Australia is so far behind. (Electric cars)

[durbster]

We probably buy a lot more used cars. Doesn't the registration/roadworthy rules mean there's not a lot of old cars sold over there due to high costs?

Depends what you consider old I suppose. There are plenty of 10-15 year old cars about. Mrs Durb's car is 12 years old.

Because we salt the roads in winter, cars used to rust to death long before their mechanicals died out but with milder winters and better rust protection, there might be more older cars than ever. That said, interest rates are practically zero so newer cars are more affordable these days.

And bangernomics are still viable, as Car Throttle regularly demonstrates

[Big Kev]

I'm still not sure 10% of new UK car sales are electric. Certainly not pure electric, and besides 2020 was an odd year for sals which will really skew all the numbers. Only 40% of houses have a driveway to charge them on and we have almost no infrastructure to charge them on the street, unless you live in London.

[DarrenM]

This site says it's 60/40 pure electric/hybrid.

https://www.drivingelectric.com/news/67 ... -and-phevs

UK new-car registrations dropped to their lowest level since 1992 in 2020. Overall sales figures show a 29.4% decrease in new-car registrations year-on-year, but the good news is that electric and plug-in hybrid cars made up a larger proportion of cars sold than ever before.

Pure-electric sales were up by 185.9% versus 2019, while plug-in hybrid sales were up 91.2%. The total share of the new-car market taken by pure-electric cars in 2020 was 6.6%, with 108,205 electric cars sold; plug-in hybrids had a 4.1% market share, with 66,877 new registrations.

The UK govt has funding schemes for the roll out of charge points, including on street charging. In Aus governments are talking about increasing taxes on electric vehicles to make up for lost fuel tax revenue

[durbster]

Thanks Darren.

I expected the hybrids to be the higher figure because there is more choice and they're usually more affordable.

Mind you, I've looked into them a few times as a commuter vehicle and the economics of them never really made much sense. Most of them have barely any range on pure electric so it feels like little more than a token feature to let you off city congestion charges, or to be seen to be doing something good for the environment.

With this thread in mind I was paying a bit more attention to the BEVs in our village and spotted a couple I hadn't noticed before. I'm going to conduct a survey in my head

[DarrenM]

There's a couple dotted around the country

https://www.zap-map.com/live/

Aus for comparison

https://myelectriccar.com.au/charge-sta ... australia/

[smithcorp]

The future - somehow clunkier than the present. I always get a sense of unease when I see ads for plug-in hybrid cars. That power cable draped on the roadway just seems to 19th century. For on-street parking, you start to see power cords crossing the footpath and plugging into the car at the kerb. Massive trip hazards.

There's got to be a better way.

[Brett_S]

Fixed!

The cable is yellow tho

[smithcorp]

Fixed!

The cable is yellow tho

Haha!

[Big Kev]

What they're (slowly) rolling out in the UK for street parking is sockets on lamp-posts so the cable wouldn't go across the path. I have though seen cables going across a path and in to a letterbox! But the person also had one of those plastic ramp covers over it to avoid trips.

[DarrenM]

For on-street parking, you start to see power cords crossing the footpath and plugging into the car at the kerb. Massive trip hazards.

There's got to be a better way.

There's a mix of solutions being trialled overseas. Charging posts, pop up chargers, using existing lamp posts etc. Cables will be on the ground, but I don't think we'll see many crossing footpaths.

Not sure what it's like in the UK, but I can see us having issues with vandalism and dipshit copper thieves.

[durbster]

I gather the charging stations are hugely expensive (£tens of thousands each), so I doubt we'll see them installed like in those photos. They basically need to be in constant use to have any chance of a return on the investment it makes no economic sense to have them installed on a street where cars can park next to them but not use them.

[Big Kev]

If Porsche's tests with synthetic fuels gain momentum I can see people and companies backing that more than electricity. People who think they're being green by buying an electric car are very much mistaken.

[w00dsy]

What happened to hydrogen? I thought BMW were seriously looking in to that.

[smithcorp]

Most companies are moving away from hydrogen - its efficiency levels are almost as low as petrol and requires 3-5 times as much electricity as battery vehicles.

https://cleantechnica.com/2021/01/30/sc ... -electric/

Those charging posts look like very expensive infrastructure, and footpath clutter. I doubt they will be widely rolled out.

[KNAPPO]

Question about roadside charging and the dip shit factor.

Whats stopping some wanker unplugging your car from charging or the cable from the outlet when its parked roadside in a public space?
Do the sockets lock into the vehicle whilst the car is locked?

[DarrenM]

People who think they're being green by buying an electric car are very much mistaken.

As it stands you won't have a choice from 2030.

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54981425
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/indu ... revolution

[norbs]

How long until wireless charging like the phone?

I thought they had trialled recharging on the go somewhere too. The same way, with induction.

[Jamo]

If Porsche's tests with synthetic fuels gain momentum I can see people and companies backing that more than electricity. People who think they're being green by buying an electric car are very much mistaken.

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[Brett_S]

Seems Porsche are not putting all their eggs in the synthetic fuel basket

https://www.news.com.au/technology/moto ... 80a72f4bed

Not that Jamo will accept the Cayman or Boxter to be 'Porsches'

[Big Kev]

Question about roadside charging and the dip shit factor.

Yep I can see that happening. I dunno if the phone apps tell you if charging has stopped.

As it stands you won't have a choice from 2030.

I can see that being pushed back. I don't think the infrastructure or the car companies will be ready and besides I think electric is only a stop-gap idea.
I'm hoping to keep the next car I get for 8-10 years in the hope that I'll jump over electric completely and get whatever the proper solution is in 2030-2.

Only 40% of UK houses have a driveway. It's going to be very difficult for them to get better market penetration than that. My car is currently parked in my allocated space at my flat but it's across a road and there's no room in front or beside it to have a big charging box. Lots of places are like that. Houge numbers of people living in cities only have street parking. I just can't see it working in its current form.

[Jamo]

Kev, Kev, Kev, mate knock it off. You're applying logic and reason to this issue. There is no room for such outdated and outlandish concepts in ideology. Even worse you're being actually realistic... Man oh man that's the hippies Kryptonite!!!

Porsche are more than an automotive maunfacturer they're one of the leading engineering firms in the world, they will be exploring all possibilities and if they can crack an actual working and sustainable battery technology all the better.

Hmm you know me too well Brett, I was definitely not a fan of the original Boxster because the brief behind it was anti-Porsche. Quick and cheap. Porsche's are not and should not be cheap, but this thing was thrown together from bits of the new and equally compromised and rushed 996 911 (which is rightfully reviled to this day)
However Porsche doing what they do have refined and crafted both of these into truly special cars the 718 Boxster and especially the Cayman GT4 are really proper Porsches.
But dont' get me started on the abominations.

[durbster]

How long until wireless charging like the phone?

I thought they had trialled recharging on the go somewhere too. The same way, with induction.

Yeah I remember seeing talk years ago of implementing wireless charging into the road network itself which would be very interesting. The natural inefficiency of wireless charging does undermine it as a solution to emissions a bit though. Given the numerous infrastructure issues, maybe it's a partial solution.

Whether it's full automation (your car drops you off at home then goes and finds its own charging station), a major technology breakthrough in propulsion, batteries or infrastructure; or we have to loosen the concept of private car ownership altogether and accept that you might not own your own car and just have an app that tells you where there's one available nearby that you can just hop in and use.

I think it's fascinating to be honest. It feels like the start of a new era where something's got to give and we don't quite know where it's all headed. Or we'll end up with a whole mixture of solutions for a while until something inevitably takes over.

[norbs]

..... Not worth it.....

[Cursed]

People who think they're being green by buying an electric car are very much mistaken.

What's the basis for this?

[Brett_S]

I'm hoping to keep the next car I get for 8-10 years in the hope that I'll jump over electric completely and get whatever the proper solution is in 2030-2.

Personally I can't wait for tube travel!



Current car is due for a replacement in the next year or two - since we got solar and working from home 2 days a week (wife does 3 days) it makes sense to go electric and charge the car on the home days, use it up on the work days.

The other car can be petrol for a while longer until it's ready to be replaced.