“If you drive, would you purchase an electric vehicle?”
Not until they’ve got an adequate charging structure in at service stations, larger supermarkets or even on street parking in place.
There also has to be reasonable charging costs in place, because, if it’s the same as diesel/petrol, what’s the point?
I think hydrogen fuelled cars are the better option.
Not in Australia they’re not.
I own a car, use it occasionally, not much. Will hang on to it & see what happens in the next couple or five years. By then I’ll either be dead, too old to drive or I’ll get something … see how trends go. Hybrid seems a good option.
I drive a mild hybrid atm, it doesn’t run on electric at all, it’s only there to assist the engine at times aiding economy, I’m still not sure that the ban on ice cars will come in in 2030 , it’s only eight years away, I think self charging hybrids are the way forward at this time, full electric cars are way too expensive ( new) there aren’t many under 30k, it’s still cheaper to charge an electric car over petrol or diesel, but with the things as they are will that change, which, if it does, will make electric cars pointless.
No i wouldnt,it took a friend of mine who has one eight hours to travel 200 miles having to stop and re-charge. I shall stick with my newish diesel and with electricity bills rising whats the betting my car will be cheaper to run.
I’d imagine many of those that say they want to purchase an electric car, would change their minds once they’d got one.
There must be so many drawbacks in owning one in comparison to fuel driven cars.
The only advantage is the engine silence. The boy racers would miss having those engines that make the sound of an F1 engine to bomb up straight roads and around towns!
What is really wanted is solar panels on cars strong enough to provide enough electricity to keep the batteries charged. At the moment electric cars are ok for town use but not for long journeys
Tthe technology is there already in wrist watches so maybe one day for cars as well.
One big bug is the oil companies will do all they can to stop this happened as their revenue will be zero
As for the stats, I wouldn’t say that buyers “want to” buy an e-car but they increasingly feel a need to do so for all the pressure coming from various directions. I definitely would provided the infrastructure for them was complete. I’ve got a full hybrid now which had set me back 25k quid. There’s not much of a difference to paying 30k for an e-car. I didn’t buy one because I’m currently not allowed to have a wall unit installed. Cruising range is not a real issue anymore but I dislike all the red tape and the rip-off at the charging columns which goes with it. They ought to facilitate driving those cars rather than put spokes in their wheels.
I don’t think I’d miss anything in an e-car because I enjoy the EV phases of my car and just wish they’d be longer.
Dachs, was it you who bought the Yaris cross…?, if so we need an update on how your getting on with it…
Yes, most of us can see we are going in that direction, and will be buying EVs before long whether we want it or not.
According to the article, “The MCI survey also shows that EV owners are less worried about range anxiety or EV chargers. The top motivator for second-time EV buyers is that “EVs now have longer ranges,” and just 27% of EV owners were concerned about charging infrastructure, compared to 36% of those currently without an EV.”
Charging infrastructure seems to be getting better, at least in some parts of the world where interest for EVs is high, like in Italy, China and Korea.
Will do asap.
I’d sooner buy a hydrogen powered car than an EV. However, our current 2½ yr old Qashqai should see us both out. If necessary, I’d convert our car to burn LPG or H2.
I totally disagree, perhaps you can name some of the many drawbacks that there must be?
The average person Australia drives about 38km ( bet it is less in the UK) a Hyundai Kona travels approximately 480km on one charge so that is 12 day motoring. if you charge it overnight every weekend it will basically take you anywhere you want for the rest of the week with charge to spare.
The real problem for a country like the UK is the high upfront cost and the living conditions where people don’t have a home with a garage, here it is high initial cost plus the long distances travelled sometimes and the lack of any infrastructure or the will to build any.
Having said that high cost was the argument against solar power yet here we are now with the high solar take up in the world
Perhaps in Australia you have the sunshine to make it a viable option Bruce, not so in the UK, during the winter months we are lucky to see daylight for six hours, not to mention the sun. Also, the price of electricity is hitting the roof here. I believe the spiraling cost of diesel and petrol is done on purpose to force people into buying EV’s that explains the change of heart, especially in the UK. Between cost and the lack of movement by our government to make sure everyone who can drive is equipped with the necessary infrastructure to go electric, I can’t see it becoming a reality by 2040 at least. People working from home, and using the internet for shopping, plus many will be unable to afford to buy or charge their vehicles, and it will produce the desired effect of getting people off the roads. Which I believe was the intention all along. Forget all the bull about saving the planet, but many have been swayed into actually thinking you were doing the world a favour by going electric. What suckers we are!
I mention solar only because of the price issue I am not suggesting anything so modern is suitable for the UK.
It is heart warming to see that you can find a conspiracy issue in the current cost of fuel. It certainly hasn’t made people rush out to buy EVs here, they still want the ute for the weekend.
It’s not so much a conspiracy Bruce as social engineering.
Yes, it was me. I don’t want to leave your question unanswered. Did you read my post from 12th January? Without any specific questions it sums up my experience so far. Further questions are welcome.
Qualifying what I wrote back then: The headlights can be switched off if you don’t put them on “Automatic”.
Clearly, a weak point of the car (and of all the other Toyota Hybrids) which I wrote about in another thread, is the 12V auxiliary battery that tends to get empty if the car isn’t regularly used. It can recharge itself, though, by parking the car in “P” and leaving the ignition “Ready” on for half an hour. It then feeds off the high voltage traction battery. On one occasion it was totally rundown forcing me to get help from a booster power bank. I need to check the battery regularly and wouldn’t want to be without a power bank to jump-start it if needed.
Too many features like the constantly alert keyless entry system, e-call and the like seem to suck the battery empty while the car is parked. I found a way of deactivating the keyless entry system and noticed some effect.
Thanks dachs
Not sure what you mean about the headlights not switching off, ??, do you mean the running lights , surely if the ignition is off the headlights will turn off, I think it might be the see you home function which keeps the lights on for a pre determined time, I think you might be able to alter this in the settings, a lot of the hybrid pumas have battery issues, ( not the hybrid battery) mine did, a recent update by the dealer has, more or less, cured it, try your dealer for updates,I do like the Yaris cross, I’m thinking about going to have a look at one soon, maybe this weekend
Happy motoring….
The US is lagging behind many other countries in new EV car sales.
