Battery Electric Vehicle News / Enjoying the Transportation Revolution

JKenH

Sub-£20k price is ‘sweet spot’ for electric cars

https://www.motoringresearch.com/car-news/sub-20k-price-sweet-spot-electric-cars/

JKenH

EV charging should be easy – so why isn't it?

Another article bemoaning the state of EV charging. 

There tend to be two views on these articles.

1. The automotive press should shut up as they are scaring off people from transitioning to EVs
2. We need more of these articles to drive political opinion towards improving the charging infrastructure. 

https://www.autocar.co.uk/opinion/industry-news/opinion-ev-charging-should-be-easy-%E2%80%93-so-why-isnt-it

EVandPV

Yet another wonder battery story ......

A new electric car battery that can be fully charged in five minutes has been manufactured for the first time on a normal production line in China, based on designs by Israeli company StoreDot.

https://news.sky.com/story/amp/new-electric-car-battery-can-be-fully-charged-in-five-minutes-12192253#aoh=16111450522895&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s

silverwhistle

To get widespread acceptance of EVs as an only car, people want to be able to drive 200 miles at 70mph in winter and also know they can just turn up at a charger and be guaranteed to be able to get a charge. Is that unreasonable? Is it any more unreasonable for a motoring publication to highlight the shortcomings of EV range and the charging network than to point out what real world mileages are from ICEVs? 

We are EV enthusiasts but if we aren’t realistic we will just be seen as fanboys, unable to acknowledge any drawbacks with the technology we love and we then lose all credibility. 

Well, I'd probably say that the first half of your first sentence is a bit unreasonable on British roads in winter! From a safety point of view I'm sure the recommendation is to stop at reasonable intervals and a constant 70 is often wildly optimistic.

But yes, the charging situation is still dire and I think you're a bit hard on the enthusiasts as by and large they are very critical too and it's only a few who admittedly can be a bit unsympathetic to the hard luck stories. Perhaps that attitude is coloured by the wilful misinformation we have seen in the past from certain media?

I thought the Autocar article was pretty reasonable and fair in its criticisms. As a new contender I didn't realise Ionity had such a clunky and backward implementation, and such articles may bring a bit of pressure to bear on changing the situation.

JKenH

Tesla slashes Model 3 price in Europe by up to 9 per cent

Edit: 2nd link added

https://thedriven.io/2021/01/21/tesla-slashes-model-3-price-in-europe-by-up-to-9-per-cent/

https://insideevs.com/news/467455/europe-tesla-lowers-model-3-prices/

JKenH

Motorists target £20,000 list price to make electric vehicle switch

However, Deloitte’s survey found that consumer interest in petrol and diesel had crept up during the COVID-19 crisis, with 54% indicating they would prefer a traditional engine compared to 48% last year.

https://www.am-online.com/news/market-insight/2021/01/19/motorists-target-20-000-list-price-to-make-electric-vehicle-switch

JKenH

Price rises left used EVs ‘unsold on dealer forecourts’ in 2020

I have noticed that 40kwh Nissan Leafs are now being advertised at under £16k and I saw a 2020 62kwh model with 9k miles at £26k.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6072181/battery-electric-vehicle-news-thread/p186

Martyn1981

This article is probably more important than just being fun, looking at the time and cost of travelling from John O'Groats to Land's End. But what struck me most, was the time and cost of last place, which even if we are rude/unfair and call it considerably more than the others, is still only £90 and less than 21hrs. That's pretty cool.

The UK’s Cheapest Electric Vehicles & Fastest On Road Trips

Leasing Options, a leasing service that has been serving the UK for over 30 years, has shared its findings on the fastest and cheapest electric vehicles (EVs) in the UK. In an EV range race from John O’Groats to Land’s End, Tesla was the speediest brand. Some key findings from the race are as follows:

The Real Winners Are Those Switching To EVs From Fossil Fuel Vehicles

Although this was a fun race in the UK to determine which EVs were faster and cheaper for such a race, I want to point out that not everyone races vehicles. Many simply use vehicles to go from points A to B and maybe C, D, and sometimes E, and so on.

The real winners are those making the switch to electric vehicles from fossil fuel vehicles. Electric vehicles are more fun, cleaner, and guilt free.

16 hours is notably different from 20 hours for a road trip, but any of these vehicles could be a fun, pleasant option for an electric road trip.

JKenH

Martyn1981 said:

This article is probably more important than just being fun, looking at the time and cost of travelling from John O'Groats to Land's End. But what struck me most, was the time and cost of last place, which even if we are rude/unfair and call it considerably more than the others, is still only £90 and less than 21hrs. That's pretty cool.

The UK’s Cheapest Electric Vehicles & Fastest On Road Trips

Leasing Options, a leasing service that has been serving the UK for over 30 years, has shared its findings on the fastest and cheapest electric vehicles (EVs) in the UK. In an EV range race from John O’Groats to Land’s End, Tesla was the speediest brand. Some key findings from the race are as follows:

The Real Winners Are Those Switching To EVs From Fossil Fuel Vehicles

Although this was a fun race in the UK to determine which EVs were faster and cheaper for such a race, I want to point out that not everyone races vehicles. Many simply use vehicles to go from points A to B and maybe C, D, and sometimes E, and so on.

The real winners are those making the switch to electric vehicles from fossil fuel vehicles. Electric vehicles are more fun, cleaner, and guilt free.

16 hours is notably different from 20 hours for a road trip, but any of these vehicles could be a fun, pleasant option for an electric road trip.

It’s a good job it was just a bit of fun and also just a theoretical exercise or the Leaf would probably not have broken 24 hours with Rapidgate. 

I was interested that there was barely anything in it between the Tesla Model S/X with the 100 kwh battery and the M3 with the 55kwh battery. Just what is the point of the S/X?

As @silverwhistle pointed out in an earlier post (with reference to a 200mile range) regular stops are recommended. If the 2 hour maximum recommended driving without a break advice was adhered to the M3 would have won and times would be a lot closer for most of the cars. Is anyone going to drive 325 miles without stopping?

30 or so years ago I did drive 300 miles without stopping (to get home with kids in the car after a cross channel ferry crossing) but with the state of our roads and so many 50 mph speed limits and cameras I doubt that would be so easy now.  

I wonder how the Leaf 62 kwh, Kona and e-Niro would have faired. I did think it was a bit surprising to pick the 40 Kwh Leaf for this exercise. 

PS didn’t some bloke in an Audi S5 do the trip in nine and a half hours?

JKenH

86 percent of people in China want an electric vehicle

https://www.automotiveworld.com/news-releases/continental-86-percent-of-people-in-china-want-an-electric-vehicle/