Is it technically impossible to build a smartphone with a battery that lasts a full month? I suppose it would either be a heavy brick, take an eternity to charge, or just be too expensive to make any sense. Even if a company fixed all those issues and started mass production, I’d probably still be sitting here thinking: “I don’t mind plugging my phone in once a day, why on earth do I need more?”
Even though the technology evolved differently, I feel exactly the same way about electric vehicle range. People seem to think that once EVs hit 600, 800, or even 1000 km of range, they will finally become a real alternative to internal combustion engines. Honestly? I don’t think they will—not even if they reached a 2000 km range.
Here is why.
First, unless I’m going on a massive road trip, I have never actually needed to charge the battery to 100% (I use NMC, by the way). My time is valuable and I absolutely hate waiting. Yes, I plug it in frequently, but the charging stations happen to be at the exact same places where I eat or grab a coffee. I am not going out of my way. I already need to park the car somewhere to do quick grocery shopping mornings, for example.
Second, even on long road trips, I take at least a 30-minute break every two or three hours anyway. The result is exactly the same. What I am trying to say is: There is already a perfect harmony between the car’s charging speed, its range, and my personal driving habits.
Back to the smartphone analogy. Most people charge their devices while working or driving; they rarely wait for the battery to hit zero, nor do they meticulously track when it reaches 100%. If the goal is to minimize time spent waiting by a plug, the automotive industry needs to embrace a similar “destination charging” model.
The most practical solutions are:
Frequent, opportunistic charging: Topping up the vehicle during a daily commute or while running errands.
Extended destination charging: Utilizing Level 2 AC chargers at the workplace or at home while the vehicle is parked for hours.
If you can’t utilize these two solutions where you live, an EV simply won’t make sense—no matter how much range it has or how fast it charges.
Unless these infrastructure changes are implemented, using an EV will continue to involve unnecessary friction. The future does not rely on centralized stations resembling modern gas stations. Instead, charging infrastructure must be integrated directly into environments where people already spend their time—whether that is residential street parking in dense cities like Berlin or dedicated charging bays within modern housing projects. Therefore, discussions about waiting by the charger will lose their meaning, regardless of range.
Ultimately, the only genuine problem an excessively long range solves is facilitating cross-country road trips on a single charge. However, if frequent long-distance travel is a primary requirement, waiting for battery technology to bridge that specific gap is unnecessary; traditional ICE vehicles remain the optimal tool for that exact purpose.