Battery Electric Vehicle News / Enjoying the Transportation Revolution

Grumpy_chap

Martyn1981 said:

It's a TM3 LR (with added bite). Looks like 300 (of the 340) mile range is doable (just) with a heavy foot, so 250-350 should be possible at gentler speeds, from worst to best weather conditions.
But ...... this was a W T F H purchase, and a SR+ with around 280miles quoted range, would work absolutely fine, thanks to the Supercharger network. I was definitely finding bladder range more intrusive than battery range.

By "added bite" do you mean "Performance"?
What does "W T F H" mean?  "Just do it"?

The TM3 LR version for range plus AWD is worth it in my book on the TM3 (though I could not justify the extra for TMS Plaid+ just for the range). 
The "Performance" TM3 version is a further £10k and gets worse wheels, so does not seem to make sense.

I am also intrigued to know whether you have any of the enhance autopilot / self-driving options?  I would consider, but there is a substantial option price attached and is largely a promise of something for the future.

Martyn1981

Grumpy_chap said:

Martyn1981 said:

It's a TM3 LR (with added bite). Looks like 300 (of the 340) mile range is doable (just) with a heavy foot, so 250-350 should be possible at gentler speeds, from worst to best weather conditions.
But ...... this was a W T F H purchase, and a SR+ with around 280miles quoted range, would work absolutely fine, thanks to the Supercharger network. I was definitely finding bladder range more intrusive than battery range.

By "added bite" do you mean "Performance"?
What does "W T F H" mean?  "Just do it"?

The TM3 LR version for range plus AWD is worth it in my book on the TM3 (though I could not justify the extra for TMS Plaid+ just for the range). 
The "Performance" TM3 version is a further £10k and gets worse wheels, so does not seem to make sense.

I am also intrigued to know whether you have any of the enhance autopilot / self-driving options?  I would consider, but there is a substantial option price attached and is largely a promise of something for the future.

"What the hell", being the more polite version of !!!!!! [Edit - I see MSE edited it, but I'm sure you can imagine what an f instead of a h means], pretty much the decision Wifey and I came to when I was hovering over the order button, but struggling to click it.

Added bite refers to an OTA (over the air) upgrade, which according to dyno testers, as Tesla keeps stum about actual power figures, seems to add 70+bhp, more likely 70kW (94bhp), to the car - bear in mind, that for simplicity and cheapness of build, the LR has all the same kit as the Performance model ...... it just won't let you enjoy it!

I agree about the wheels, it's always worth remembering that tyres add some shock absorption to the car, so larger more expensive wheels, and smaller wall height tyres don't go great with a sore back.

I didn't choose FSD or enhanced auto-pilot. They may be great value to some, especially those do loads of miles pa, but if you are a big kid, buying a giant go-kart, with ~500ponies, then you want to drive it ..... Shirley? FSD is looking very promising in the States where Beta versions are achieveing 100's of miles with less and less, even zero, interventions. But they'll still need to make it virtually perfect, achieve legal permissions, and then polish for other countries with different peculiarities, before we'll get it.

The LR was a slightly easier choice for me. When I looked originally, there was about an £8k difference, then Tesla put up the price of the SR+ (but not the LR), and the cost difference became -£6.5k. I know the price was the same, but the difference reduced, and kinda swung the balance, or at least made my argument to Wifey for it, slightly more substantive than - "Buuut I wanna!"

JKenH

‘Huge challenge’ for all new cars to be electric from 2035, say MPs

Interestingly, while the Government’s 10-Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution published in November 2020 spoke decisively of ending the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans in 2030, today’s Public Accounts Committee report speaks of it as a ‘goal’ and ‘target’.

https://fleetworld.co.uk/huge-challenge-for-all-new-cars-to-be-electric-from-2035-say-mps/

JKenH

Enterprise boosts electric rental fleet

Enterprise Rent-A-Car has unveiled 30 new electric Renault ZOE as part of its rental fleet in Scotland. They will offer more zero-emission transport options for businesses and local residents needing to drive as Scotland emerges from lockdown.

https://www.fleetpoint.org/leasing-2/enterprise-boosts-electric-rental-fleet/

EVandPV

Came across this graphical representation of the charging situation in the UK.

Seems London is already meeting the number of chargers required by 2025 (no surprises there) with Scotland not far off. The rest clearly still have some way to go though.

https://cleantechnica.com/2021/05/19/uk-postcode-lottery-for-electric-car-charging-must-be-fixed/amp/

JKenH

EVandPV said:

Came across this graphical representation of the charging situation in the UK.

Seems London is already meeting the number of chargers required by 2025 (no surprises there) with Scotland not far off. The rest clearly still have some way to go though.

https://cleantechnica.com/2021/05/19/uk-postcode-lottery-for-electric-car-charging-must-be-fixed/amp/

It is interesting (perhaps a little surprising) that London is seen as already having all the chargers it needs for 2025. With far more EVs expected on the roads in 4 years time where will that leave us?

At the moment the  majority of car charging is carried out at home but when there is greater penetration of EVs there will be more people without the ability to charge at home which will put more pressure on the public charging network. This is one of the concerns of the Public Accounts Committee. 

Grumpy_chap

JKenH said:

‘Huge challenge’ for all new cars to be electric from 2035, say MPs

Interestingly, while the Government’s 10-Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution published in November 2020 spoke decisively of ending the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans in 2030, today’s Public Accounts Committee report speaks of it as a ‘goal’ and ‘target’.

https://fleetworld.co.uk/huge-challenge-for-all-new-cars-to-be-electric-from-2035-say-mps/

Although the headline has been "no new petrol / diesel care from 2030", that has always been a bit of a fudge as hybrids were / are permitted still and the target is deemed as met.

Solarchaser

EVandPV said:

Came across this graphical representation of the charging situation in the UK.

Seems London is already meeting the number of chargers required by 2025 (no surprises there) with Scotland not far off. The rest clearly still have some way to go though.

https://cleantechnica.com/2021/05/19/uk-postcode-lottery-for-electric-car-charging-must-be-fixed/amp/

Explains somewhat about Kens articles the other day about the northern Irish drivers "CONSIDERING" going back to Fossil fuel cars.

I mean hey, you could stick me in that number, I considered it, then laughed and thought, don't be ridiculous. 

But I did consider it, so I'd be in those figures 😏

Martyn1981

Two articles that go well together. Plans by UK households to buy more BEV's, and the success of low emission zones.
I particularly liked the debunking of the carp argument that BEV's and low emission zones will unfairly impact the poor. It seems that whenever something 'good' is planned, especially if it means putting monies or resources into greener energy or transport, that will impact the interests of the FF industry, we see crocodile tears about the poor.

6.5m households in UK plan to buy an electric car by 2030

The Ofgem research also shows that more than a third (38%) of households said they were unlikely to buy an electric vehicle in the next five years, with 59% of them saying the price is too high, 38% voicing concerns about a short battery life and short range, and 36% worried about having nowhere to charge their electric vehicle close to home.

I thought the above was actually really good news:
Price too high - TCO of a BEV is already lower, and purchase price falling, expected to reach parity in 2027.
Short battery life / range - That's just a learning curve, as information and experience spreads, since range and battery life are already fine.
Charging close to home - That's simply an issue of rolling out more infrastructure. Lots of solutions already exist, such as pop up chargers, lampost chargers, charging at locations such as shopping centres, cinemas, etc etc, and an odd/interesting one which would involve using another households drive and charger during the day ....... what!!! This isn't new, people already 'rent' drives near where they work if parking is tricky, from people who drive their cars to somewhere else during the day, so a new scheme, or an extension of the existing ones, could solve this.

Ignore the naysayers – low emission zones do work

Lessons from London’s zone and the hundreds that operate in Europe counter many of the myths around these schemes.

Fourth, it is often said that the zone charges unfairly penalise the least well off. In fact, poorer communities have most to gain. They experience worse air pollution than their richer counterparts but, when it comes to driving, they contribute less to the problem. Yes, placing charges on older vehicles would have more of an impact in poorer areas, but this effect is small: a 2019 study found that cars in the UK’s poorest areas were, on average, just over a year older than those owned by the most well off. This was due to multi-car households in wealthier areas and the age of their second, third and in some cases fourth cars.

michaels

Martyn1981 said:

Two articles that go well together. Plans by UK households to buy more BEV's, and the success of low emission zones.
I particularly liked the debunking of the carp argument that BEV's and low emission zones will unfairly impact the poor. It seems that whenever something 'good' is planned, especially if it means putting monies or resources into greener energy or transport, that will impact the interests of the FF industry, we see crocodile tears about the poor.

6.5m households in UK plan to buy an electric car by 2030

The Ofgem research also shows that more than a third (38%) of households said they were unlikely to buy an electric vehicle in the next five years, with 59% of them saying the price is too high, 38% voicing concerns about a short battery life and short range, and 36% worried about having nowhere to charge their electric vehicle close to home.

I thought the above was actually really good news:
Price too high - TCO of a BEV is already lower, and purchase price falling, expected to reach parity in 2027.
Short battery life / range - That's just a learning curve, as information and experience spreads, since range and battery life are already fine.
Charging close to home - That's simply an issue of rolling out more infrastructure. Lots of solutions already exist, such as pop up chargers, lampost chargers, charging at locations such as shopping centres, cinemas, etc etc, and an odd/interesting one which would involve using another households drive and charger during the day ....... what!!! This isn't new, people already 'rent' drives near where they work if parking is tricky, from people who drive their cars to somewhere else during the day, so a new scheme, or an extension of the existing ones, could solve this.

Ignore the naysayers – low emission zones do work

Lessons from London’s zone and the hundreds that operate in Europe counter many of the myths around these schemes.

Fourth, it is often said that the zone charges unfairly penalise the least well off. In fact, poorer communities have most to gain. They experience worse air pollution than their richer counterparts but, when it comes to driving, they contribute less to the problem. Yes, placing charges on older vehicles would have more of an impact in poorer areas, but this effect is small: a 2019 study found that cars in the UK’s poorest areas were, on average, just over a year older than those owned by the most well off. This was due to multi-car households in wealthier areas and the age of their second, third and in some cases fourth cars.

I think this is disingenuous in the extreme, the fact that Mr Posh has a classic MGB weekend car in addition to his ulez compliant brand new Merc so the average age of his two cars is only 12 months less than Mr Not so Well off who relies on his £500 20 year old non-ulez corolla to get to work in the congestion charge zone every day.  He can't find anything less than 3k that is ulez compliant and so pays the charge, and that is even before the fact that £10 per day is a much bigger proportion of his income that it would be for Mr Posh (who doesn't have to pay it anyway).

It may or may not be that the poor are proportionately worse impacted by low emissions zones, the statistic quoted to support the argument is superfluous at best but more likely deliberately selected to mislead.

Note for those who think any criticism of a 'green' article means that the poster does not share their green evangelism, this is not a criticism of ULEZ but only of the dubious use of statistics.