Fully Electric Cars

[clarethomer]

You don’t keep batteries at home. You go to a swap station as you would a petrol station.

I know and that is why it won't work. I agreed that it would be the route forward if you could do it this way but it's not realistic.

If you have to go to a charging station, then you are relying on them storing battery packs for all types of EVs as all the batteries and connectors are the same as well as making it easy to swap out.

The reason why it works in China is because of the state influence on these companies and that they are looking at standardised batteries for all EVs so it simplifies this issue.

The West doesn't have the same influence of government on this and the manufacturers have dismissed this approach because they don't think it is workable.

[IanMcL]

85kw of batteries, sealed, under the bottom of my car. Doesn't sound a practical proposition to 'swap and go'.

[GodIsADeeJay81]

You don’t keep batteries at home. You go to a swap station as you would a petrol station.

The danger to life means that isn't a viable option.

Plus when we had a tesla in at work we looked at it and the batteries run the length of the floor, so that's would another issue, time to swap.

The batteries would need to be the size of a normal car battery to make it viable, which could happen sometime in the future.

[Winstonswhite]

https://youtu.be/hTsrDpsYHrw

As mentioned before they’ve just completed their millionth swap. However I agree with Homer above that it would be more difficult in the UK/Europe given the sheer amount of different manufacturers.

[Lowbankclaret]

Elon Musk just been on Bloomberg, well Bloomberg covering the European conference on Batteries for electric cars. Elon says Tesla is working on the design of 1,000 km range cars. He was confident they can deliver that. That’s a game changer for me. A genuine 500-600 mile range should cover 98% of car use.

[aggi]

They are great for reducing your carbon footprint if you imagine that all the electricity you charge them with doesn't come from coal fired power stations. And the lithium for the batteries isn't mined from third world countries, producing massive amounts of toxic waste in the process

That's pretty easy to imagine given that the electricity produced by coal power in the UK is something under 2% of the total.

[deanothedino]

That's not true, certainly not according to National Grid who estimate just a 10% increase in energy demand if everyone switched to electric vehicles. This would be less energy demand than we had in 2002.

Seems like a lot of people are looking for problems which don't exist. I've seen similar on the threads on here about cashless societies. People just don't like change.

https://www.nationalgrid.com/stories/jo ... les-busted

Depends what sort of charger they've based their figures on. Quick chargers as referenced in my now years old post have a high draw.

[benbfc]

2 Years into owning a VW e-golf - 20,000miles covered with work and play.

Fantastic car, charging getting better across the UK.

Have just agreed to part ex the e-golf for an ID3 which has nearly double the range and charges at 100kw on the sufficient charger.

7kw charger on a wall box on the drive.

Cant beat electric!

[clarethomer]

2 Years into owning a VW e-golf - 20,000miles covered with work and play.

Fantastic car, charging getting better across the UK.

Have just agreed to part ex the e-golf for an ID3 which has nearly double the range and charges at 100kw on the sufficient charger.

7kw charger on a wall box on the drive.

Cant beat electric!

This is the car I have too Ben. I think its a great car too.

Not sure what other car I will get when its required again when we replace the ICE but yes the range on the ID3 will be much better.

How did you find the depreciation on the car?

[benbfc]

4k in just under 2 years. Absolutely fine for an electric car when the residuals were/are unknown plus obviously the e-golf is no sadly no longer made. I have made that back in company mileage by using no petrol

I pick the ID3 up on Saturday and have also gone for a heat pump in this one to maximise range in winter and either side. The ID3s are being heavily discounted until the end of the year as their sales offset their dieselgate fine! I picked up my Life spec with extras at 9k off the OTR price..

[clarethomer]

4k in just under 2 years. Absolutely fine for an electric car when the residuals were/are unknown plus obviously the e-golf is no sadly no longer made. I have made that back in company mileage by using no petrol

I pick the ID3 up on Saturday and have also gone for a heat pump in this one to maximise range in winter and either side. The ID3s are being heavily discounted until the end of the year as their sales offset their dieselgate fine! I picked up my Life spec with extras at 9k off the OTR price..

Thats good to know. Sounds like most of that depreciation is what would have been the VAT.

Sounds like you have got a good deal there. Look forward to hearing how you get on with it.

[chorleyhere]

I find driving my e-Niro a very pleasant experience. My car warns pedestrians that I am reversing -say on a supermarket carpark with a chiming sound, and has a VESS Virtual Engine Sound System (like a musical hum ) for driving away to warn pedestrians that I am on the move. I have only fully charged my battery twice, ready for the longest return journey that I currently need to make (196 miles) Chorley to Selby. At other times I charge to 2/3 capacity and this keeps the battery degradation to the minimum whilst giving me a range of approximately 180+ miles.There is a 7 years guarantee or 100,000 miles on the battery.

[Damo]

That's pretty easy to imagine given that the electricity produced by coal power in the UK is something under 2% of the total.

I'm sure you understood my 2 year old point

[Boss Hogg]

The increase in range and the warning sounds are great steps. Out of interest how does the home charging affect electricity bills ?

[aggi]

I'm sure you understood my 2 year old point

Ha, I entirely missed that was from two years ago. That does explain why I couldn't find the post I was sure I'd made on this thread, it's clearly an different electric car thread.

[clarethomer]

The increase in range and the warning sounds are great steps. Out of interest how does the home charging affect electricity bills ?

For me, my electric bill not much difference.

My house mainly uses electric as this covers most things we use (oven/hob etc). The only thing we use gas for is the central heating and boiler and hot water.

I’m doing approx 600 miles a month and the electricity cost is around 1.5p per mile. £9 a month. My overall bill was under £90 for the month so about 10%. 4 bed house with 2 adults and 2 kids.

[KateR]

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/2020 ... een-energy

[Damo]

Ha, I entirely missed that was from two years ago. That does explain why I couldn't find the post I was sure I'd made on this thread, it's clearly an different electric car thread.

I don't know how it reappeared. I got a few notifications and scratched my head a little as its been a while since I went to the pub.
I thought I was losing the plot as I didn't remember the post

[gavster]

In my last role, I happened to spend a lot of time building EV businesses. A couple of thoughts for you all:

1. Battery life/mileage: Most people only do a few big journeys a few times a year - average per journey is a range of 8- 11 miles
2. Battery reuse - is an issue but they can be converted in to cheap solar Storage units
3. Power shortage: dynamic charging fixes this believe it or not there isn’t a lot of usage at 3 am, charge over night
4. Hydrogen- it’s not a ten x event, it’s not going to work as it’s too expensive and there isn’t the right investment to bring it down
5. They’re idea second cars at the moment
6. All car producers are taking it seriously and swapping over production this will increase uptake
7. Changes to business tax mean we will see more company cars being electric which makes the second hand market
8. The biggest issue not yet resolved is the tax loss in fuel sales the government faces
9. They’re rapid off the blocks

[KateR]

In my last role, I happened to spend a lot of time building EV businesses. A couple of thoughts for you all:

1. Battery life/mileage: Most people only do a few big journeys a few times a year - average per journey is a range of 8- 11 miles
2. Battery reuse - is an issue but they can be converted in to cheap solar Storage units
3. Power shortage: dynamic charging fixes this believe it or not there isn’t a lot of usage at 3 am, charge over night
4. Hydrogen- it’s not a ten x event, it’s not going to work as it’s too expensive and there isn’t the right investment to bring it down
5. They’re idea second cars at the moment
6. All car producers are taking it seriously and swapping over production this will increase uptake
7. Changes to business tax mean we will see more company cars being electric which makes the second hand market
8. The biggest issue not yet resolved is the tax loss in fuel sales the government faces
9. They’re rapid off the blocks

Can agree with all that, except number 4 Hydrogen, as you would probably expect, but it's just an opinion and one we will have to wait and see regarding whether Hydrogen takes off or not.

I think the one thing people need to fully recognize is that O&G, Energy as we have known it for decades is changing, and for the better in my view, the EV business is just one small but important cog in this wheel of change.

[chorleyhere]

Boss Hogg asked how the home charging affected the electricity bills. In my case I haven't noticed a huge difference. I only charge up to 2/3 full about twice a month with about 40 miles range left.( out of possible 253 miles for a full charge ) The furthest I have driven was to Selby and return = 180 miles. This range works very well for me but I don't suppose I represent the standard EV user. I do lots of short journeys which wasn't an efficient use of my diesel car and seemed to perfectly suit the experience of EV capabilities. I do know that going to Llandudno and back on a full charge is perfectly feasible and will be one of the first things we do when the Covid situation allows. I think that will be quite a saving on fuel costs.

[gavster]

The other thing is that in theory the last longer and there for total cost of ownership not 3/5 year is cheaper

[No Ney Never]

4 years on from the start of this thread, where are you at regarding electric vehicles?

[FeedTheArf]

Had an VW ID 3 for the last month. Love it!

Still have a diesel car in the household so no issues for longer term drives.

One thing nobody mentions though is that the estimated range is based on the battery being 100% charged, but then when you get the car it says the optimum charge level is 80% to maintain the battery life.

[FeedTheArf]

Should also add, I’ve switched to Octopus Go to access cheap charging overnight and when I did the sums, electric costs were 85% cheaper than what I’d have to spend on petrol for the same mileage.

[ElectroClaret]

I'll be sticking with petrol till they make it illegal.

[Rileybobs]

Thinking of making the switch to an electric car in the next few months so interested to hear people’s experiences. By my calculations I’ll be saving approx £2k per year by doing so.

[Rileybobs]

Should also add, I’ve switched to Octopus Go to access cheap charging overnight and when I did the sums, electric costs were 85% cheaper than what I’d have to spend on petrol for the same mileage.

£5 to fully charge the car I’m looking at on Octopus go - which has a range of approx 240 miles. That’s versus about £85-£90 to fill up my current car which only gets me about 300 miles on a full tank.

[Casper]

£5 to fully charge the car I’m looking at on Octopus go - which has a range of approx 240 miles. That’s versus about £85-£90 to fill up my current car which only gets me about 300 miles on a full tank.

A range of 240 miles in ideal driving conditions that equates to about 90 miles in winter driving at night

[jen1066]

Looks to me like going electric is still too early.
Overpriced cars, not enough mileage and not enough chargers.

[Rileybobs]

A range of 240 miles in ideal driving conditions that equates to about 90 miles in winter driving at night

So if I did all of my driving on winters nights the car it would cost me £17 to get the same amount of mileage as £90 worth of fuel. Sounds like a good deal. That’s if your claim is even true which seems doubtful.

[Newcastleclaret93]

Thinking of making the switch to an electric car in the next few months so interested to hear people’s experiences. By my calculations I’ll be saving approx £2k per year by doing so.

I’ve had an electric car for about 18 months now.

Best decision I made. Saved a fortune.

My cars expected range is 240. In the summer I would say you potentially even get more than that. However in winter it drops down to about 180-190. Highly recommend getting an IONITY membership I use it all the time.

[Newcastleclaret93]

Looks to me like going electric is still too early.
Overpriced cars, not enough mileage and not enough chargers.

Chargers are everywhere and the government has committed to a further 300,000 charge points by 2030. It’s insane money for the energy companies, they a throwing hundreds of million installing charging hubs all over the country

[Rileybobs]

I’ve had an electric car for about 18 months now.

Best decision I made. Saved a fortune.

My cars expected range is 240. In the summer I would say you potentially even get more than that. However in winter it drops down to about 180-190. Highly recommend getting an IONITY membership I use it all the time.

So the expected range doesn’t go down from 240 miles to 90. Thats good to hear. Always better to hear advice first hand than from people fabricating things for no reason.

[G0foste]

Got a Nissan leaf about 2 months ago. Been fantastic for everyday use and commuting to work. However for long trips can be problematic, only got a range of 180miles although the real range is much less. Live in Leeds and we went to Preston away. We didn't have enough electric to made the round trip.

Had to stop at a service station, first service station the charger was broke, stop on the next one. Had to wait 40mins for a charger to become available. This was 11:30 at night with 3 kids and the Mrs on a school night. Then the charger was faulty and had to phone up and get it reset. Finally got home at 01:30.

Pro and cons, already saved circa £350 in petrol. Be great as a second car. I got a great deal and the car is paying for itself, just wish I got one that had a longer range. If you get one make sure you got a charger at home and go with Octopus Go for cheap night charging.

[G0foste]

Got a Nissan leaf about 2 months ago. Been fantastic for everyday use and commuting to work. However for long trips can be problematic, only got a range of 180miles although the real range is much less. Live in Leeds and we went to Preston away. We didn't have enough electric to made the round trip.

Had to stop at a service station, first service station the charger was broke, stop on the next one. Had to wait 40mins for a charger to become available. This was 11:30 at night with 3 kids and the Mrs on a school night. Then the charger was faulty and had to phone up and get it reset. Finally got home at 01:30.

Pro and cons, already saved circa £350 in petrol. Be great as a second car. I got a great deal and the car is paying for itself, just wish I got one that had a longer range. If you get one make sure you got a charger at home and go with Octopus Go for cheap night charging.

Got to go to Warwick with work and Monday and that is going to be an adventure. Infrastructure is not quote there ywt and can't always get a charger.

[jen1066]

Chargers are everywhere and the government has committed to a further 300,000 charge points by 2030. It’s insane money for the energy companies, they a throwing hundreds of million installing charging hubs all over the country

Saying that the government has committed really doesn't convince me.

[dougcollins]

Won't do much for your range anxiety.

Can you magine when everybody has one of these, all going through the same scenario?

[Casper]

So the expected range doesn’t go down from 240 miles to 90. Thats good to hear. Always better to hear advice first hand than from people fabricating things for no reason.

I said in winter at night , do some research.

[Rileybobs]

I said in winter at night , do some research.

I know what you said. But someone on here who has an electric car says his goes down from 240 to 180-190 miles, which is quite a way from your claim of 90 miles.

[Casper]

So if I did all of my driving on winters nights the car it would cost me £17 to get the same amount of mileage as £90 worth of fuel. Sounds like a good deal. That’s if your claim is even true which seems doubtful.

So it costs you £90 worth of petrol to go 90 miles , maybe get YOUR facts right instead of making things up .

[Newcastleclaret93]

Saying that the government has committed really doesn't convince me.

They just set the targets, the energy company’s are the asset owners. They are the ones committing to these dates and it’s in there best interest to get it done.

Have a look at there expected weekly returns on the hubs it’s absolutely insane.

[Casper]

I know what you said. But someone on here who has an electric car says his goes down from 240 to 180-190 miles, which is quite a way from your claim of 90 miles.

Did he say driving at night ?

[Newcastleclaret93]

Did he say driving at night ?

To be fair Casper it really doesn’t make that much difference.
It does drop but it’s only around 10-20% even in the night in winter.

[G0foste]

My leaf says 175 miles, true range is more like 130 miles.

[Sutton-Claret]

Just looking at the VW ID3 on the VW website... they have an offer on a special edition 'Life' model, basic price is £37K. They also have offers on a Golf 8 'Life' which is similarly specced, basic price is £26K. I've never driven an ID3 but i know Golf 8 is a great car.... is it really worth paying an additional £11K? and what happens to running costs when the £11K is factored in over 3 years.

[Casper]

Chargers are everywhere and the government has committed to a further 300,000 charge points by 2030. It’s insane money for the energy companies, they a throwing hundreds of million installing charging hubs all over the country

300,000 charging points there are nearly 40 million vehicles on the road in UK

[Casper]

To be fair Casper it really doesn’t make that much difference.
It does drop but it’s only around 10-20% even in the night in winter.

And when you have 50 miles of charge left and it suddenly drops to zero how do you feel ?

[jen1066]

Still very much on the side of waiting a bit longer for electric cars.

[Whitgord]

Electric cars range will improve. Speed of charging will improve. Number of charging points will increase. They are currently expensive. Best way to charge them is with a home charger.