Algernon
Well-known member
Are electric car owners the new vegetarians?
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[Misc] Electric Cars
- Thread starter Giraffe
- Start date
It’s worse than that I’m afraid. My EV’s seats are upholstered with VEGAN leather.
Greg Bobkin
Silver Seagull
- May 22, 2012
- 14,860
No.
dolphins
Well-known member
Mine doesn't do any of that - and no, I'm not telling you all where I live!
GOM
living vicariously
45 minutes ! You don't need to fill it up, just put in enough to get home.
My first long trip in an EV was with @Papa Lazarou to Stoke away and I was impressed at how easy the whole thing was.
We stopped about halfway in each direction and the chargers were so fast that by the time we'd use the conveniences and bought something to eat and drink we were good to go again. I guess if the chargers had all been in use and/or some out of order and we had to wait then I may have felt differently.
I think the charging cost for the journey was in the order of £50, which would make the journey cost about the same as a petrol-fuelled car, but for many people - us, certainly - longer drives are few and far between. We'd be able to take advantage of cheap overnight charging at home to make all our local driving very economical.
Our 2012 petrol Honda Civic is still going strong. My understanding is that keeping it on the road is the greenest thing for us to do, as the manufacture of a car uses a massive amount of resources. It's a bit of a moot point anyway, as we couldn't afford to buy (nor lease) an EV.
chickens
Intending to survive this time of asset strippers
- Oct 12, 2022
- 1,863
I was chatting to a sales chap at my local Mercedes dealership last week (other half considering an EQA) and he reckoned the split between electric and combustion engine sales had moved to about 50/50.
This tech is largely in its infancy. I suspect the electric cars of 20 years time will have solid state batteries with higher range and greater durability, plus the economies of scale will mean prices come down.
There is supposed to be equilibrium reached between petrol and battery vehicle production costs by late this year/early next, so we should see some price cutting. Tesla have moved their prices downward three times so far, and it’s gradually eroding the EV premium as other manufacturers follow suit.
I agree that at present there’s no “carrot” in terms of EV adoption, apart from the massive reduction in running costs and service costs, and you do need to be able to charge at home to realise the significant cost savings on the running costs.
Having said that, if you can charge at home, buy lease or PCP a new vehicle every few years, and you’re not running electric, it’s an absolute no-brainer to switch. There’s simply no comparison.
Official Old Man
Uckfield Seagull
Just planned our Sheffield trip. Range on my mates small car is 234 miles with Sheffield 224 miles away. Knowing the weather, I expect the heaters to be on so stops required. Then I found that Martsons Pubs all have charging points and there are 3 within a mile or so of the M1 near Nottingham.
BUT, his car didn't charge up prior to Arsenal away so we had to stop for a coffee in Clackett Lane and the car charged fully in the time we took for a coffee and cake. Cost about £8 if I remember, cheaper than the coffee! Plus of course, no ULEZ charge.
BUT, his car didn't charge up prior to Arsenal away so we had to stop for a coffee in Clackett Lane and the car charged fully in the time we took for a coffee and cake. Cost about £8 if I remember, cheaper than the coffee! Plus of course, no ULEZ charge.
brighton_dave
Well-known member
- Apr 13, 2016
- 426
Completely agree they will come down in price, but they are out of range for many people at the moment.
For anyone doing low mileage, I guess there are good used options at a reasonable price. I returned a Peugeot 2008 which would've cost me >20k to buy. I've taken a 4 year lease this time in the hope the prices will have dropped significantly by then.
Insurance is included so just have to remember to switch between me and the wife on the 2nd car each year. We wouldn't want to lose our no claims.
nicko31
Well-known member
Chuck in a home solar battery (soon to go VAT free) and leasing a car as salary sacrifice is very desirable, the whole house can be running on 7p / kwh.
Hopefully all these leased vehicles will start to generate a decent used market, as you say buying an EV new is ££ and there's little help available.
One other thing, I recently discovered Justpark has EV charging spaces, I used one on a recent Albion away day and paid 30p/kwh. Managed to get in 30kwh while I was at the game, super handy and got me home.
Billy the Fish
Technocrat
As i and a few others have mentioned, Clackett and other services are 79p/Kwh. You definitely can't do a full charge for £8
Official Old Man
Uckfield Seagull
Corrected. £12.90 and it gave us an 85% charge from 15%. To be honest I thought that cheap as filling a car would be a lot more. It's only a Zoe.
Ah well, in 20 years time I shall be 95, so probably not in the market for a new car. Never mind, perhaps the hearse will run on ‘leccy.
chickens
Intending to survive this time of asset strippers
- Oct 12, 2022
- 1,863
Ah well, in 20 years time I shall be 95, so probably not in the market for a new car. Never mind, perhaps the hearse will run on ‘leccy.
I won’t be driving either, but I retain admiration for technological advances that shape our world for the better. *
*While fully accepting that almost anything that can be used for good can also be used for stupidity, evil and misused by individuals with nefarious intent.
swindonseagull
Well-known member
Toyota are being bullish about doing it within 5 years. Their current target is low volume solid state cars available 2027/8, although I bet that gets pushed back a year or two. Before 2030 though, I reckon.
Toyota nears mass production of solid-state batteries
World’s biggest carmaker says stacking speed needed for full manufacturing is ‘almost there’
www.ft.com
GOM
living vicariously
New cars are expensive full stop regardless of what powers them. I think sometimes we don't realise how much a new petrol car costs these days.
For example some of the most common petrol cars out there, a Vauxhall Astra poverty edition starts at £26,610 going up to £32,620 before any extras are added.
A Ford Focus starts at £28,490 rising to £33,370 before extras like metallic paint. These are not special cars. A BMW 3 series starts at over £40,000 if you want that market.
These too are out of many range for many people, not just electric vehicles.
To put into focus for example an MG4 starts at the same price as the cheapest petrol Astra, no extras needed as comes fully loaded, and it's long range version at less than £30,000, really fully loaded.
Prices are getting closer but don't go thinking you can get a new petrol car for peanuts these days. ALL new cars are expensive and out of most peoples reach.
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New cars are expensive full stop regardless of what powers them. I think sometimes we don't realise how much a new petrol car costs these days.
For example some of the most common petrol cars out there, a Vauxhall Astra poverty edition starts at £26,610 going up to £32,620 before any extras are added.
A Ford Focus starts at £28,490 rising to £33,370 before extras like metallic paint. These are not special cars. A BMW 3 series starts at over £40,000 if you want that market.
These too are out of many range for many people, not just electric vehicles.
To put into focus for example an MG4 starts at the same price as the cheapest petrol Astra, no extras needed as comes fully loaded, and it's long range version at less than £30,000, really fully loaded.
Prices are getting closer but don't go thinking you can get a new petrol car for peanuts these days. ALL new cars are expensive and out of most peoples reach.
And that's *before* the EV price wars start later this year. There's now a regulatory requirement for all car makers to sell a minimum % of their cars as EVs or face a hefty per-car fine. Any maker who is struggling to sell EVs are going to look to cut prices at some point, as it'll be cheaper for them to cut their margins (or even sell at a loss) than to pay the fine.
beorhthelm
A. Virgo, Football Genius
- Jul 21, 2003
- 35,315
fair point, but also illustrates the cost difference. an Astra Petrol PE is 26k, Astra Electric PE is 37k.New cars are expensive full stop regardless of what powers them. I think sometimes we don't realise how much a new petrol car costs these days.
For example some of the most common petrol cars out there, a Vauxhall Astra poverty edition starts at £26,610 going up to £32,620 before any extras are added.
A Ford Focus starts at £28,490 rising to £33,370 before extras like metallic paint. These are not special cars. A BMW 3 series starts at over £40,000 if you want that market.
These too are out of many range for many people, not just electric vehicles.
To put into focus for example an MG4 starts at the same price as the cheapest petrol Astra, no extras needed as comes fully loaded, and it's long range version at less than £30,000, really fully loaded.
Prices are getting closer but don't go thinking you can get a new petrol car for peanuts these days. ALL new cars are expensive and out of most peoples reach.
£11k more for the electic powertrain. this will feed through in used car prices as they get passed through the market.
Well, that Astra EV is going to struggle to cut through at that price. It's competing with VW's ID.3, and doesn't compare well at first glance. Better performance in the Astra, but worse battery capacity and range. And given that my Zoe's performance is perfectly acceptable, I personally wouldn't be making the choice because of marginal performance advantage.