EV Discussion thread

Martyn1981

Hiya GC. We had the same that the smart charger couldn't be connected till the fuse was upgraded. One thing I found funny was that the 60A 'fusebox' was upgraded to 100A, but they would only give us an 80A fuse, based on our needs. Not complaining, I suppose they have their rules and regs, and the guy changing said that it may need upgrading (to 100A main fuse) if we got an ASHP installed.

@ CKhalvashi - Wifey joined and contacted the IONIQ owners club, before we got our 28kWh model, as the suggested 130 mile range seemed far too high. In our defence we owned a 24kWh Leaf, with about 70 miles of range. they told us that 130 was fine, and 150 if driven gently (they were spot on), but also suggested that charging to 100% was best, as there's a sizeable buffer. Not sure if that's true, but range (both prediction and actual) are still excellent, though of course, it could be that the buffer is being used to maintain this.

Been charging the Tesla Y to about 60% or 70% overnight, but in the summer, unless we need a lot of range for something, we just go with the flow, and use the granny charger to absorb spare PV. But tend to top out, on PV, at about 85%, when concerns about the longevity of the battery, balance out my desire to grab as much 'free' solar as possible. 

JKenH

Ahead of the SMMT’s registration figures for July which, I believe, should be published today I came across this article from Autocar with figures for the private buyer take up for some of the popular EVs. Perhaps we will see better figures this month. 

Industry calls for urgent support as electric car uptake slows

That market share plateau is driven by a slump in overall private EV registrations, which are down about 20% year on year and now account for less than half of the total number of new car registrations. 

As dramatic snapshots of the market, just 13% of Volkswagen ID 5s, 21% of Tesla Model Ys and 41% of Ford Mustang Mach-Es this year have been sold to private customers. 

Research from Auto Trader, published under the title The Road to 2030, further underlines this, suggesting there has been a 65% year-on-year fall in the number of enquiries sent to retailers about electric cars, with EV enquiries currently only accounting for 9% of the total, compared with 27% this time last year. 

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/industry-calls-urgent-support-electric-car-uptake-slows

JKenH

Martyn1981 said:

Hiya GC. We had the same that the smart charger couldn't be connected till the fuse was upgraded. One thing I found funny was that the 60A 'fusebox' was upgraded to 100A, but they would only give us an 80A fuse, based on our needs. Not complaining, I suppose they have their rules and regs, and the guy changing said that it may need upgrading (to 100A main fuse) if we got an ASHP installed.

@ CKhalvashi - Wifey joined and contacted the IONIQ owners club, before we got our 28kWh model, as the suggested 130 mile range seemed far too high. In our defence we owned a 24kWh Leaf, with about 70 miles of range. they told us that 130 was fine, and 150 if driven gently (they were spot on), but also suggested that charging to 100% was best, as there's a sizeable buffer. Not sure if that's true, but range (both prediction and actual) are still excellent, though of course, it could be that the buffer is being used to maintain this.

Been charging the Tesla Y to about 60% or 70% overnight, but in the summer, unless we need a lot of range for something, we just go with the flow, and use the granny charger to absorb spare PV. But tend to top out, on PV, at about 85%, when concerns about the longevity of the battery, balance out my desire to grab as much 'free' solar as possible. 

This is the second time this week we have had genuinely enthusiastic EV owners worrying about battery longevity. If it were a Nissan Leaf, then maybe there might be some cause for concern, but Teslas? No wonder private buyers are getting cold feet. Just use the charging regime which best suits your lifestyle and enjoy the car. 

FWIW my son’s 3 year old 40kWh leaf was showing a range of 169 miles after he finished charging it at our house last week. The official range when new was 168 miles. 

CKhalvashi

Martyn1981 said:

Hiya GC. We had the same that the smart charger couldn't be connected till the fuse was upgraded. One thing I found funny was that the 60A 'fusebox' was upgraded to 100A, but they would only give us an 80A fuse, based on our needs. Not complaining, I suppose they have their rules and regs, and the guy changing said that it may need upgrading (to 100A main fuse) if we got an ASHP installed.

@ CKhalvashi - Wifey joined and contacted the IONIQ owners club, before we got our 28kWh model, as the suggested 130 mile range seemed far too high. In our defence we owned a 24kWh Leaf, with about 70 miles of range. they told us that 130 was fine, and 150 if driven gently (they were spot on), but also suggested that charging to 100% was best, as there's a sizeable buffer. Not sure if that's true, but range (both prediction and actual) are still excellent, though of course, it could be that the buffer is being used to maintain this.

Been charging the Tesla Y to about 60% or 70% overnight, but in the summer, unless we need a lot of range for something, we just go with the flow, and use the granny charger to absorb spare PV. But tend to top out, on PV, at about 85%, when concerns about the longevity of the battery, balance out my desire to grab as much 'free' solar as possible. 

iI think it will be interesting to see if a manufacturer does the research on it for sure. We have lost a few % in 76k miles so far, so the technology is quality stuff.

My commute includes some motorway then A406 at quiet times in one direction, so this likely explains any proportional difference in power use we may be seeing. I sit at 70-ish mph, often a bit under, on the motorway. When pushing the battery we sat with the lorries

JKenH

The claim that Tesla has been misleading its customers over the range seem to be gathering traction with a class action law suit in the pipeline. Given how successful claims of this nature have been since Dieselgate, Tesla owners could be in for a substantial bonus. 

California Tesla owners file class action over false EV range claims

The lawsuit alleges Tesla breached vehicle warranties and engaged in fraud and unfair competition.

"Put simply, Tesla has a duty to deliver a product that performs as advertised," attorney, Adam Edwards said in a statement.

James Porter, a Petaluma, California-based Model Y owner, said in the lawsuit that on one trip he "lost approximately 182 miles of range—despite only driving 92 miles."

The lawsuit states: "Had Tesla honestly advertised its electric vehicle ranges, consumers either would not have purchased Tesla model vehicles, or else would have paid substantially less for them."

https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/california-tesla-owners-file-class-action-over-false-ev-range-claims-432SI-3143884

CKhalvashi

JKenH said:

The claim that Tesla has been misleading its customers over the range seem to be gathering traction with a class action law suit in the pipeline. Given how successful claims of this nature have been since Dieselgate, Tesla owners could be in for a substantial bonus. 

California Tesla owners file class action over false EV range claims

The lawsuit alleges Tesla breached vehicle warranties and engaged in fraud and unfair competition.

"Put simply, Tesla has a duty to deliver a product that performs as advertised," attorney, Adam Edwards said in a statement.

James Porter, a Petaluma, California-based Model Y owner, said in the lawsuit that on one trip he "lost approximately 182 miles of range—despite only driving 92 miles."

The lawsuit states: "Had Tesla honestly advertised its electric vehicle ranges, consumers either would not have purchased Tesla model vehicles, or else would have paid substantially less for them."

https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/california-tesla-owners-file-class-action-over-false-ev-range-claims-432SI-3143884

But like with an ICE, the range depends on many factors.

My XE averaged about 47mpg over my ownership. On a Poland/Ukraine run it averaged closer to 60mpg at 70-75 (where legal) mph. This wasn't wildly out of expectations when the car was bought.

Reed_Richards

I occasionally read this EV discussion thread but it seems to be so much about Tesla vehicles that I wonder if it shouldn't change it's name to the Tesla discussion thread?  Or have one thread for Teslas and another for every other make of electric car?  

CKhalvashi

Reed_Richards said:

I occasionally read this EV discussion thread but it seems to be so much about Tesla vehicles that I wonder if it shouldn't change it's name to the Tesla discussion thread?  Or have one thread for Teslas and another for every other make of electric car?  

I do not and have no intention to purchase a Tesla.

Tesla vehicles are quite common in the market this forum is based, so it stands to reason these vehicles will be discussed.

Martyn1981

CKhalvashi said:

Martyn1981 said:

Hiya GC. We had the same that the smart charger couldn't be connected till the fuse was upgraded. One thing I found funny was that the 60A 'fusebox' was upgraded to 100A, but they would only give us an 80A fuse, based on our needs. Not complaining, I suppose they have their rules and regs, and the guy changing said that it may need upgrading (to 100A main fuse) if we got an ASHP installed.

@ CKhalvashi - Wifey joined and contacted the IONIQ owners club, before we got our 28kWh model, as the suggested 130 mile range seemed far too high. In our defence we owned a 24kWh Leaf, with about 70 miles of range. they told us that 130 was fine, and 150 if driven gently (they were spot on), but also suggested that charging to 100% was best, as there's a sizeable buffer. Not sure if that's true, but range (both prediction and actual) are still excellent, though of course, it could be that the buffer is being used to maintain this.

Been charging the Tesla Y to about 60% or 70% overnight, but in the summer, unless we need a lot of range for something, we just go with the flow, and use the granny charger to absorb spare PV. But tend to top out, on PV, at about 85%, when concerns about the longevity of the battery, balance out my desire to grab as much 'free' solar as possible. 

iI think it will be interesting to see if a manufacturer does the research on it for sure. We have lost a few % in 76k miles so far, so the technology is quality stuff.

My commute includes some motorway then A406 at quiet times in one direction, so this likely explains any proportional difference in power use we may be seeing. I sit at 70-ish mph, often a bit under, on the motorway. When pushing the battery we sat with the lorries

Yep, looking really positive.

Certainly hangover concerns from some of the early vehicles, such as the 24kWh Leaf, and some early Tesla S's who had batts replaced (under warranty). Then we had the LG batt problems affecting lots of manufacturers, most notably Chevy and Hyundai, and some fires.

Hopefully, the real concerns are now behind us, give or take the long term impacts on very high mileage BEV's, from high levels of charging, and/or ultra-rapid charging, but still early days. the battery degradation results for high mileage Tesla's looks very promising at around 88% remaining capacity after 200k miles. Hopefully 3 & Y results will be as good, once a statistically large enough number of vehicles reach those levels. There is a 3 in Canada that's at about 80% battery, after 300k miles, but not sure what conclusions (if any) can be drawn, as most miles are at easy highway speeds (not acceleration/braking), but charging mostly superchargers, which might have a negative impact. Still, SH, a 300k mile BEV with 80% range would be fine, I'd be more concerned about the vehicle (any vehicle) as a whole after that much wear and tear.

Changing technologies like LFP and sodium-ion, will hopefully help too, but will involve an entertaining stage as folk (myself included) try to keep up with best guidance. I remember when it was 'best' to let your ICE warm up, in very cold weather, before driving off. Then it changed, to let it warm up as you drive, and our Zafira would just start to warm the cabin, as we reached work (after about 25mins).

JKenH

As usual, a bullish report from SMMT on EV sales for July. Despite the reported 87.9% surge in EV registrations, however, EV market share is actually quite flat at 16%, in line with the average for the year to date. No separate figures are given for the share of EVs bought privately but overall private car sales were flat y-o-y compared to an increase of 61.9% for large fleets so I would be surprised if the share of EVs bought privately or even absolute numbers had improved much. No doubt more figures will come out in the trade press over time.

Summer surge as one new EV registered every 60 seconds

• New car market up 28.3% in July to record full year of non-stop growth.
• One battery electric car registered every 60 seconds as deliveries surge 87.9%.
• New market outlook expects one new BEV registered every 50 seconds by year end, rising to one every 40 in 2024, as industry calls for chargepoint mandate to accelerate uptake.

https://www.smmt.co.uk/2023/08/summer-surge-as-one-new-ev-registered-every-60-seconds/