Electric cars

[Kremmen]

One other thing is that their battery packs are circa £17k.

That must mean that they become uneconomical to replace far sooner.

[Kenneve]

There are numerous factors behind the drop in used EV prices including
A good hybrid is more likely to cost around 12p/mile at current petrol prices (depending on how / where it is driven).

I concur with those figures
My consumption over 16100 miles shows on the fibometer at 66.4mpg and with petrol currently at £1.54/gall, the cost works out around 10.5p per mile.

[ColinB]

... petrol currently at £1.54/gall, ...

I wish!

[Kenneve]

... petrol currently at £1.54/gall, ...

I wish!

A few miles from me it’s down to £1.49. (West Midlands)

[Lord Voltermore]

Mid Kent, on Tuesday   BP filling station (not a supermarket  although it had  a Marks and Spencers mini supermarket) was £1.45 for E10    (nearby Sainsburys was 2p more last time I looked.

Same day in Canterbury, non supermarket was £1.49.   (others nearby were £1.54)

[Kenneve]

Mid Kent, on Tuesday   BP filling station (not a supermarket  although it had with a Marks and Spencers mini supermarket) was £1.45 for E10   

The nearby Sainsburys was 2p more expensive last time I looked.  Also on Tuesday I saw it at £1.49  in Canterbury,not supermarket.

Wow, if I could buy fuel at £1.45, that would bring the cost down to 9.93p per mile

[Lord Voltermore]

I think the percentage of EV drivers  reverting back to normal cars has been quite high for years.   I recall the example in the USA where an EV drivers  daily commute meant he couldnt quite make the last few miles home and had to stop for half an hour every day on a public charger.    Not much brainpower went into his choice of vehicle. But maybe he was deceived by the advertised potential  range. 

     Also that the USA were planning EV charging stations  at certain distances on major  highways. In theory most EV's could pass one and reach the next with a small reserve.  But if that station had a supply or demand issue they could be well and truly, erm, scuppered.   

[embee]

I was out the other day and a driving school car came up behind me. This prompted me to start thinking about what is going to happen when the sales of new IC engine cars stops. Soon afterwards the practicality of driving schools using any manual car will disappear, all manuals will be getting too old. Will this mean that any new drivers will only be able to get auto licences come the 2030s? Maybe that won't be a problem, though if for example a driver in the 2030s wants a classic manual car they'll struggle to get a manual licence.

Just pondering the law of unintended consequences.

[Pine]

Sales of automatic cars have increased dramatically, even among so called driving enthusiasts, to the point that many now consider manual gearboxes so last centaury.  With sales of electric cars being made mandatory in the near future  manual gearboxes will be consigned to the history books.

[Jocko]

if for example a driver in the 2030s wants a classic manual car they'll struggle to get a manual licence.

I do not think it would be a struggle. Think about it. We all learned to drive coping with steering, gears, clutch, accelerator, brake and traffic. When I had the automatic my wife was considering learning to drive and I thought it a great idea to learn on the automatic, then, having passed her test and gained experience, she could upgrade her licence by learning the clutch and gears while being happy in traffic and the rest of driving. Any experienced driver of an automatic should be able to master a manual in a couple of hours. Clutch and gears were the least of my worries as a learner,

[ColinB]

... petrol currently at £1.54/gall, ...

I wish!

A few miles from me it’s down to £1.49. (West Midlands)

The subtlety of my tongue-in-cheek observation has obviously been missed. Petrol has not been at £1.54 per gallon for many years. Round here it's about £1.50 per litre, which is roughly £6.80 per gallon.

[Jazzik]

Perhaps the supply of used EVs is not only due to people stupid enough to buy a Jaguar iPace , but also to those early adopters who made a better choice and sell/trade in their first EV (or already the second?) and buy (again) a new one?

[Kenneve]

ColinB
My apologies, I totally missed that. Yes it’s long time since fuel has been £1.54 per Gallon.
Mind you, I’m old enough to remember it being 5/- shillings (25p)  per gallon, probably around 1955

[Kremmen]

I could fill my Mini in ~1971 from empty for £1 10s

[Jocko]

When I started driving in 1965, according to here: https://www.retrowow.co.uk/social_history/60s/cost_1965.php
petrol was 6/2d/gal which, adjusted for inflation works out at £4.60 a gallon.