Electric Vehicles (EV) Thread

[pharvey]

Looks a lot like the Volvo EX30 full electric.

China/Chinese companies copying/stealing western design and technology? NEVER!!

[PeteC]

Looks a lot like the Volvo EX30 full electric.

China/Chinese companies copying/stealing western design and technology? NEVER!!

Yes, Geely owns Volvo now so I guess they do as they please.

[pharvey]

Looks a lot like the Volvo EX30 full electric.

China/Chinese companies copying/stealing western design and technology? NEVER!!

Yes, Geely owns Volvo now so I guess they do as they please.

Pretty much, yep... China are taking over to/of the (more than) willing.

[STEVE G]

Oh, it's no secret that I'm a lover of Mercs, but for very good reason. Incredibly safe (as pointed out above), pure quality and sound build... Not to mention rather exciting to drive when you look at AMG, Brabus and the ridiculous BLACK (AMG) versions..

All those cars are completely unaffordable in Thailand, I saw a display of them last year and they were priced from 4.5 to 10 million baht.

[Dannie Boy]

You’ll be pleased to see a Merc in 1st position but there are a number of EV’s in the top 10 safest car list.

Oh, it's no secret that I'm a lover of Mercs, but for very good reason. Incredibly safe (as pointed out above), pure quality and sound build... Not to mention rather exciting to drive when you look at AMG, Brabus and the ridiculous BLACK (AMG) versions... But of course these are ICE. I'm a little unsure with regards to a Merc EV or Hybrid - what I truly want is a Hybrid (or even EV) in a C-Class Body, unfortunately you just can't get it. The closest is the new A Class, but as popular it is, is far too small for me (and not quite the performance ).

Isn’t this suitable? https://www.mercedes-benzsouthwest.co.uk/eqe

[Dannie Boy]

You’ll be pleased to see a Merc in 1st position but there are a number of EV’s in the top 10 safest car list.

Oh, it's no secret that I'm a lover of Mercs, but for very good reason. Incredibly safe (as pointed out above), pure quality and sound build... Not to mention rather exciting to drive when you look at AMG, Brabus and the ridiculous BLACK (AMG) versions... But of course these are ICE. I'm a little unsure with regards to a Merc EV or Hybrid - what I truly want is a Hybrid (or even EV) in a C-Class Body, unfortunately you just can't get it. The closest is the new A Class, but as popular it is, is far too small for me (and not quite the performance ).

Isn’t this suitable? https://www.mercedes-benzsouthwest.co.uk/eqe

Or a C Class plugin hybrid https://www.stratstone.com/mercedes-ben ... -electric/

[caller]

Interersting post in Today's Times about the situation in the UK, where all sorts of deals are being offered to sell EV's, is that it's been calculated that unless you have your own driveway, and have to share a charging unit - they are apparantly appearing on lamp posts now - then you are better off financially not buying one and buying an ICE equivalent instead.

I'll copy the main points here:

No driveway? Then there may be no point in getting an electric car.

A journey could end up ten times more expensive for drivers with no charger at home. According to the energy consultant BFY Group, the 110-mile round trip from London to Brighton would cost you £2.64 if you could charge at home, but £26.40 if you used one of the rapid chargers found at motorway services or in hotel car parks. It would be £17.33 if you charged on a residential street.

The typical cost of the journey for a petrol car would be £17.45 — similar to the charge from a standard public point for an electric vehicle. But it is generally cheaper to buy a petrol car than an electric vehicle.

In a survey of 5,000 drivers by the energy supplier Eon Next, 59 per cent said the cost of going electric was the biggest barrier to making the switch.

The car sales website AutoTrader said a new electric Vauxhall Corsa cost £29,485, compared with £23,795 for a petrol version. An electric Renault Zoe was £30,440, while a comparable petrol Renault Clio was £19,220.

Second-hand electric cars, especially those about three years old, are often cheaper than petrol equivalents because there is a less established second-hand market.

Manufacturers, energy suppliers and the motoring industry often argue that the initial cost of going electric is offset by much lower running costs, but that applies only to those who can charge at home. Drivers with their own charging point can get cheap electric car tariffs that cost between 6p and 10p per kilowatt hour (kWh) for overnight charging.

This would amount to about £180 a year if you always charged overnight, according to BFY’s calculations, based on a price of 8p per kWh, a car that does 3.3 miles per kWh and 7,500 miles a year.

BFY said slow public roadside chargers on lampposts or bollards cost about 52.5p per kWh while fast chargers at motorway services or retail parks 80p per kWh.

According to the Public Accounts Committee in March, the Department for Transport admitted that the cost disparity between at-home and public charging was “probably the single biggest challenge to the electric vehicle transition in the UK”.

Between July 2022 and March the price of petrol fell from 192p to 140p a litre, reducing the annual cost of running a petrol car from £1,627 to £1,190. BFY assumed fuel consumption of 40 miles per gallon and 7,500 miles a year.

Since March, oil prices have fallen further in response to Donald Trump’s trade tariffs, and the price of unleaded petrol has dropped to 132p a litre.

The annual cost of exclusively using a slow public charger to run an EV rose from £810 to £1,181 between July 2022 and March this year, and from £1,178 to £1,800 for a fast charger. Drivers who use public chargers are likely to need some combination of the two.

About 9.6 million households in the UK, equal to 35 per cent, do not have off-street parking, according to the RAC Foundation, a pro-motoring think tank. In London this rises to 56 per cent.

Ian Barker from BFY said: “With almost 40 per cent of households lacking off-street parking, and public charging often ten times more expensive, more needs to be done before electric vehicles are a realistic option for all. That means smarter policy, fairer pricing, and an inclusive charging network.”

The higher cost of public charging has been attributed to operators needing to recoup the cost of installing chargers, with a profit on top, and a higher rate of VAT applied to public charging (20 per cent) compared with domestic electricity (5 per cent).

There have been calls for VAT on public charging to match rates on domestic electricity to cut costs and encourage more drivers to go electric.

Power shortage
Public electric vehicle chargers per 100,000 people

London
263
Scotland
123
West Midlands
115
United Kingdom
113
Wales
104
South East of England
99
South West of England
97
North East
95
East of England
91
East Midlands
73
North West
69
Yorkshire and the Humber
66
Northern Ireland
35

[STEVE G]

^The situation in Thailand, if you have a driveway and if you have solar power is that you drive around for free.

[Dannie Boy]

I’m all for EV’s and follow this thread for updates as well as posting anything that sounds interesting. I’ve mentioned numerous times about solid state batteries and how they might be a game changer, however the issue with any new battery technology is that to get maximum benefit then you can’t charge them at home. Having a battery that with the right type of charger that can go from 10-80% in 5 minutes might be fine, but your home charger might need 10-12 hours. So f you need a fast charge it needs a fast charger and as the article above makes clear, they work out expensive.

[STEVE G]

Incidentally, we are bombarded with all these posts on here telling us how bad EVs are but I notice that in the last ten years, global EV sales have gone from 0.5% of the total to a predicted 25% for this year.
That’s a surprising rise for something that we’re constantly being told doesn’t work!

[Hahuahin]

I looked at the "Byd Dolphin" the other day which is now on display in Lotus, and I must say I am impressed by the modern technology of electric cars even if the Byd Dolphin probably is far down the list of top electric cars but for someone who drives minimally and is mostly looking for coverage for rainy weather I would think it is more than good enough and I saw in a test from my home country that it came out reasonably well also in winter and considering the much lower price in Thailand it's actually a very interesting car. The salesman for Byd in Lotus said that the nearest charging stations to Hua Hin are Cha am and Pranburi and a PTT station somewhere but said that you get a free charging connection /cable for both charging stations and home charging, anyway If anyone has or has had a Byd Dolphin I would like to hear your opinion.
hahuahin

[Dannie Boy]

SteveG has a Dolphin and he’s posted on here how happy he is with it. I have the larger Sealion which is a PHEV but like the Dolphin came with a free wall charger which works well. I dare say Steve will post once he reads your post

[pharvey]

Incidentally, we are bombarded with all these posts on here telling us how bad EVs are but I notice that in the last ten years, global EV sales have gone from 0.5% of the total to a predicted 25% for this year.
That’s a surprising rise for something that we’re constantly being told doesn’t work!

I don't believe I've ever been one to say "EVs don't work", quite the opposite in fact but I have had and still do have some concerns especially owning one in the UK. Two of these concerns (cost and infrastructure) clearly indicated in Caller's post above.

In Thailand you're not subject to the same charges (no pun intended), have the benefit of Solar Power and I don't believe many on here will do anywhere near the type of mileage to be concerned over infrastructure.

[Big Boy]

The salesman for Byd in Lotus said that the nearest charging stations to Hua Hin are Cha am and Pranburi and a PTT station somewhere

This comes back to an earlier question of mine. From the salesman's comments, if going on a journey, you'd have to plan it very carefully. Firstly to find a suitable charging station, and then hope that there aren't dozens of other BYDs queuing for the same facilities.

When I asked the question before, I was assured charging facilities were fairly universal, and it was never a problem. If the BYD SALESMAN is giving that sort of advice, either what I was told previously or the SALEMAN needs to find a new job. If I was considering buying a BYD, a stetement like, "The nearest charging stations to Hua Hin are Cha am and Pranburi and a PTT station somewhere," would have sounded massive warning bells, and I'd have been out of there straight away. The salesman is making BYD sound like a really stupid choice.

I'm seeing charging stations appearing everywhere. What are the car manufacturers they support please? I must say, I'd expect the car manufacturers to be displayed at the facility's entrance.

[pharvey]

I'm seeing charging stations appearing everywhere. What are the car manufacturers they support please? I must say, I'd expect the car manufacturers to be displayed at the facility's entrance.

I always thought there were two main charging connectors/types which you would have thought Charging Stations would have - but surely "Adaptors" (much like "travel Adaptor Plugs") are available?