Green, ethical, energy issues in the news

Martyn1981 wrote: »

I suspect it's a compliance car that got out of hand. In the US there are states where none can be sourced, whilst other states that are discounting them. In Europe some dealerships are being told to stop taking orders (Opel Ampera-E) as there's a long term shortage of supply.

It's almost as if Chevy doesn't want to sell them!

BTW - despite Opel now being owned by PSA (the Peugeot Citreon people) Chevy has to supply Ampera-E's whilst the car (Bolt) is still in production under the buy out contract.

I wonder if they are selling it to psa at a loss which would make zero sense for a compliance car hence the supply issues. There are rumours that the facelift version may be available in rhd badged as a peugeot.

Leaf sales are low everywhere at the moment as there is a facelift model going on sale in the next few months and they have stopped making the old one and sold off all the stock.

michaels wrote: »

Try speakev.com which includes threads on leaf battery longevity. Leaf battery replacement is 5k, a few non-nissan experts replace the battery cells which have failed more cheaply. Renault let you replace an original 24kwh battery for a new 42kwh one for 10k.

Leaf in a what car survey is 94% relaible to 3 years old, 3rd in its size. I have had a diesel which had already cost a fortune to keep on the road when I sold it for little money at 7 years old 70k miles, not all are made as equal as your bmw.

I don't really like the Leaf (personal opinion on styling), I would be looking at a Zoe if anything. Hopefully they are reliable and have similar good deals on battery replacement.

I was having a mooch around the speakEV site the other day, which was interesting and informative. The subject of stock shortages came up a fair bit, particularly with some of the newer models like the Ioniq. It looks like manufacturers have a problem with meeting increases in demand for the far more practical newer models, and making sure they're not stuck with superceded technology.

It's all academic anyway as my current car is only 8 years old and I can see no reason to replace it other than desire! In two or three or four year's time I'm hoping they'll be a few more ex-lease cars on the S/H market. Of course somebody obliging me with a rear-shunt write-off might change that timescale!