But another significant drawback of these electric vehicles isn't lurking under the hood; it's on the four crucial points that get every car moving: the tires. With the weight of EVs being higher than that of a normal vehicle, mainly due to the hefty batteries they carry, these cars wear through tires like there's no tomorrow. Owners can expect to replace tires much more frequently than with a standard gasoline-powered vehicle.
It's just another costly expense of owning these so-called cars of the "future."
From The Drive:
This points to a few failings in the car buying process. Since J.D. Power's studies show that EV owners typically anticipate similar tire wear as internal combustion car owners, it shows that adoption has leapfrogged education. This can be true for both buyers and sellers at new car dealerships. For instance, all the automaker buzz about EVs tends to blind customers to the potential downsides, and salespeople may be unaware or unwilling to share what they know about differences with electric car ownership.
Ashley Edgar, senior director of benchmarking and alternative mobility at J.D. Power, says this is a problem that should be addressed by car companies and tire manufacturers alike:
“The widening satisfaction gap between EVs and gas-powered vehicles highlights an opportunity for tire manufacturers and automakers to educate EV owners on the differences in performance. Additionally, because of the inherent conflict of maximizing vehicle range and optimizing tire wear for EVs, tire manufacturers and automakers need to work together to overcome the challenge without completely sacrificing tire performance in other areas, especially as the EV market continues to increase.”
Now, big-name OEMs like Michelin and Goodyear sell rubber specifically for battery-powered cars. Marketing is one reason, of course, but so are the legitimately different requirements of EV tires. They must strike a different balance of strength, weight, and resiliency without hampering vehicle range or causing excessive noise. That's a tall task when you're dealing with 6,000-pound sedans and "midsize" trucks that weigh as much as a dually pickup.
