Well said glassman, I think you summed up the main issues.

The last point about lack of reliable electricity generation, I think is very relevant.

We have just closed down Hinkley Point Nuclear Power Station which I read has provided about 20% of the countries needs for close on half century. This is despite further delays to Hinkley C. We always seem to be so short-sighted when it comes to planning.

As I said in my post above, EVs are nice to drive, we must sort out the barriers that stop a lot of us enjoying the experience.

PS - More bad news as China puts back opening of giant battery factory - it shows that we are just as exposed in the EV world as we are in the present Oil Dependant one.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/pelo...ory=foryou FL2 XS SD4 Auto 2010 2012-2017 (21k - 91k miles) (MY2011)
FL2 Metropolis SD4 Auto 2014 2017- (16k - 77k+ miles) (MY2015)
Metro in its 11th Year of (Extended) LR Warranty / Full LR Service History
(Expensive, but Trouble/Worry free - hopefully?)

This may sound crackers , but I always fancied owning a Kia Soul ! . This was based on renting one in the USA (about 8 years ago) for a couple of weeks when I went out to look at a process (blending fracking fluid actually , which is quite topical again ) . I liked the fact that the Soul , with the boxy shape and with the rear seats folded was a great mini van .
Cut to yesterday I saw a new Soul with an EV badge . An ideal second car , if my Hilux ever arrives . I looked it up on the internet ….. wait for the drum roll …… £36,000 pounds . And thereby is the issue , yes I could go buy one , but to put 36 grand into a car that used to be a £25 k diesel motor , just makes a joke of the whole thing . 2009 GS Auto Zermatt Silver - Sold June 21 after 10 years of ownership

2016 Subaru Outback SE 2.0 diesel SE Premium Lineartronic Sold 2024 after 8 years and 80k miles . Best Car I ever owned !

2023 Toyota Hilux invincible X 2.8 Auto .

Could still be worth the change, for the first six years of ownership we saved roughly £1800 a year on fuel after changing to an EV, and we had a fairly abstemious vehicle before giving us about 38 mpg diesel 4X4, even now with the higher electric costs we are still saving around £1000 a year, it doesn’t take long to recover the initial outlay and that doesn’t include the much lower running costs regarding servicing.

Our i3 has cost us £160 a month over those almost seven years now all in, initial new cost, depreciation etc. Regards

David

Lovely i6 has now gone, but not me......

Please let me know if anything in my post offends you, as I may wish to offend you again......

There you go £25k for ICE and £36k for EV.
I suppose those who support the battery will argue that over time the cost of the ev will balance out on fuel saving- probably after about 6-7 years.
So how many folks keep a car for that long?
And as i have said and others have said...EVs for the well heeled

Errr we do  Regards

David

Lovely i6 has now gone, but not me......

Please let me know if anything in my post offends you, as I may wish to offend you again......

Well the figures BB has posted are real life , which are worth much more than manufacturers snake oil ! I’m listening . I think 7 or 8 years 100k milez is a good time to keep a vehicle bought from new , as it’s still got a decent residual , and hasn’t got to the point where big bucks need spending ( assuming it’s been maintained properly )?

I’m currently embarking on new life MK2 , waiting for planning decisions on extensions to my new home , and an EV charger is on the plans for the new garage as it would be daft not to put the infrastructure in anyway . 2009 GS Auto Zermatt Silver - Sold June 21 after 10 years of ownership

2016 Subaru Outback SE 2.0 diesel SE Premium Lineartronic Sold 2024 after 8 years and 80k miles . Best Car I ever owned !

2023 Toyota Hilux invincible X 2.8 Auto .

AT1963 wrote:

There you go £25k for ICE and £36k for EV.
I suppose those who support the battery will argue that over time the cost of the ev will balance out on fuel saving- probably after about 6-7 years.
So how many folks keep a car for that long?
And as i have said and others have said...EVs for the well heeled

Boxbrownie wrote:

Our i3 has cost us £160 a month over those almost seven years now all in, initial new cost, depreciation etc.

As much as I would like the idea of converting a ICE vehicle to BEV using scrapped EV parts I think that it would be quite difficult. An old Defender yes, a modern car with all the individual control modules talking to each other - that's going to be a big ask for all but the most software savvy.

With modern vehicles the mechanicals tend to be the reliable bit, cooling systems and electrical stuff is the weak link - don't get me started on the regular (every few months on the DS) software updates. Remember every software update is an admission that you got it wrong previously. EVs still have cooling systems (causing a lot of problems at present) and lots and lots of electrics, most of which is new to the automotive world.

When it comes to cost our FL2 was a very expensive car when new, and the DS had a list price of £56k - easily enough to buy a new EV for. It's not that end of the market where the problem lies, we needed a newish car to replace the 12 year old Micra for the wife, settled on an ex-demonstrator MG3 for £8,500. It's going to be an awful long time before you can buy a 4 month old EV for less than £10k, and I can't imagine the battery lasting 12 years with even 80% range available. Tangiers Orange - gone, missing her
Replaced by Ewok what a mistake - now a happy Disco Sport owner

The problem for second hand EVs will that once outside the warranty period, the cost of battery repair/replacement will be considerably more than the value of the car.
Time will tell as to how long the batteries will routinely last outside the warranty period. Jules

There are three issues:
1. Cost to buy in comparison to ICE and how long it will take to re-coup the outlay.
2. Cost of replacement batteries and how long they last
3. Manufacturing process and amount of CO2 used and how long before EV is carbon neutral

Lumping all this together and the fact that to date (certainly on lease) you keep car for 3 yrs and renew.
So when you get car new you are not helping to save the planet

I don’t think it’s anything that we need worry about. If the government wants people in electric cars it has to make them affordable or make it law. At the moment for joe bloggs on £10 an hour or less who currently buys old cars and sell when really old for getting to work etc is never going to able to buy new of any car , electric or otherwise.

Easy answer to potential battery problems - FIT PEDALS





https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-58587521 FL2 XS SD4 Auto 2010 2012-2017 (21k - 91k miles) (MY2011)
FL2 Metropolis SD4 Auto 2014 2017- (16k - 77k+ miles) (MY2015)
Metro in its 11th Year of (Extended) LR Warranty / Full LR Service History
(Expensive, but Trouble/Worry free - hopefully?)

AT1963 wrote:

There you go £25k for ICE and £36k for EV.
I suppose those who support the battery will argue that over time the cost of the ev will balance out on fuel saving- probably after about 6-7 years.
So how many folks keep a car for that long?
And as i have said and others have said...EVs for the well heeled

Jimboland wrote:

My Freelander 2 celebrates its' tenth birthday next week. It will probably last longer than me. Perhaps I should get buried in it or at least drive it to my own funeral.