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The electric car revolution

Posted: 31 Dec 2019, 14:37
by duke63
Is about to hit.

If you have an electric car as a company car next year, there is zero benefit in kind, compare that to your average repmobile, say a VW Passat which will cost you £200+ per month in tax even as a basic rate tax payer, its becoming a no-brainer.

I see both Polestar (Volvo) and Skoda have announced new vehicles this week. The Skoda Citigoe is the most interesting as it affordable for many and will most likely do enough miles in a week on one charge for most people. It will charge to 80% capacity in one hour on a fast charge.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdMFl9SVMDU[/video]

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmplk52fznQ[/video]

Re: The electric car revolution

Posted: 31 Dec 2019, 15:16
by Kwacky
There's loads of electric scooters in Barcelona. I reckon about 15% of them.

Re: The electric car revolution

Posted: 31 Dec 2019, 15:26
by D41
The Skoda looks like most other small European hatchbacks......bland & uninspiring. The music on the commercial is nothing short of painful, and beaten only by the voice of a recently revived Herman Goering, it seems...??

The Volvo looks more like it!! Typical take-it-or-leave-it Swedish styling, but a decent-enough size to be comfortable for all of those 311 miles of range.
I'll bet it blows the frickin' doors off the Skoda.

Re: The electric car revolution

Posted: 31 Dec 2019, 16:17
by duke63
City cars are the future.

Interesting that Mark Carney saying yesterday that pension funds should seriously consider whether investing in companies involved in burning fossil fuels is actually a sensible thing for them to be doing, even in purely financial investment terms.

Re: The electric car revolution

Posted: 31 Dec 2019, 16:19
by duke63
Kwacky wrote:There's loads of electric scooters in Barcelona. I reckon about 15% of them.
I think we were told when we were there that there are more two wheeled vehicles per capita in Barcelona than any other European city.

Re: The electric car revolution

Posted: 31 Dec 2019, 18:59
by D41
Google tells me that for Barcelona @ 1-in-3 vehicles is a motorcycle. And the last few years are when the major growth in numbers has occurred.

That sounds like a nightmare TBH....I tend to think that more bikes in a city centre is OK...but only up to a point.
But I suppose people have to commute to work & stuff like that.

Re: The electric car revolution

Posted: 31 Dec 2019, 23:08
by Kwacky
The roads are pretty empty. That's because there are next to no traffic jams even though almost every street corner has a pedestrian crossing.

It's amazing how efficient traffic can be when the car is put low down on the list of priorities.

Re: The electric car revolution

Posted: 03 Jan 2020, 09:42
by Perkles
not enough mileage range for a serious company car driver

Re: The electric car revolution

Posted: 03 Jan 2020, 09:52
by duke63
They would work for 99% of cars and owners on the road though.

Re: The electric car revolution

Posted: 03 Jan 2020, 09:58
by Perkles
duke63 wrote:They would work for 99% of cars and owners on the road though.
not sure I agree with that to be honest ,there is to much hype surrounding electric cars its mostly sales and marketing to get you to trade in your old one and spend money

Re: The electric car revolution

Posted: 03 Jan 2020, 10:00
by Blade
Perkles wrote:
duke63 wrote:They would work for 99% of cars and owners on the road though.
not sure I agree with that to be honest ,there is to much hype surrounding electric cars its mostly sales and marketing to get you to trade in your old one and spend money
The above happened with Diesel's 10 or 15 years ago (blush)

Re: The electric car revolution

Posted: 03 Jan 2020, 10:08
by Cav
Diesel is the perfect car for me currently even just with a 20 mile commute. I got 69.1mpg on my way home last night, looks like I'll be filling up with 780 miles on this tank.

Re: The electric car revolution

Posted: 03 Jan 2020, 10:16
by Perkles
ive got a hybrid and its crap on fuel :)

Re: The electric car revolution

Posted: 03 Jan 2020, 10:26
by Blade
Cav wrote:Diesel is the perfect car for me currently even just with a 20 mile commute. I got 69.1mpg on my way home last night, looks like I'll be filling up with 780 miles on this tank.
That's impressive Cav (y)

Have you ever done the sums? Would switching to electric or hybrid actually lower your carbon foot print?

Re: The electric car revolution

Posted: 03 Jan 2020, 11:13
by Cav
Not done the sums because I believe it's impossible to work out.

My car is a 2002 Audi A4 1.9TDI without a DPF. It's done over 180k miles, it's nearing the end of it's life (most likely due to economical reasons), and I consistantly get over 50mpg over the distance of a tank of fuel.

Hybrid cars will absolutely not save me money as I'm on the motorway most of the time - HOWEVER - I lift share so we could consider 1 car if I keep working at my current employer. A hybrid would be beneficial then as the Wife could easily get to work on battery alone as it's only 1.5 miles away.

Electric cars would save me day to day cost for certain. It'll cost probably 3x less compared to the fuel I use currently. What I also understand is that Lithium mining is very damaging to the environment and it's not quantifiable as no one can agree.

IMO, we'll all be driving Hydrogen cars in the next 20 years. The only emission is water, the hydrogen can be broken at sea powered by their own windmills, pumped in gas form to the shore, compressed to liquid and shipped to fueling stations around the country. They drive the same as internal combustion and you refuel in 2 minutes. It will be MUCH cleaner for the environment (from start to finish) than electric cars and so I think I'll be waiting for that. Until then I'll stick with what I know and stay with diesel.

Re: The electric car revolution

Posted: 03 Jan 2020, 11:22
by D6Nutz
Perkles wrote:ive got a hybrid and its crap on fuel :)
(nod) same. We've got the Outlander PHEV, lucky to get 40mpg out of it over the winter.

However, in the summer it spends most of its life on battery power. It is more economical for very short journeys, i.e. under 30 miles.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk

Re: The electric car revolution

Posted: 03 Jan 2020, 11:23
by Perkles
Cav wrote:Not done the sums because I believe it's impossible to work out.

My car is a 2002 Audi A4 1.9TDI without a DPF. It's done over 180k miles, it's nearing the end of it's life (most likely due to economical reasons), and I consistantly get over 50mpg over the distance of a tank of fuel.

Hybrid cars will absolutely not save me money as I'm on the motorway most of the time - HOWEVER - I lift share so we could consider 1 car if I keep working at my current employer. A hybrid would be beneficial then as the Wife could easily get to work on battery alone as it's only 1.5 miles away.

Electric cars would save me day to day cost for certain. It'll cost probably 3x less compared to the fuel I use currently. What I also understand is that Lithium mining is very damaging to the environment and it's not quantifiable as no one can agree.

IMO, we'll all be driving Hydrogen cars in the next 20 years. The only emission is water, the hydrogen can be broken at sea powered by their own windmills, pumped in gas form to the shore, compressed to liquid and shipped to fueling stations around the country. They drive the same as internal combustion and you refuel in 2 minutes. It will be MUCH cleaner for the environment (from start to finish) than electric cars and so I think I'll be waiting for that. Until then I'll stick with what I know and stay with diesel.
for the last 12 months ive worked on a POP machine building hydrogen fuel cells

Re: The electric car revolution

Posted: 03 Jan 2020, 11:25
by D6Nutz
@Cav I worry about hydrogen fuel. I agree that it is by far the cleanest solution from an environmental point of view. But, what about all that water being produced? It's not like the vehicles will be returning what they use, more like double what they use?

Now what was that about global warming flooding the planet?

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk

Re: The electric car revolution

Posted: 03 Jan 2020, 11:27
by C00kiemonster
Its not about saving the individual money though. The whole need for electric cars is to move the pollution to more controllable places (such as power stations). They can then be cleaned up or replaced with green energy (or nuclear tbh). Ultimately they will crack simple fusion i suspect anyway.

It will cost everyone more. Having a car will cost more and it will become more of a luxury again. We have all been spoilt. It needs to happen as look at the roads now in many places - they are overfull.

Everyone will have to adjust their living standards as they are all too high. Sadly public transport isnt doing what it should do, which is reducing the need for cars anyway.

I agree with the hydrogen side of things. Electric cars will be great for cities and limited range (300 miles). Longer than that then hydrogen makes more sense.

Diesel and ultimately petrol will bet too expensive to use - demand will decrease. Be interesting over the next few years to see what happens as Electric grows.

Re: The electric car revolution

Posted: 03 Jan 2020, 11:37
by Perkles
C00kiemonster wrote:Be interesting over the next few years to see what happens as Electric grows.
more Christmas lights in council estates