Battery Electric Vehicle News / Enjoying the Transportation Revolution

EVandPV

Currently toying with the idea of trading in our Zoe for a ZS.
Look like one of the best EV deals out there just now.

Grumpy_chap

JKenH said:

 my son has owned a 1960 MG for the last 22 years. I wouldn’t say it is still going strong but it is still going. They are fine if you get a new Heritage body for them every couple of decades and rebuild the engine every decade or so. 

Tales about rust

That MG sounds like Trigger's Broom.

Rust was a problem on my MG Metro, but it did have red seatbelts so all was well.

thevilla

Just taking advantage of a quick free charge at our local Tesco and saw this.  Seemed a bit cheeky 🤣

Superscrooge

thevilla said:

Just taking advantage of a quick free charge at our local Tesco and saw this.  Seemed a bit cheeky 🤣

Probably couldn't find a working BP Pulse charger   🤣

Martyn1981

Grumpy_chap said:

JKenH said:

 my son has owned a 1960 MG for the last 22 years. I wouldn’t say it is still going strong but it is still going. They are fine if you get a new Heritage body for them every couple of decades and rebuild the engine every decade or so. 

Tales about rust

That MG sounds like Trigger's Broom.

Rust was a problem on my MG Metro, but it did have red seatbelts so all was well.

I always preferred Triumphs particularly the Spitfire, TR6 and the OOOOOOOOOhhhhhh so gorgeous Stag. Nearly got a Stag 30yrs ago, thought it would be fun to push it to car shows, like the old MG's. But went the Yankee route instead with massive V8's and <cough 35hp/litre cough>. Now I have to make up for my past sins!

Martyn1981

Nice milestone, and a reminder how quickly BEV's are disrupting the two and three wheeler markets too.

Gogoro Goes Big With One Millionth Swappable Battery

The battery-swapping leaders at Gogoro have cemented their place at the head of the pack by completing their one millionth battery. The company’s growth from 0 in 2015 to fundraising in 2017 to one million strong today makes Gogoro the “de facto” battery swap standard for two-wheel vehicles in Taiwan, where the company’s batteries power up to 95% of all electric two-wheelers.

“Gogoro’s one-millionth battery is a testament to how an open battery swapping ecosystem can flourish by facilitating how governments, a wide range of vehicle makers and riders can embrace sustainable electric transportation,” explains Horace Luke, the company’s founder and CEO. “Since launching in 2015, Gogoro has managed more than 255 million battery swaps, and, together with our customers, have saved 384 million kg (846-million lbs.) of CO2.”

Martyn1981

Remember the news about converting diesel trucks to electric (in Australia) when it's time for their major engine reconditioning, and battery swap stations ..... no ..... no probs, here's an update:

Janus Trucks Converting Freightliner To Electricity — Seeing Lot Of Demand

Janus announced recently that the second fully electric registered Class 8 prime mover in Australia has just hit the roads. The Janus Electric Freightliner Coronado has exchangeable Janus Side Batteries (JSBs) that can be swapped in 3 minutes. A total of 620 kWh deliver up to 600 km of range out of one charge. The JCM350 Janus Conversion Module delivers 480 HP with no modification required to the exterior of the truck.

Transport operators will be able to make a sound financial decision about conversion to battery electric for their trucks. On the Brisbane-to-Sydney run, a converted semi will use about $300 dollars worth of electricity compared to $750 worth of diesel and $50 worth of Adblu. “Plus, maintenance on a diesel motor is significantly higher,” Forsyth adds.

Some operators who have heavy duty use (trucks running 7 days a week, 24 hours a day) will have a ROI of about a year. Forsyth expects a 10% reduction in cost for local drivers and a 25% reduction for inter-state runs.

JKenH

It seems that in the used car market demand for ICE cars is stronger than EVs or should we say shortage of supply is a bigger problem for ICE cars than EVs (or perhaps a combination of both). I am sure Tesla fans will enjoy the description of ICE cars as having “combustible” engines. 

The subsequent squeeze on supply has led to a mismatch in consumer demand, distorting prices across the market. And it’s not luxury cars that are driving up prices, but ordinary runarounds. 

The Toyota Auris Hybrid topped the table, with the average price of a three-year-old model up by 78pc in one year to £16,950. It was followed by the Vauxhall Zafira and Vauxhall Combo Life, whose prices increased by 76pc and 65pc to £14,925 and £13,470 respectively in the past 12 months.

The Kia Soul Electric followed, shooting up 63pc to £17,400. This car was an outlier, however, as the average price of second-hand electric models has not grown as fast as those with combustible engines. Electric models increased in price by 21pc, seven percentage points lower than the average across the market, but still far ahead of inflation.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer-affairs/sold-second-hand-car-cost-brand-new/

Edit: another article on the same topic or more interestingly on the premiums being paid to get hold of new vehicles in short supply.

Land Rover top the list with 10 of the 30 vehicles listed, while Dacia, VW and Tesla have 3.

The article also includes the comment. 

As a result, car makers have simply been unable to build enough cars to meet demand from customers. Auto Trader estimates that 1.5million new sales alone have been 'lost' since the semiconductor shortage hit. 

With manufacturers now quoting waiting times of 12 months and more for the most in-demand motors, drivers have been forced to turn to the used market to replace their finance-ending and ageing cars. 

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-10473767/The-second-hand-cars-soaring-price-cost-new-versions.html

Which suggests that the fall off in ICE sales may have been down to lack of supply rather than solely drivers rejecting them in favour of electric cars. That is not to deny the rise in EV sales which would not have happened without there being demand but perhaps ICE sales/supply has been disproportionately by the chip shortage - not necessarily for technical reasons but rather manufacturers prioritising EV manufacture. 

Grumpy_chap

JKenH said:

It seems that in the used car market demand for ICE cars is stronger than EVs or should we say shortage of supply is a bigger problem for ICE cars than EVs (or perhaps a combination of both). 

Edit: another article on the same topic or more interestingly on the premiums being paid to get hold of new vehicles in short supply.

Timely links shared as my brother (or his wife has) has just taken delivery of a BMW i3 (used) to replace the Mini she had before.  Maybe this will be the way the switch will evolve from ICE to EV cars - going EV for the "second car" first to build confidence in the feasibility while keeping the main family car as an ICE for any time greater distance is required.

This type of approach could work so long as the "second car" EV is not one that is too compromised on range or ability as to create a negative outcome and push-back against the change to EV.

As for new cars - there must clearly be some available as I received a marketing communication from the nearest main dealer promoting "Twosday offers" - amazing deals for new cars ordered 22/2/22 to 27/2/22 for the new "22" March plate.  Clearly, they must have a batch of vehicles ready to meet whatever enquiries that campaign generates.

Martyn1981

Not good news on Boris' buses, but I was more interested in the price/cost.

The news article states £4bn for 4,000 buses, which is a million each. Perhaps the news talking about producing BEV buses in the UK, means the cost of £4bn is more about the factory/battery investment? Hope so, otherwise they are being ripped off.

Checking old news, Newport (down the road from me in Cardiff) bought a 3yr old second hand bus for £250k, stating that new they cost £340k. Cardiff recently spent £14m on 36 new BEV buses, but that includes infrastructure and 'associated' costs, so ~£389k per bus. 

Boris Johnson’s promise to build 4,000 zero-emission buses makes zero progress

One of Boris Johnson flagship “green” pledges – to provide 4,000 new zero-emission, British-built buses by the end of 2024 – has been cast into serious doubt by UK manufacturers who say they have yet to receive any orders for new vehicles.

MPs and campaigners are pressuring ministers for information on when money will be committed to allow the manufacture of the zero-emission buses, which the prime minister promised would form part of a green transport revolution in his first term in Downing Street. He made the pledge in February 2020, just before the Covid pandemic, when he was keen to promote his environmental credentials and show how green policies could benefit people’s lives whileboosting British businesses.

Since then, only a fraction of the necessary funds has been allocated, with £320m being committed by chancellor Rishi Sunak in last autumn’s spending review, towards an estimated total of £4bn needed to put 4,000 green buses on the road.

UK manufacturers say that unless the funds are committed and orders made soon, there will not be time to get the new vehicles into service in time to meet Johnson’s promise.

So, are these 'UK manufacturers' to receive funding to produce buses, which could make financial sense, or estimating a cost per bus, around 3x more than just buying them from abroad?