The all things EV chat thread

[bobmac]

Unlikely in my life time

You'll need a special left hand drive one

 

[Lump]

Not until the gubberment tells me I have to.

 

[Sweep]

I understand Tesla has its full self drive beta out to a few testers in the US now, as from a couple of weeks ago.
I agree, having humans driving and self driving cars on the road at the same time will be problematic and how this is resolved will be key.
Mine has Auto Pilot and whilst it isn’t perfect, it’s easy to see how it can be very soon.
To be honest, on the times I have tried it I find myself being more alert to the road and what is going on around me. That may ease when I learn to trust it as I am assured I will but for now I prefer to drive the car myself.
It seems fine on motorways and dual carriageways, not so on smaller roads. Surprisingly I am told it’s at its best in heavy stop - start traffic, where you just let the car take over, go when the car in front moves and stops when halts again.
It is certainly a bit weird seeing the car do this stuff but I am sure it’s something we will get used to.

 

[CliveW]

One thing that hasnt been mentioned is the extra production of electriciry required. One report i read stated that if all the cars on the road today were replaced with electric ones the UK would have to generate 75% more electricity than we currently do.

 

[Swinglowandslow]

Please correct me if I'm wrong but the government isn't planning to remove petrol and diesel vehicles from the roads, it is going to stop the sales of new petrol/diesel cars by 2035. 15 years.
So up until then, you can still buy one, keep it and drive it for 5/10/15 years. That potentially takes you up to 2050.

10 years ago there were no electric cars or chargers. Today, there are over 35,000 chargers https://www.zap-map.com/statistics/ In 15 years time, who knows how many.

Everyone in the EV industry knows the problems with charging and great improvements have been made with the charging infrastructure, just like when the first motor car became widely available.
Intrestingly, if you were fortunate enough to have one of the first cars back in the early 1920s, there were no petrol stations, you had to buy your petrol from the chemist, 2 gallons at a time.

Ref your first para, the words" planning to" are liked by politicians. Because next day/year that can be changed to what they wish.
When it suits, this or any other Government will legislate as they wish.
Their present laws or plans are not set in stone.
I know what the present plans are, but dates to do things will change according to how technology and climate change requirements( and other parameters) change. What they are anticipating now will have little effect on future policy.
The carrot ( incentives) will come first, then the stick (law), and it will be graduated, but it will be a fluid timetable. And even that can be accelerated by a change of government.
So don't bank on driving your diesel on the road in 2050 or 2040.

 

[bobmac]

One thing that hasnt been mentioned is the extra production of electriciry required. One report i read stated that if all the cars on the road today were replaced with electric ones the UK would have to generate 75% more electricity than we currently do.

All cars wont change to electric overnight, it will be a gradual process, just like the expansion of renewable energy.
And not all cars are charged at the same time. I know some are charged every night, some once a week, some once a fortnight. It's a bit like saying if all petrol cars wanted petrol at the same time, petrol stations wouldn't cope, which is true.
Then there's the vehicle to grid system where you charge your car overnight, then power your house using the cars batteries or when there's peak demand on the national grid, the grid can use a little power from your car to balance the grid. Not just your car, 1000s of cars.
Here's a very interesting chat with James Kelloway, Energy Intelligence Manager, from National Grid ESO

 

[PJ87]

All cars wont change to electric overnight, it will be a gradual process, just like the expansion of renewable energy.
And not all cars are charged at the same time. I know some are charged every night, some once a week, some once a fortnight. It's a bit like saying if all petrol cars wanted petrol at the same time, petrol stations wouldn't cope, which is true.
Then there's the vehicle to grid system where you charge your car overnight, then power your house using the cars batteries or when there's peak demand on the national grid, the grid can use a little power from your car to balance the grid. Not just your car, 1000s of cars.
Here's a very interesting chat with James Kelloway, Energy Intelligence Manager, from National Grid ESO

Not to mention storage at home ideas around ... Old batteries on side of houses that could store electric from off peak times for use at other times .... That can also be charged by people's solar panels ..

 

[need_my_wedge]

Have been giving it a lot of thought since raising this thread. Been reading with interest, along with reading and watching a lot of stuff on line. I think right now, I'm going to stick with a replacement ICE, going to wait for the next car change in a couple of years when hopeful the EV infrastructure will be better, along with the car battery capabilities. Thanks for your thoughts and opinions.

 

[bobmac]

Not to mention storage at home ideas around ... Old batteries on side of houses that could store electric from off peak times for use at other times .... That can also be charged by people's solar panels ..

Absolutely.
Charge them up when its sunny, use them to power your house when its not. And if they run low, charge them from the grid overnight when its cheap.
Sadly there's a lot of misleading stuff being written by people who work in the fossil fuel industry but that's only to be expected I suppose.

 

[bobmac]

Have been giving it a lot of thought since raising this thread. Been reading with interest, along with reading and watching a lot of stuff on line. I think right now, I'm going to stick with a replacement ICE, going to wait for the next car change in a couple of years when hopeful the EV infrastructure will be better, along with the car battery capabilities. Thanks for your thoughts and opinions.

You do surprise me, keep the Volvo for long journeys and use the Ev for runabouts. Charge at home. Perfect.
Still, it would be a boring world if we all thought the same.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Simple answer is no until we have no choice , they are not a workable , practical or affordable option for many right now and don’t see it for a while yet.

 

[PhilTheFragger]

Simple answer is no until we have no choice , they are not a workable , practical or affordable option for many right now and don’t see it for a while yet.

They are premium priced at the mo

If you take the current “ Car of the year” the Vauxhall Corsa the basic E version is £10k more expensive than the petrol version, £16k to £26k not including optional extras, although you will save in running costs, no road tax, no congestion charge etc. It is unlikely you will recoup that extra cost over the life of the vehicle, say 7 years, although it does come with an 8 year battery warranty.

The other thing not yet mentioned is used car values, the battery will need replacing after 8/9 years and this won’t be cheap

So you might be looking at near 100 % depreciation over this time, whereas most vehicles would depreciate by around 80%

 

[Blue in Munich]

They are premium priced at the mo

If you take the current “ Car of the year” the Vauxhall Corsa the basic E version is £10k more expensive than the petrol version, £16k to £26k not including optional extras, although you will save in running costs, no road tax, no congestion charge etc. It is unlikely you will recoup that extra cost over the life of the vehicle, say 7 years, although it does come with an 8 year battery warranty.

The other thing not yet mentioned is used car values, the battery will need replacing after 8/9 years and this won’t be cheap

So you might be looking at near 100 % depreciation over this time, whereas most vehicles would depreciate by around 80%

My last car was 13 years old when I part exchanged it & will be good for a few years more. If I'd kept it then I'd be looking at a second set of batteries.

In all the sums that are done about how green electric cars are supposed to be, is this accounted for in pollution terms? In hard cash terms, with the thought of having to replace batteries & the cost premium, I think I'll be staying with an ICE as long as I can.

 

[PhilTheFragger]

My last car was 13 years old when I part exchanged it & will be good for a few years more. If I'd kept it then I'd be looking at a second set of batteries.

In all the sums that are done about how green electric cars are supposed to be, is this accounted for in pollution terms? In hard cash terms, with the thought of having to replace batteries & the cost premium, I think I'll be staying with an ICE as long as I can.

yeah my Frag Jag should be good for another 7 or 8 years hopefully

 

[Blue in Munich]

yeah my Frag Jag should be good for another 7 or 8 years hopefully

But are you...

 

[bobmac]

They are premium priced at the mo

If you take the current “ Car of the year” the Vauxhall Corsa the basic E version is £10k more expensive than the petrol version, £16k to £26k not including optional extras, although you will save in running costs, no road tax, no congestion charge etc. It is unlikely you will recoup that extra cost over the life of the vehicle, say 7 years, although it does come with an 8 year battery warranty.

The other thing not yet mentioned is used car values, the battery will need replacing after 8/9 years and this won’t be cheap

So you might be looking at near 100 % depreciation over this time, whereas most vehicles would depreciate by around 80%

Electric car battery technology
EV batteries undergo cycles of 'discharge' that occur when driving and 'charge' when the car's plugged in. Repeating this process over time affects the amount of charge the battery can hold. This decreases the range and time needed between each journey to charge. Most manufacturers have a five to eight-year warranty on their battery. However, the current prediction is that an electric car battery will last from 10 – 20 years before they need to be replaced.

https://www.edfenergy.com/electric-...acturers have a five,they need to be replaced.

 

[Blue in Munich]

Electric car battery technology
EV batteries undergo cycles of 'discharge' that occur when driving and 'charge' when the car's plugged in. Repeating this process over time affects the amount of charge the battery can hold. This decreases the range and time needed between each journey to charge. Most manufacturers have a five to eight-year warranty on their battery. However, the current prediction is that an electric car battery will last from 10 – 20 years before they need to be replaced.

Must show that to my mate; his Mitsubishi had battery issues after 5 years.

 

[Imurg]

Makes a 9 year old electric car a pretty risky 2nd hand buy..

 

[bobmac]

Makes a 9 year old electric car a pretty risky 2nd hand buy..

You'd check the 'health' of the battery before you buy it.
Easy on a Nissan Leaf...
As the range decreases, the bars decrease. This pic shows full health (12 bars)

 

[Imurg]

OK, turn it around. How do you sell a 9 year old car with a slightly dodgy battery?
Got to be almost worthless.?