EV Discussion thread

Reed_Richards

In my experience, the majority of problems with charge points are nothing to do with their ability to charge but are all about their inability to communicate.  The charge points that accept contactless payment by credit card seem the most reliable in my experience, perhaps because these piggyback on established technology rather than something proprietary.    

michaels

It is possible to get a CCS to Chademo adaptor for about £500 if it is a big problem.

I do homework in advance for journeys in our leaf and have never had a problem getting a working charger but sometimes you have to ask a CCS person if they can move to a CCS only charger when they are using the combined ccs/chademo ones, most will oblige.  More problematical is 'rapid gate' giving poor charge rates....

Martyn1981

michaels said:

It is possible to get a CCS to Chademo adaptor for about £500 if it is a big problem.

I didn't know that. Just been Googling out of interest. TBH, whilst a couple of forum friends were a bit negative about us getting a new Leaf in December (couldn't resist the clearance price), wifey and I realised that in 4.5yrs we'd never rapid charged the 28kWh IONIQ, so for its role, it should be fine.

I was actually surprised yesterday, popped to my sister's house, about 22 miles round trip. The Leaf efficiency had been pretty poor, but most driving had been at close to zero temps, and lots of  2 or 3 miles trips with stops. So yesterday with warmer weather (10C) I turned off the A/C and went for ECO mode and noted that the range remaining and trip distance totalled 144 miles. Got to Sis which is a small gain in height with 140 miles showing, but later got home, and the total was back up at 144. I was pleasantly surprised, especially as it was raining constantly with wet roads (tacky, not standing water).


Speaking of the IONIQ, which we gave to my Sis (late Dec), I think this is funny, and she didn't tell me at the time. But a week in to owning and still learning, and naturally being a bit nervous she set out on a 20(ish) mile trip (10 each way) to the dentist with 45 miles of range showing. Temp was about zero, so she was nervous, but should be fine.

She didn't use the A/C just the heated seats and steering wheel, but a mile from the dentist, the car was misting up, so she put the A/C on, and was driving slowly with traffic up a steep hill (I suspect that bit is irrelevant), when all hell broke loose (her description). Loads of warnings about the battery, the car got heavy to drive (stiff pedal) and suggestions she pull over.

She stopped, seeing all these warnings, turned the car off and started Googling. She told me she didn't call me, as she was embarrassed to break the car after just one week.

She couldn't find any answers, restarted the car and it was fine, Still had nearly 30 miles of range. Went to dentist, drove home, and had about 15 miles when she got home. Baffling!

Wifey and I were also baffled, and searching was hard, as most suggestions were for the BEV Ioniq range, not the IONIQ car. And then the IONIQ results were mostly about the PHEV and HEV. But eventually we found a warning that said something along the lines of 'Battery discharging faster than it can recharge'. Puzzled us at first, then the oranges came up. It must have been the 12V battery. No fault of my Sis, but she was probably draining the 12V faster than the traction battery could recharge it. I suspect the issue being the cold, and the car being 6yrs old, maybe the 12V has deteriorated a bit?

No problems since, but I suggested she ask for the battery to be tested/checked when the service/MOT comes up in Mch.

Poor Sis, I'd have been a bit shocked, but she was convinced she'd done something wrong, being new to the BEV game.

Good news, they've also noticed the rise in range with 'normal' cold temps, say 6-10C, and are loving the car. The idea was to give them the chance to learn/experience a BEV, and they are now already planning to sell the ageing ICE, and get a longer range BEV, possibly in a year or two as SH prices fall.

silverwhistle

I'm more a !!!!!!-up than a conspiracy person. In the case of fossil fuel company chargers - which I've managed not to use - it's probably more a question of higher level indifference rather than active sabotage. My recollection of the poem may not be accurate but it's on the lines of:

Thou shalt not kill, nor shall you strive

Officiously to keep alive...

Many of us will have worked for companies where management attitudes have significant impacts, whether seeing IT as a cost rather than an opportunity, or regarding customer service as an optional nice to have.

shinytop

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/feb/25/i-felt-nothing-but-disgust-tesla-owners-vent-their-anger-at-elon-musk

Is this an opportunity for rivals or a setback for EVs in general?  Reminds me of Gerald Ratner, although at least he only trashed one company. 

Exiled_Tyke

shinytop said:

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/feb/25/i-felt-nothing-but-disgust-tesla-owners-vent-their-anger-at-elon-musk

Is this an opportunity for rivals or a setback for EVs in general?  Reminds me of Gerald Ratner, although at least he only trashed one company. 

The article does say that EV sales in general are flagging but Tesla is faring much worse than the others.  So I reckon a combination of both,  definitely an opportunity for rivals but still a set back for the industry.  I love the news that Tesla owners who can't afford to ditch their cars are putting anti-Musk stickers on them. 

JKenH

I thought it would be interesting to compare the top selling EVs YTD (up to 3 March)  with the top sellers up to March 1st last year. It isn’t only Tesla who have lost market share. Other big losers include MG, BMW, Toyota and Volvo while VW is the big winner along with Peugeot and BYD.

michaels

It is a bit hard to compare as clearly the whole market is up sharply so Tesla for example are still up 13% i sales despite the smaller market share.  Is it easy for you to pull the total EV sales for the two periods?

JKenH

michaels said:

It is a bit hard to compare as clearly the whole market is up sharply so Tesla for example are still up 13% i sales despite the smaller market share.  Is it easy for you to pull the total EV sales for the two periods?

Unfortunately private cars are mixed in with vans but the respective figures for 2024 and 2025 are 33515 and 49218.

michaels

Thank you surprised it is so much higher