Electric cars

[Kremmen]

Range anxiety, no problem :

[Neil Ives]

I didn't know Tesla made a hybrid.

[richardfrost]

Someone with a sense of humour.

[peteo48]

Some talk in the press this morning (i newspaper) that the EV transition period might be watered down. It was actually quite hard to follow but the thrust was that the percentage of zero emission vehicles each manufacturer is currently required to sell in the UK would be watered down. There was no indication that the 2030 date would change.

The other stat in this piece was that only 25% of UK households have access to off road parking. I think that may be true but the figure is complicated by the fact that this counts all households not all of whom own cars.

I wonder if, fairly soon, the 2030 deadline will be quietly dropped. It's 2035 in most of Europe.

The charging infrastructure remains poor and, according to some people I have spoken to, is getting worse as EVs are selling quite well but the infrastructure is failing to keep pace so queues for chargers are becoming more common.

I like to think of myself as reasonably concerned for the planet but I think there is a decent case for postponing the change until 2035.

[John Ratsey]

Some talk in the press this morning (i newspaper) that the EV transition period might be watered down. It was actually quite hard to follow but the thrust was that the percentage of zero emission vehicles each manufacturer is currently required to sell in the UK would be watered down. There was no indication that the 2030 date would change.

I like to think of myself as reasonably concerned for the planet but I think there is a decent case for postponing the change until 2035.

Another consideration is both the constraints on the supply of the chemicals needed to make the batteries and constraints on the battery production which mean that vehicle manufacturers will struggle to turn out the numbers of EVs needed to meet the targets and prices will stay high. Plus there's uncertainty about the ability of the UK grid to deliver the power to charge all those batteries. It would therefore be sensible to spread the batteries around and use them in full hybrids to improve the efficiency of ICE vehicles.

I would extend the deadline for the sale of full hybrids but keep the deadline for the sale of other ICE powered vehicles. Also encourage / extend the emissions control zones in the major urban areas to encourage the purchase of EVs by those who do a lot of miles in those areas.

[peteo48]

That's the way forward on reflection John. Hybrids only from 2030 but not just PHEVs.

[Jocko]

There are plans to build an 800-vehicle charging hub in Edinburgh. It will be the largest in Europe. It is to be built at Edinburgh Park, in the west of the city.

[Kremmen]

Friend of mine drove down from Telford to west London for the Twickenham rugby last weekend.

He drove into a petrol station and saw half a dozen Teslas on charge with the owners in a huddle presumably discussing tactics whilst they waited, and waited..........

He was in and out in minutes.

[madasafish]

Gridwatch  https://gridwatch.co.uk/renewables   shows to day that wind power is 12% of total electrical demand. 
So much for windpower - this is NOT an isolated instance. Happened this time last year.

[Lord Voltermore]

There are plans to build an 800-vehicle charging hub in Edinburgh. It will be the largest in Europe. It is to be built at Edinburgh Park, in the west of the city.

How would this operate in practice?    Do 800 drivers need  divert from where they really want to go  to a location they dont want for the sole purpose of charging their cars?  Assuming they dont chose a time when 801 cars are trying to charge, causing  traffic chaos, and the  800 chargers are not suddenly down at the same time  because of a power outage, computer crash etc  causing not only chaos but a real dilemma for hundreds. 

  I assume you  wont be able to park on a charger all day ,or long enough to do useful things  ,so you wait  there doing nothing for as long as it takes to charge, before driving to your actual destination . With the temptation 800 spaces will be deducted from parking spaces in town for non EV's and charged cars and those that remain are less likely to get  their own chargers.  I'm sure locals wont be happy  if you cant get parked in the west of Edinburgh while  a significant number of those 800 spaces go unused.Will they then allow non Evs to park, wasting the installation of chargers and infrastructure that could have been better placed elsewhere. 
There may be a reason others are not planning  hubs this big.   

[Jocko]

Parking in Edinburgh is almost non-existent anyway. Edinburgh tries to discourage motorists from going into the city (very successfully as far as I am concerned). They are talking about introducing a congestion charge for vehicles entering from outside the city (I am 400 yards outside that boundary). There are massive park-and-ride facilities at the approaches to the city.
Edinburgh Park is a vast new business hub. These spaces will be built to service a further expansion of office construction but will be available for use by anyone.

[John Ratsey]

Parking in Edinburgh is almost non-existent anyway. Edinburgh tries to discourage motorists from going into the city (very successfully as far as I am concerned). They are talking about introducing a congestion charge for vehicles entering from outside the city (I am 400 yards outside that boundary). There are massive park-and-ride facilities at the approaches to the city.
Edinburgh Park is a vast new business hub. These spaces will be built to service a further expansion of office construction but will be available for use by anyone.

Will commuters leave their vehicles charging all day or will there be, for example, a time charge to encourage people to escape from work and move their cars?

[ColinB]

Bath only has a handful of public-access chargers, but they're in public car parks where charges apply. So if you want to leave your EV there all day you can, but you pay the exorbitant parking charge - just like any other car - as well as whatever costs are levied by the company owning the charger. It wouldn't be beyond modern technology for the charger to start applying a surcharge if cars aren't unplugged once they're "full".

[Julian Okampos]

The charging infrastructure remains poor and, according to some people I have spoken to, is getting worse as EVs are selling quite well but the infrastructure is failing to keep pace so queues for chargers are becoming more common. Anyway, my next car will be an EV and I will buy it via this public auction https://sca.auction/locations/branch-tx-houston-456 for sure.

True, there is little reason to buy an EV if you don't have your own house with a personal charger.

[Jazzik]

The charging infrastructure remains poor and, according to some people I have spoken to, is getting worse as EVs are selling quite well but the infrastructure is failing to keep pace so queues for chargers are becoming more common.

True, there is little reason to buy an EV if you don't have your own house with a personal charger.

 ......and a roof completely covered with solar panels...