The Electric thread - BEV, PHEV, etc.

[trackratZ]

Yep, still true, we'll see how fast Superchargers will be 'allowed' to be accessed by non-Teslas via a CCS adapter. Charging cost structures plus push-backs by Tesla owners about clogged up charge stations. Just last night locally at a shopping/dining center the row of 15+ Superchargers are filled with some Teslas waiting.

"...after billions of dollars of investment, the non-Tesla DC fast-charging network is a mishmash of crud. If you want to take an EV road trip, it's easy in a Tesla and dicey in anything else. But this, again, is not some sort of magic that's permanently unknowable to every other company. Eventually, the other guys will have their Superchargers."

https://www.caranddriver.com/features/columns/a40934669/ezra-dyer-teslas-new-reality/

 

[trackratZ]

Sadly but still true and won't get any better. Just earlier this week, we in So CA got sporadic alerts to drastically reduce electricity usage and "stop charging electric cars"!

And https://www.theguardian.com/comment...come-it-forgot-to-include-the-service-centres

"In the Ice age, if the car you’ve bought has defects or problems, then you take it up with the dealer. But for Tesla owners there’s no dealer – just Musk’s corporate empire. And it turns out that, for some frustrated drivers, that empire might as well be on Mars. In the US, the Federal Trade Commission has had more than a thousand complaints about poor service. A trawl of Trustpilot or Reddit reveals the frustrations of Tesla owners who love their cars but are disappointed with service failures.


If you’re being charitable you could explain this as growing pains. After all, this is a company that has been expanding like crazy – from producing 35,000 cars in 2014 to 930,422 in 2021. But the number of its service centres hasn’t increased in proportion to that growth. In the first quarter of this year, for example, Tesla’s US production increased by 68% over the same quarter last year, but the number of service centres went up by only 20%. The company has just 30 in the UK and 160 in the US, a country where an Ice company may have up to 10,000 dealerships countrywide.

A less charitable explanation is that Tesla, like all tech companies, subscribes to the pernicious delusion that employing humans to do customer service is a stupid analogue idea when most of these functions can supposedly be handled by AI or at least by a call-centre. In that sense, the difficulties that Tesla owners experience when trying to get help or repairs sound rather like those suffered by Facebook users trying to get access to a deceased relative’s account or, as I recounted last week, a Google user trying to get his account restored after an erroneous cancellation. Tesla is a tech company that happens to make cars."

 

[gymratter]

The SSC SC-01 Is A $42,000 Chinese Electric Sports Car With 429HP

https://www.carscoops.com/2022/09/t...-sports-car-with-429hp-and-a-42000-price-tag/

 

[Donalex]

Dayum...

 

[trackratZ]

Lotus copy, but $42K, sure why not!

 

[supra93]

 

[gymratter]

Toyota CEO Says “Silent Majority” Of Auto Industry Is Doubting EV-Only Future

https://www.carscoops.com/2022/12/t...s-doubting-ev-only-future/#Echobox=1671728413

 

[johnny_10196]

This one kind of gives off a CRX vibe.

 

[Captain_Kirk]

Nissan GT-R designer pens lightweight electric sports car

https://www.motorauthority.com/news...designer-pens-lightweight-electric-sports-car

 

[trackratZ]

Nissan GT-R designer pens lightweight electric sports car

https://www.motorauthority.com/news...designer-pens-lightweight-electric-sports-car

In the name of aerodynamics and efficiency, sure, but looks could use more help. Way too frumpy!

 

[supraboi]

 

[LeatherWings]

Interesting. Makes me very curious to see what Mazda has in store for the future, electrified Miata.

 

[trackratZ]

It's going in that direction. If I do bag the new Z, most likely be the last new ICE vehicle. My charge-at-home Model Y has been awesome, even on some long trips up and down the West coast. Superchargers aplenty. I know it's still a different story across the Midwest, but will plan a trip soon to FL.

Does It Make Sense To Buy A New Gasoline-Powered Car In 2023? Autopian Asks - The Autopian

"If you can’t charge at home or at work, an electric vehicle typically isn’t a practical proposition.

On the other hand, the list of pro-EV arguments is also long. If you’re able to charge at home, topping off overnight is so convenient compared to freezing your nipples off at a gas station. The lack of required warm-up is awesome, the minimal maintenance is incredible, and current incentives make something like a Tesla Model 3 a financially shrewd move. In addition, electric cars can do more than reduce pollutants — they can give you back the one thing that’s finite: Time. In certain jurisdictions, you can drive an electric vehicle in HOV lanes without any passengers. If that gets you home from work twelve minutes sooner, that’s 24 minutes per day round trip, or 120 minutes per week to see your family, savor your morning coffee, or enjoy the little things in life."

 

[TaroBaapG35]

It's going in that direction. If I do bag the new Z, most likely be the last new ICE vehicle. My charge-at-home Model Y has been awesome, even on some long trips up and down the West coast. Superchargers aplenty. I know it's still a different story across the Midwest, but will plan a trip soon to FL.

Does It Make Sense To Buy A New Gasoline-Powered Car In 2023? Autopian Asks - The Autopian

"If you can’t charge at home or at work, an electric vehicle typically isn’t a practical proposition.

On the other hand, the list of pro-EV arguments is also long. If you’re able to charge at home, topping off overnight is so convenient compared to freezing your nipples off at a gas station. The lack of required warm-up is awesome, the minimal maintenance is incredible, and current incentives make something like a Tesla Model 3 a financially shrewd move. In addition, electric cars can do more than reduce pollutants — they can give you back the one thing that’s finite: Time. In certain jurisdictions, you can drive an electric vehicle in HOV lanes without any passengers. If that gets you home from work twelve minutes sooner, that’s 24 minutes per day round trip, or 120 minutes per week to see your family, savor your morning coffee, or enjoy the little things in life."

I'm with you! I've been racking my head over the past couple weeks If I wanna go back to ICE...and I do, cuz the Tesla just doesn't scratch that itch for modding, personalization, and driving engagement...but then I look at my 3x-week commute to work and the fact, like you say, I can just jump in the car, rip it to the local grocery store and get back without having to wait for the car to warm up etc...its just incredible. I had the EV vs ICE debate with my coworker a couple months ago, and since he has no access to at home charging (Apt life) he was getting shafted at charging stations for time (& $ due to the slow charge speed on his EV), but now we've found a "free" charging station, right by my house actually, and we both charge there and grocery shop.

I will say this though, I have my hat in the Corvette ERay reservations since it seems like the MY competitor Blazer EV SS is supposedly delayed again to Mid Summer-EOY 2024. Might have to jump on ERay or Preowned Ioniq 5.

 

[Captain_Kirk]

https://www.carscoops.com/2023/11/a...as-demand-for-evs-fails-to-meet-expectations/

Auto Industry Fears The Worst As Demand For EVs Fails To Meet Expectations

With billions of dollars already poured into EVs, many manufacturers are cutting back on their plans amidst high interest rates

Experts worry that the demand for EVs is out of sync with the amount of investment poured in by automakers. While sales of battery-electric vehicles are steadily increasing, the billions of dollars that have been pumped in by virtually every major manufacturer may not yield the expected return.

High interest rates have been seen as a concern by everyone from industry analysts to Tesla CEO Elon Musk. “I am worried about the high interest rate environment that we’re in,” said Musk, on an earnings call. “As I just can’t emphasize this enough that the vast majority of people buying a car is about the monthly payment. If interest rates remain high or if they go even higher, it’s that much harder for people to buy the car.”

Tesla has announced that it is slowing down plans for a Mexican factory, with Musk sighting the current financial climate as a reason. Meanwhile, Honda and General Motors have scrapped a $5 billion joint development that centered around creating affordable electric SUVs.

In a similar move, Ford recently announced that production of the F-150 Lightning would be slowed down temporarily. The Blue Oval had been churning out examples of the EV truck with three shifts, but following an announcement in July that it would be redirecting investment into its commercial and hybrid vehicles, the F-150 Lightning will only be made in two shifts.

Waning demand from automakers has seen the prices of raw materials used in the manufacture of EVs drop sharply. According to a report from Reuters, prices of lithium have tumbled by 67 percent, while cobalt has fallen 20 percent in 2023, and halving since May 2022.

It’s not just U.S. manufacturers feeling the pinch. China, which has seen immense demand from Europe for its budget-friendly EVs, isn’t faring the same at home. Chinese battery maker CATL said that its third quarter was its weakest of the year so far, citing a drop-off in demand and increased competition. Meanwhile, in Europe, Volkswagen cut its profit margin outlook. It too blamed hedges made in raw materials, which have since seen prices drop.

Alarm bells may be ringing within the industry, but consumers continue to warm up to EVs as sales figures gradually increase. In the third quarter of 2023, U.S. electric vehicle deliveries topped 300,000 for the first time ever. EV sales also increased in the EU by 14.3 percent, and 22 percent in China.

So, will the rapid investment in EVs play out in the long term, or has it been too much too soon? Watch this space, and let us know your take in the comments below.