What made you switch to an EV and is it your only car? Would you ever go back to ICE?

JKenH

I am curious as to what the drivers are for people switching to EVs. Different folks switch for different reasons, some to improve the environment, others for financial reasons. Do you have surplus solar pv? Also I would be interested to hear whether you still have the use of a petrol/diesel car in the household? 

My initial motivation was to get V2G/V2H set up to make use of spare solar power I was generating. Batteries were expensive and you could buy an old Nissan Leaf for less than a stationary battery and get a free car thrown in. As it happened I couldn’t get on any V2G trials (as I had too many solar panels apparently). I loved driving the Leaf (it was a 30kWh model) and I soon switched to a new 40kWh model and got rid of my ICE cars. 

I have to confess that my wife has an 11 year old Kia Picanto which we are just in the process of swapping for a newer one. Between getting my 40kWh Leaf in March 2020 and September 2022 I only drove the Picanto if it needed taking to a garage for service/MoT other than if we were going to fill it up with petrol while doing the supermarket shop. (Old fashioned, I know, but I usually drive if we are two up). 

During late 2021 and 2022 I became extremely frustrated with the charging experience with the Leaf as more and more EVs hit the road. Yes, the number of chargers had increased and, yes, more were contactless so easier to use but I just seemed to encounter increasing numbers of chargers out of service, or that wouldn’t work with my Leaf or already occupied. After a particularly difficult experience where I ended up reversing up a slip road, having missed the exit for the road to my last chance charger, I then did a trip where the first 3 chargers I tried all failed and the next charging trip involved a wait of almost an hour for a 10 minute charge to get me home. Enough was enough and for the next trip beyond the range of my Leaf, I borrowed my wife’s Picanto. My knee ached from all the gear changing but the lack of stress more than made up for it. The Picanto wasn’t big enough for the numerous airport runs I do collecting family so I went out and bought a 1.0 petrol Golf estate for the long runs.

I had intended keeping my Leaf as a local runabout car and after 4 weeks of ownership I still hadn’t used the Golf. Coincidentally my son sent me details of a 40kWh Leaf he was thinking of buying to replace his 30kWh one (my old car) and asked what I thought. At the time (beginning of November 2022) Leaf prices were still really high so I suggested it would make more sense for him to have mine and me to manage with the Golf or use my wife’s Picanto. So he sold his 30kWh privately and bought my 40kWh Leaf. I miss driving an EV and am thinking about buying a small battery one (maybe a Mini) to use locally and to mop up my spare solar generation. 

I have to say though that I was very pleased to be back in a petrol car in December when I had to do a 380mile round trip to a funeral in the day. It was -6 and using the Leaf would have needed at least 4 charging stops. 

ComicGeek

We run 2 EVs as company cars - never had company cars before but with spare cash in the  company and low BIK it was a no brainer. Saving a lot of money, and cashed in 2 ICEs at the peak of the second hand market.

Both have 300+ miles range, wouldn't do it with lower range. Will revisit having both as EVs if/when the tax benefits disappear, but will always keep one.

Having the EV has enabled us to make the most of our PV and battery storage systems, using pretty much 100% free or cheap rate electricity. So all part of the overall cost saving solution
for us. 

Petriix

Our single car is an EV but we do also have a campervan which is currently SORNed. We bought when incentives were good and the OZEV grant was £3k. We already had solar PV and a Zappi (installed with the £500 grant) from charging a previous work car.

Our old ICE was on its last legs having had the 6 month MOT extension in Covid times and needed £800 of work to keep running. So it was perfect timing really. We borrowed £20k when mortgage rates were near bottom and fixed for 5 years, adding £75 to our monthly payments. With charging costs of around £15 per month it coincidentally added up to the same as the ~ £90 we were spending on Diesel.

With spiralling diesel prices and the EV gaining in value rather than depreciating for the first 2 years, and factoring in the maintenance costs etc. we were saving around £2k per year vs running the ICE. However, with the recent depreciation, it's basically worked out cost-neutral to this point. If I'd gone with my alternative plan of buying a 3 year old Golf estate then I'd be worse off.

Money was a factor, but the bigger benefits are environmental and user experience. Driving an EV is simply a better, more comfortable, more elegant way to travel. Switching from a 16 year old diesel to a new EV is a significant upgrade. Changing gears or slowing down with friction brakes seem totally ridiculous in comparison.

JKenH

Energy crisis impacting EV sales

I hadn’t intended this thread to be a news thread but this article seemed relevant.

It found that interest in new EVs was high between March and late July, but began to wane from August onwards as energy prices rose.

The energy cap in October saw interest rise again, when 30% of the 1,400 in-market buyers surveyed said they were interested in an EV.

https://www.bodyshopmag.com/2023/news/energy-crisis-impacting-ev-sales/