This is the way to do it. Keep in open mind and assess your own situation. Hopefully, EVs will fit your needs the next time around.
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Who has or is planning to get an electric car / EV Talk
- Thread starter PracticalMac
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Toyota are claiming to have a car with 600+ of range by 2026. The technology is clearly improving and fairly fast too.
That would be good. But at what cost? I think we need more mid to low range EV’s at affordable prices. That will help more adoption.
I hope so too. The main problem that I still have with EVs is the battery technology and potential for fires; I know this doesn’t happen often but when it does it is a very major fire with often no or very little warning. Also the charging network where I live isn’t really up to par yet. If they can make them safer (fires), cheaper, and with a better charging network I’m ready (next time).
I have a feeling it’ll be under Lexus to start with as that side of the company has suffered a decline in the last decade or so. To think they were once held in the same regard as the big German brands in regards to luxury offerings and are now whacky looking, with slapped together interiors. I agree, it’s the affordable EV’s that are important to future motoring, not the £40k+ vehicles that seem to be advancing more in regards to much needed features.
Americans don't want low range EV's because of range anxiety.
LFP Batteries don't have the same fire issues NMC/NCA do.
Already covered in this thread. EV’s are so much safer than ICE vehicles. Don’t believe the rubbish you read online. Look at the facts.
True, but EV fires when they do happen are far far worse than any gasoline fire and much more difficult to extinguish. Virtually any EV involved in a fire is totally consumed by the fire. There have been far too many recalls related to EV batteries to make me comfortable at this point.
So you never sit in an ICE vehicle that is so much more likely to catch fire? You must get very tired having to walk everywhere!
Like I said the petroleum companies pump out a lot of propaganda about EV’s.
🤣
(IMHO)
Although things are changing, most major manufactures use the US as their basis for major technology decisions (Switching to EV's may be the exception, but it took a US startup to really change the game). As you are well aware, there are vehicles/models/engines that never make it to the US, but still, the largest single country that makes or breaks an auto company is the US (technically the number 1 is China, with the US as 2nd, but I do not hear much about worldwide design influences driven by the Chinese market).
When battery tech for longer range EV vehicles exists across all manufactures, it will drive down the prices of shorter-range EV vehicles. You honestly won't have significant price drops until there are regular options for 600 miles with 30-minute charge times. We NEED the charge per weight to significantly decrease in order to facilitate this. They can then simply put less batteries in shorter range vehicles to decrease the prices.
It's like how, it takes Mercedes and other luxury vehicles to make features available on their high-end models, before that same technology becomes cheaper and available on every day vehicles (GPS, airbags, collision detection, lane departure, back up cameras,...).
Nope, US market is for US cars. They are nowhere near as popular outside the US. There are huge Chinese car manufacturers like Geely making lots of brands EVs. And technology wise the US is far behind other markets. A simple example is headlights; the US is so far behind and then still the laws passed last year are totally different to the rest of the world where we’ve been enjoying adaptive intelligent light systems for over a decade now.
Granted Tesla made the market. Largely as an energy company by setting up infrastructure. But even they have not kept up and are now getting behind; both in what the cars offer and the infrastructure outside the USA.
I like most people so rarely drive further than my range, it’s really a non issue. A 30 minute stop after 2 hours is good for my aging legs.
The US is by far the #2 market for new vehicle sales. China is #1.
Yes, there are features that make it to the US market after initial deployment (only because of the heavily regulated NTSB). But in the end, other than China, manufactures sell more cars in the US than other country, which behind the scenes controls the direction of their company.
Yes, if you take a lot of road trips, an electric might not be the best solution for now. For people who take do just short drives, only a rare longer trip, a hybrid is a good option. The hybrid battery gives you 50 miles, enough for most trips, before tapping the gas. And if you got a longer trip, the gas backup will work.
There are some yes. But I think there needs to be more. Especially mid sized cars that would suit young families at a reasonable price. There are some Chinese options now, but I’d want to see how the support side develops.
For example I have a friend who has a 2020 MG5, but there is no supported phone app so you can monitor charging remotely etc.
One of my bosses bought a new MG4 and it stopped rapid charging. He contacted the dealer and was told there were no slots to get it looked at (let alone fixed!) for two weeks.
Not a fan of hybrids. At 150-170 miles of range I think my BMW i3 covers most peoples daily commute. Double that if you have charging at work.
Yes that won’t suit everyone, but could suit a lot.
They do. But for most out of reach as they are priced like a small executive class car. Unless one is willing to get into debt and lease/contract hire or use another financial instrument for the “purchase”.
I think people just have to face the facts. The days that a brand new family hatchback was only £16K are long gone. Even for an ICE you won’t get much change below £30K.
I don't think the US is as important to the rest of the world in regards to automotive technologies and I don't say that to be rude. America has always had a very different type of market to Europe and Asia and American branded cars have always sold very poorly in Europe apart from Fords and Opels that are designed for the market here specifically. The regulations here are alot of more strict in terms of annual checks, safety testing and emissions and I'd say the German auto makers have the most influence over other brands and direction of standards than any other manufacturer.
I agree, not a huge fan of Hybrids. Kind of like the worst of both worlds. But, with more and more vehicles becoming plug in hybrids, and the development of better battery tech from EVs, we may end up with Hybrids that get the 150 mile range from their plug-in batteries (some day). If this is the case, the engine can be used only for charging, and people will be able to do daily commutes, and have the long range for times where they live/travel in areas with little to no chargers.
It really depends per brand I think. There are some cars that sell by the bucket load and don’t do much outside the US.
Take Mercedes, they sell nearly twice as many in Europe compared to the North America market. https://www.best-selling-cars.com/b...des-benz-sales-worldwide-by-region-and-model/
Same for BMW https://www.best-selling-cars.com/b...mw-and-mini-brand-worldwide-sales-by-country/
I’m sure when one looks for VAG it be a similar picture.
So yes total new car sales (to finance companies?) in the US may be larger, but once you scratch that surface a very particular picture is on show.