Range anxiety is the anxiety or fear that electric vehicle users experience about whether or not there is enough battery power to cover their desired distance. This anxiety results from the limited range offered by electric vehicles as well as the need to travel long distances. Other things that support the increasing range anxiety is the availability of charging infrastructure that is few and far between. The length of time it takes to charge a battery is also another reason for the emergence of range anxiety electric vehicle users. In addition, range anxiety has been one of the biggest barriers in the adoption of electric vehicles in various countries including Indonesia.
Dalam hal menangani range anxiety both the government and the private sector have been planning for the development of a public electric vehicle charging system (SPKLU) for electric cars and public electric vehicle battery replacement systems (SPBKLU). By 2022, the number of SPKLU has reached 570 units and the number of SPBKLU has reached 966 units. Even so, this number is still far from the European recommendation which proposes 1 charger for 10 units of electric cars, while the number of electric cars in 2022 has reached more than 7000 units. The distribution of charging infrastructure is still mostly centered on the islands of Java and Bali.
This problem is more pronounced for electric motors that only have the power to travel an average of 60 km. This distance is very limited when compared to the average daily mileage (ADB, 2022) for private users of around 45 km and for public use such as ride – hailing, logistics and so on about 80 km a day. This makes the problem range anxiety very close to two-wheeled electric vehicles especially for public use. Therefore, for private users, they can charge at home and at their destination. Another case with public users who should charge at home and at their destination, and exchange batteries at the available SPBKLU.
As the biggest challenge in electric vehicle adoption, it doesn't mean that range anxiety As the biggest challenge in electric vehicle adoption, it doesn't mean that range anxiety, among others:
- Planning the travel route
In using electric vehicles, there are times when we want to travel far but are limited by the mileage of the vehicle, for example when we want to go from Jakarta to Surabaya which is about 800 km away. So on the way it is necessary to plan to do charging such as at SPKLU - SPKLU which is already located on the Trans Java toll road. In addition, this charging does not need to wait as in conventional cars. While charging, electric vehicles can be left behind and do other activities.
- Participate in energy-efficient driving training
Both conventional and electric vehicles will consume a lot of energy if we drive unsmoothly in terms of braking and acceleration, drive at high speeds, and put too much weight on the vehicle.
- Caring for electric vehicles
As with conventional vehicles, electric vehicles also need to be maintained on their parts, for example in tire pressure, brakes, belts and others. In addition, battery maintenance also needs to be done as well as on smart phones. Maintenance on electric vehicle batteries includes keeping the battery at least 20% at least in each use, not letting the battery stay charged when it is full, and so on. However, currently some electric vehicle manufacturers already have special protections that maintain battery life even though the battery is charged when it is full, keeping it from being easily short-circuited, etc.