What would make you buy an electric car?

[Pagan-Image]

The range is generally good enough for most people needs. As is the size.

I wouldnt disagree with that point, but even if you do two or three 'big' trips a year (to see family etc), the whole scenario becomes a huge ballache.

Bearing in mind the thread is titled 'what would make you buy an EV' at this time the compromises are just too big for me.

I would like to add that I would love to go electric or preferably hydrogen, but at this time the products and infrastructure are not capable enough.

 

[Cold_Collation]

Yeah but the conditions of some roads are parlous, full of potholes. Since there appears to be no money for maintenance of the current infrastructure where will new money be found to dig up and relay the latest fashion?

Some roads are absolutely shagged, aye. Some bits of the SRN aren't too clever, either.

 

[bobthebuilder]

I would disagree with the assumption that High mileages are commuting.

Having been a high mileage driver (My previous office was 211 miles away), most of my mileage (50K miles per year) was driving around the country visiting customers and potential customers. I could be in Exeter one day, and Glasgow the next. You need a range of 300 miles & consistently at motorway speeds for this to be effective.

Spending 45 mins+ to charge (Hopefully) in a depressing motorway service station or overnight in a remote-ish travel lodge with a single charger just isn't feasible, adding an extra hour or two to your travel times is not efficient for you or the business you work for.

I was by no means unique in this mileage or type of driving, I know of huge amounts of middle management and professionals who travel this way. Until EVs can cater to this market they are just not a workable option for high mileage drivers IMHO. And the truth is it is this demographic of driver who needs an EV.

Did you do it in an old, high mileage vehicle?

People with that kind of driving profile will probably be the last to change to electric vehicles. There are already BEVs launching with 500+ mile ranges, albeit premium ones. And driving 300 + miles at the speed limit without a break long enough to charge should really not be an option.

 

[Civvy Scum]

Why so confrontational? I've no horse in this race.

You might as well say a saloon car is not good to a haulage firm. Of course it isn't.

We'll need a range of vehicles, just as we do now. Those living in outlying areas will need vehicles with bigger batteries, likely as not.

You could also take the view that for those longer journeys you could hire a suitable vehicle.

Not confrontational, just practical. For a long journey of say 500 miles it would cost me £100 or so in fossil fuel. My car is already paid for. What "green" car can I hire for £100, including whatever power source it uses and insurance for that amount of cash?

 

[anglo]

Some stats from Norway in January.

Norway's stunning new EV numbers: 84% of new car sales in January all electric

Norway has produced stunning new sales data for all electric car sales in January. Even hybrids are being snubbed by new car buyers.

thedriven.io

There are +/- 5.379 million people in Norway, it produces most of its electricity from renewables,
the Government give incentives to assist people buying cars.
You can't really compare it to the UK
It also as a very large amount of money, in its reserves, from flogging its oil and gas

 

[Tappet]

Did you do it in an old, high mileage vehicle?

People with that kind of driving profile will probably be the last to change to electric vehicles. There are already BEVs launching with 500+ mile ranges, albeit premium ones. And driving 300 + miles at the speed limit without a break long enough to charge should really not be an option.

I drive 300 miles ()almost exactly) in one journey about 12 times / year to visit my parents. I usually take 2-3 breaks of 30 mins each when doing it, which I'm pretty sure would be enough to keep me topped up even on a lower-range vehicle (200-ish mile range), so I don't see too much issue with it. I might one day hire an electric car to test it.

 

[Pagan-Image]

Did you do it in an old, high mileage vehicle?

People with that kind of driving profile will probably be the last to change to electric vehicles. There are already BEVs launching with 500+ mile ranges, albeit premium ones. And driving 300 + miles at the speed limit without a break long enough to charge should really not be an option.

I had a Skoda Superb 2.0 Diesel which was replaced every 2 years as per the company policy for having a car allowance (£400 per month to include maintenance).

I took breaks of 10-15 minutes about every 3 hours, I certainly couldn't justify one or two 45+ minute breaks when under time pressure. When most of my travelling time was after working hours to get to my next destination, I would rather spend that time in the Hotel rather than a service station.

My current role has a much lower car allowance, and even on the previous car allowance I wouldn't have been able to afford an EV with the kind of range needed.

 

[stacker1]

There are +/- 5.379 million people in Norway,

What's that got to do with the percentage of cars sold

it produces most of its electricity from renewables

So what?

the Government give incentives to assist people buying cars.
You can't really compare it to the UK

Except the UL Goverment has given incentives.

It also as a very large amount of money, in its reserves, from flogging its oil and gas

What's that got to do with anything? Does the UK not make money?

 

[Cold_Collation]

Not confrontational, just practical. For a long journey of say 500 miles it would cost me £100 or so in fossil fuel. My car is already paid for. What "green" car can I hire for £100, including whatever power source it uses and insurance for that amount of cash?

There's all sorts needs sorting out. For instance, SWMBO and I have just had a week in the Lakes. To get there from here is a 300+ mile, 4/5-hour drive. Call it a tank of fuel there, and another back once you've done some running around at the top end.

At present, even given my small and frugal car, call it 2 x >£60.

I can't do that journey for similar money by, for instance, using the train. The fares cost too much, the luggage-stowage facilities are shocking (we no longer have guards' vans), and there's no easy onward way of moving from the station to where we were staying - not with kit and provisions enough for a week.

'Integrated transport' is yet working, then. In fact, it doesn't exist. I could make a sideways point here about parking charges up in the Lakes but I won't; suffice to say the local councils up there are on a very good screw...

If I were hiring a car for that journey at this stage, and travelling in future might require that because there are an additional two elderly people involved, it wouldn't be electric. It would likely be diesel.

I'm not saying that the solutions are there yet. The work to deliver them is ongoing, though.

 

[re-stilly]

There's all sorts needs sorting out. For instance, SWMBO and I have just had a week in the Lakes. To get there from here is 300+ mile, 4/5-hour drive. Call it a tank of fuel there, and another back once you've done some running around at the top end.

At present, even given my small and frugal car, call it 2 x >£60.

I can't do that journey for similar money by, for instance, using the train. The fares cost too much, the luggage-stowage facilities are shocking (we no longer have guards' vans), and there's no easy onward way of moving from the station to where we were staying - not with kit and provisions enough for a week.

'Integrated transport' is yet working, then. In fact, it doesn't exist. I could make a sideways point here about parking charges up in the Lakes but I won't; suffice to say the local councils up there are on a very good screw...

If I were hiring a car for that journey at this stage, and travelling in future might require that because there are an additional two elderly people involved, it wouldn't be electric. It would likely be diesel.

I'm not saying that the solutions are there yet. The work to deliver them is ongoing, though.

One of the issues is time, the Government want to have most of this in place by 2030...never going to happen, and if Labour get in, we haven't seen anything yet. It will be chaos with the amount of Green legislation being pushed through.

If you want to see how good intentioned policies enacted very quickly can ruin a country, have a look at Sri Lanka and its overnight change to going organic.

 

[Goutyfrub]

With Tesla you can’t take out the charger unless you have unlocked the car. That’s true for home chargers and supercharger. I have just signed up for ChargePoint where I will probably have to use the adaptor to plug into. I don’t know if that can be unplugged mid charge but I guess I will try it one day. As for someone else plugging in, in my driveway I hadn’t thought of that but I suppose I could switch it off inside when I’m out.

 

[9.414]

Can’t be long before someone comes up with an app that allows people to charge on someone else’s drive. It already exists for parking.

It already exists, see for example:

Home wallbox charger sharing explained | DrivingElectric

We look at why you might consider sharing your home wallbox electric-car charger – and how you can use someone else's if you don't have your own

www.drivingelectric.com

 

[LeoRoverman]

The pikey option? Mains to earth can be very exciting

A bit Wiley coyote….

 

[Goutyfrub]

A bit Wiley coyote….

It’s a really thick armoured cable too. You would be getting through that with a pair of scissors

 

[exbluejob]

It’s a really thick armoured cable too. You would be getting through that with a pair of scissors

20 of our finest English Pounds:

 

[Blogg]

Assuming you can buy an EV that is

Why are electric car supplies running out?

Supply chain issues could mean targets for roads full of electric cars may soon seem hopelessly unrealistic

www.rte.ie

 

[Tyk]

People can steal your charging cable, damage it, or just unplug it, leaving you with no enough charge to do your journey

Including chopping through it with bolt croppers and applying superglue to where the cable plugs into the socket.

I love it when people blithely wobble on about induction charging on the main road network. Quite apart from the requirement to power the bloody things there's this little matter of how it can actually be done.
The road technology to make a sturdy, fairly grippy, water, salt, oil and other contaminant tolerant, weatherproof surface that's properly underpinned and drains well hasn't changed in many years, you don't just casually lob a loop of wire in that.
All the bright ideas of a modular surface you bung down have proven an absolute bust before even tests are done.
That's completely ignoring the electrical hazards oh and people with pacemakers or even metalwork keeping their bones together.
Induction charging looks so sexy on the surface, the reality is there are major engineering challenges even BEFORE you start digging up the umpteen miles of the road network (yet again).

 

[ericferret]

There are +/- 5.379 million people in Norway, it produces most of its electricity from renewables,
the Government give incentives to assist people buying cars.
You can't really compare it to the UK
It also as a very large amount of money, in its reserves, from flogging its oil and gas

The fund | Norges Bank Investment Management

Norges Bank Investment Management manages the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global. Often referred to as the Norwegian oilfund.

www.nbim.no

For the purpose of calculation you could use 1 Krona to the pound near enough.
Actually 1 to £ 0.83.

Something like 11 Trillion pounds.
Here is one of them in Scotttish hundred pound notes!!!!!

 

[Tyk]

It's very true that there are almost no similarities between Norway and the UK. Population, long term (multi decades) government policies, investment, housing stock, roads, road use, society, not even marginally similar.
Any comparison is laughable.

 

[stacker1]

It's very true that there are almost no similarities between Norway and the UK. Population, long term (multi decades) government policies, investment, housing stock, roads, road use, society, not even marginally similar.
Any comparison is laughable.

There is loads similar, bit it shits all over those who keep claiming how EVs are so unsuitable for the UK.