / 3.6 = 0.17 yuan/MJ

lEven if we assume a higher price at public charging stations, using the peak rate of 1.5 yuan/kWh, the cost would be 0.42 yuan/MJ (off-peak rates might only be 0.3–0.5 yuan/kWh, which we will not consider for now)

From the above comparison, it can be seen that the unit energy cost of gasoline and electricity is generally comparable. Since the data used for electricity cost is on the higher side (1.5 yuan/kWh is the peak-time rate, but most EV owners typically choose to charge during off-peak or standard hours), the actual unit energy cost of electricity is even lower than that of gasoline. For now, we will assume they are roughly equal.

Let's look at the energy consumption per 100 kilometers：

lGasoline Vehicle: Assuming an average fuel consumption of 8 liters per 100 kilometers (taking the average for a relatively fuel-efficient car), the energy consumed is: 8 L * 32.12 MJ/L = 257 M

lElectric Vehicle: Assuming an electricity consumption of 18 kWh per 100 kilometers (the author's annual average for a dual-motor SUV; a single-motor sedan would theoretically be more efficient), the energy consumed is: 18 kWh * 3.6 MJ/kWh = 64.8 M

In summary, for the same 100 kilometers of travel, a gasoline vehicle consumes 257 MJ of energy, while an electric vehicle consumes only 64.8 MJ, which is about one-quarter of that consumed by the gasoline vehicle. This means that, under the assumption that the price per megajoule of energy is equivalent (assumed to be the same), a gasoline vehicle consumes four times as much energy as an electric vehicle and thus incurs fuel costs that are four times higher.

Then why does a gasoline vehicle consume four times as much energy as an electric vehicle? A major reason is the significant difference in efficiency between internal combustion engines and electric motors. According to research data：

lThe efficiency of an internal combustion engine：28%-35%

lThe efficiency of electric motors commonly used in electric vehicles：90%-98%

Finally, let's compare from another perspective：

For the same full tank of fuel or fully charged battery, covering approximately 500 kilometers, the amount of energy carried in the gasoline vehicle's fuel tank and the electric vehicle's battery differs significantly：

lGasoline vehicle: Assuming a fuel tank capacity of 50 liters, the energy contained is：50*32.12=1606MJ

lBattery: Assuming a battery capacity of 90 kWh, the energy contained is：90*3.6=324MJ

Summary

With the advancement of battery technology, as energy storage density continues to improve, each electric vehicle will be able to carry more and more electricity: 100 kWh, 120 kWh, 150 kWh, or even 200 kWh... With a single full charge, electric vehicles will be able to travel increasingly longer distances.

Not to mention that once new technologies such as solid-state batteries are widely adopted in the future, issues like reduced battery efficiency in winter and the risks of flammability and explosion will also be fundamentally resolved.

This is a future we can see！