As with every other motoring forum I have ever visited, eventually any discussion of electric vehicles eventually ends up as a discussion on whether global warming is a manmade occurrence or natural, if it exists at all. But even if fossil fuel burning has nothing to do with harming the environment there is still a great argument for electric vehicles.
During the life of an EV they are no more polluting than conventional vehicles, either in manufacture and or use. If you can live with their currently limited range, and have somewhere to charge your vehicle they are a great option. Maintenance costs are considerably less than for a conventional vehicle. They offer a super smooth automatic transmission (actually no transmissions as such), and I for one think nothing beats an automatic transmission. They are quiet and cause much less pollution in our cities.
Some of you will say, “But I like changing gear”. Sure. We all enjoy the control it gives us, but I have recently had to make a couple of morning rush hour trips into Edinburgh and driving a manual car was a nightmare. A three hour trip was done at an average speed of 25 mph. And half of that three hours was open road with light traffic. Why anyone would chose to use a manual transmission for that sort of journey is beyond me.
Noise, or lack of it, is less of a bonus. Most traffic noise in a city (other than goods vehicles), is tyre noise. I dare say, if you miss your engine noise you could have something piped in via your audio system. A burbling V8 if you wish.
Autonomous vehicles are a different kettle of fish, another step again. There is no need for an autonomous vehicle to be electric. There are dozens of conventional trucks, testing autonomous equipment, currently running in the world. Airliners are all but autonomous at present. So too are much of the worlds merchant fleet. Super tankers have a watch keeping officer and a watch keeping engineer. The engine room is controlled by satellite communication from ashore.
The ideal autonomous vehicle would be a train (no steering, goes where the points are set and has to obey signals), or for a road going vehicle, a tram.
Personally I see electricity as just another power source for a road vehicle. Just as LPG and Biofuels are at present. If EVs become the predominant road vehicles it will be by natural selection (possible influenced by legislation), but it will be a choice.