Electric Vehicles (EV) Thread

[Big Boy]

I meant to mention this yesterday - I spotted an electric tuk tuk at Khao Tao yesterday. Configuration was Bangkok style (seat across the rear of the vehicle). Here's hoping it was the first of many - sounded more like a UK milk float than a tuk tuk

[lindosfan1]

Electric cars false claims. They state an electric car the mileage they claim is on a flat surface in perfect conditions. In the UK at the moment it is below freezing to save battery power they advise to plug in warm the car and do not use the heater when driving. Some cars have an alarming drop in mileage available. They are useless for a journey long journey.
I will stick to my petrol car, will be cheaper than electric when they start taxing them and the price of electricity rises.

https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/tips-advi ... le%20range.

[Dannie Boy]

The future for electric cars doesn’t look quite so rosy as it did just 2-3 years ago - electric car prices haven’t started to drop, they keep going up. Electricity prices have doubled. New technology (solid state batteries) still look to be years away. The infrastructure is still struggling to cope. Cold weather is not their friend. Governments (the UK as an example) are starting to tax electric cars to address the loss of revenue from ICE cars (although that’s largely understandable). Many environmentalists doubt the eco credentials of EV cars over their full life cycle (specifically the battery side of things).

It’s a great shame, because having driven an EV car, they are great to drive (fast, smooth, quiet), so hopefully they will be able to overcome most of the issues in the not too distant future.

[pharvey]

The future for electric cars doesn’t look quite so rosy as it did just 2-3 years ago - electric car prices haven’t started to drop, they keep going up. Electricity prices have doubled. New technology (solid state batteries) still look to be years away. The infrastructure is still struggling to cope. Cold weather is not their friend. Governments (the UK as an example) are starting to tax electric cars to address the loss of revenue from ICE cars (although that’s largely understandable). Many environmentalists doubt the eco credentials of EV cars over their full life cycle (specifically the battery side of things).

It’s a great shame, because having driven an EV car, they are great to drive (fast, smooth, quiet), so hopefully they will be able to overcome most of the issues in the not too distant future.

100% - I had a deposit on a Tesla Model 3 in the hopes prices would drop and range/battery life & technology wold improve. As you say, this unfortunately hasn't been the case (Tesla's value has dropped by 50% I believe). I'm taxed to the hilt for a diesel - both fuel taxes and emissions (something we owners were lied to about by both car makers and our own goverment).
EV's are more costly to purchase, likely more expensive to run due to the increase in electricity prices and now the hit on taxes - I'll not mention the complete lack of infastructure or the government's lack of action

Ev's are simply not cost effective or practical (in the UK at least) as it stands. I'll just wait to be punished yet again for my diesel which I can't afford to change!!!

[handdrummer]

Some Thai friends visited England last summer and rented an EV for a trip from London to somewhere up North. They said the driving distance between charges was too short and the lines waiting for recharges were too long and they would never buy an EV until the charging system was more developed.
What will an EV do to you you're electricity bill?
Then there's the problem of replacing the battery for thousands of Dollars/Pounds/Baht.
I think that it will be several years before all the problems are solved.
They are well above the average person's income to buy and maintain.
What will happen when governments. mandate that only EVs be sold? Will the less affluent have to walk or use a bicycle? Public transport won't be available everywhere, especially in rural areas.

[Dannie Boy]

It will be a problem - in the short term I’d assume that people who can’t afford to buy a new EV (unless by some miracle they become more affordable) will continue to drive their old ICE cars and they will become increasingly more polluting (compared to EV cars). At some stage, governments (with pressure from environmentalists) will no doubt start increasing the tax on older cars, effectively forcing people on lower incomes off the roads. Maybe that’s not too big an issue if you live in a large town or city, but if you live in a rural area with reduced public transport you’ll be stuck.

Fairly sure that in say 20 years time they’ll be more affordable improved technology, but I suspect that in the intervening period it could get very messy!!

[pharvey]

Some Thai friends visited England last summer and rented an EV for a trip from London to somewhere up North. They said the driving distance between charges was too short and the lines waiting for recharges were too long and they would never buy an EV until the charging system was more developed.
What will an EV do to you you're electricity bill?
Then there's the problem of replacing the battery for thousands of Dollars/Pounds/Baht.
I think that it will be several years before all the problems are solved.
They are well above the average person's income to buy and maintain.
What will happen when governments. mandate that only EVs be sold? Will the less affluent have to walk or use a bicycle? Public transport won't be available everywhere, especially in rural areas.

Well, I have sympathy with your friends (and many others), but quite honestly have not seen "lines waiting for recharges" - certainly the range is too short for EV's to do any long distance and the infastructure is not there. Cost of changing batteries (or cost of the bloody car itself) is ridiculous. I certainly can't afford to either purchase or maintain as things stand.
If the UK government mandate only EV's will be sold? End of government, absolute chaos - it's not going to happen.
Public transport? Absolute crap in the UK, fcuk all investment, ludicrous crap with BILLIONS SPENT/LOST by Westminster on the "HS2 Project" which benefits who? Yup, those in the know who invested in properties (sold/purchased).

EV's in the UK at least are a long way off....

[Nereus]

Electric vehicles are getting more expensive because raw material costs have more than doubled to $8,000, research finds

https://www.businessinsider.com/cost-of ... rch%20said.

Jun 23, 2022, 6:03 PM

The cost of producing electric vehicles is soaring, according to new research from consulting firm AlixPartners.

The average cost of raw materials — including the cobalt, nickel, and lithium needed to make EV batteries — is now around $8,255 per vehicle, the research said.

That cost represents an increase of more than 140% from the $3,381 in raw materials it cost to make an electric car in March 2020, according to CNBC.

The cost in raw materials needed to produce an EV is now 125% more than the raw material cost of a comparable internal combustion engine vehicle, according to AlixPartners.

High raw material costs come amid ongoing supply chain disruptions across the EV industry. The war in Ukraine has helped push prices even higher given Russia is a key exporter of some of the metals used in the production of battery cells.

Many EV manufacturers are increasing the price of their cars, partly because of the rising cost of raw materials.

Tesla has enacted price hikes across all models, with the cost of a Model X rising as much as $6,000, Insider's Bea Nolan previously reported. The electric car giant has also been struggling with supplies of computer chips as a result of ongoing supply chain issues and staff layoffs.

Ford and EV startup Rivian have also increased the cost of their vehicles. Ford previously said the rising cost of raw materials had hampered profitably, multiple outlets reported.

AlixPartners predicted that the supply chain constraints and pent up demand for electric vehicles pushing up the cost of the cars would continue through to 2024, the report said.

Interest in electric cars has increased as a result of high gas prices, but the rising cost of electric options is putting the vehicles more out of reach for many ordinary consumers.

According to the car-buying site Edmunds, the average price paid for a new EV hit $60,054 in February. That price spiked to $60,984 in May, Bloomberg reported, citing Edmunds.

[Dannie Boy]

And with total sales of all cars down considerably over the past 2-3 years, car manufacturers and dealers will be making less profit hence prices going up.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Dannie Boy]

I’m posting this here as driving towards Cha Am this morning, I noticed under construction a new BYD car showroom/workshop just before the Mitsubishi showrooms. Don’t really know anything about these cars but it looks like they will be exclusively electric and will be built in Thailand - more details below

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/09/chinese ... iland.html

[STEVE G]

When I was back in October I noticed that GWM, the makers of Ora and Havel, also have a dealership in Hua Hin now.
Chinese EV's are a good deal in Thailand at the moment due to an advantageous inport tax deal and the Government rebate.

[KhunLA]

Chinese EV's are a good deal in Thailand at the moment due to an advantageous inport tax deal and the Government rebate.

We picked up a MG ZS this year, a month ago, and instead of depreciating 20ish %, if lucky, when driven off the lot, like an ICE, it appreciated 11k baht

[joelle]

Food for thought
As the bad weather is (or will be) hitting Europe I was send this email, I quote :
《It's just an observation followed by a little practical reflection
 But that could become a reality…!

Snow… and electric cars!!!  ??
Has one thought about it?
If all these cars were running on electricity...
Three hours of traffic jams, flat batteries, what is to be done ?
Not to mention that there is practically no heating in an electric vehicle.
And if you're stuck on the road all night, no more battery, no more heating !!!
You call an ambulance to embark wife and children!
They can't even come and rescue you since everything is blocked!!!!
And when everything unlocks, no one can drive!
How to recharge the thousands of cars in the traffic jam?
Same problem when going on vacation in the summer with hundreds of kms of traffic jams.
This will make a lot of cars out of electricity and perpetual traffic jams. (But no one talks about that!)
It was just a thought! An enlightened reflection, towards enlightened intellectuals.》

The photo was taken in the alpine region!
Would like to read your views ?

[Dannie Boy]

It doesn’t sound that far from reality - given a broad spectrum of drivers, many will not have prepared their car properly for a long journey, so get stuck in a jam and the range anxiety will become a reality.

[STEVE G]

Food for thought
As the bad weather is (or will be) hitting Europe I was send this email, I quote :
《It's just an observation followed by a little practical reflection
 But that could become a reality…!

Snow… and electric cars!!!  ??
Has one thought about it?
If all these cars were running on electricity...
Three hours of traffic jams, flat batteries, what is to be done ?
Not to mention that there is practically no heating in an electric vehicle.
And if you're stuck on the road all night, no more battery, no more heating !!!
You call an ambulance to embark wife and children!
They can't even come and rescue you since everything is blocked!!!!
And when everything unlocks, no one can drive!
How to recharge the thousands of cars in the traffic jam?
Same problem when going on vacation in the summer with hundreds of kms of traffic jams.
This will make a lot of cars out of electricity and perpetual traffic jams. (But no one talks about that!)
It was just a thought! An enlightened reflection, towards enlightened intellectuals.》

The photo was taken in the alpine region!
Would like to read your views ?

The reality is that fossil fuels have to go to give the planet a chance for a future and so it's a case of going for the best alternative.
If change brings problems, then we have to address those problems because not changing at all isn't an option.