Are we being forced to go electric?

[gavroche]

With the cost of petrol/diesel going up by the day and now teaching £1.50 a litre, I wonder if it is a conspiracy by the automotive industry and the government to force us to buy electric cars?
Mrs G wants to go to Bideford soon to visit our daughter and it is going to cost me £100 just on petrol !! This is mad. Many families are going to be price out of motoring as electric cars are far too expensive for most of us.
A simple Clio is around £28000 !!
I despair for the future.

 

[winjim]

I despair for the future

Me too.

 

[numbnuts]

I don't think duracells are going to cut it ............

 

[Milzy]

I believe so. I understand the supply & demand issue of before but it should have levelled back off now. The government have their green targets to meet. Sadly the poor will end up feeling the extra costs the most as the middle classes buy their swanky model 3’s etc.

 

[HMS_Dave]

You'd be pushing the range on that electric car, im not sure you'd make it...

 

[cougie uk]

It's not a conspiracy. Some car manufacturers haven't even got EV's in their range.
It's not from the government either - this lot can't plan anything.

It's more to do with Covid and supply issues and possibly Brexit. And that oil companies always want the best bang for their buck and they see the well is starting to run dry.

And if you can't afford a new EV - you can buy a second hand one for almost half of that Clio. Prices will come down with supply though - I'm sure petrol cars were expensive to begin.

 

[ClichéGuevara]

Wait until they up the cost of electricity to fill the gap from the lack of fuel tax.

 

[gavroche]

At the moment, the Chancellor is on a big winner with lots of extra revenues on fuel duties. The worrying bit though is inflation will also go through the roof with many price increases due to the cost of fuel.
As usual, the rich will benefit the most from all of this and the rest of us will have to survive the best we can.

 

[Vapin' Joe]

When production volumes of EVs match that of petrol and diesel vehicles prices will fall considerably. They will be far cheaper to produce than vehicles with IC engines, hardly any moving parts compared to IC engines with their hundreds of bits of steel banging and rubbing together to drive pistons that have to headbutt an explosion several thousand times a minute.

No need for a gearbox and clutch and no complicated fuel delivery and exhaust system festooned with gadgets to make sure environment standards are met. All the problems of range and recharging points will be addressed in time. Remember their were no petrol stations till a few years after the first cars were on the road.

 

[Slick]

I must admit, I have been holding off changing my car until electric became a realistic option. It's not happened yet and at the current rate of progress, it will be some time yet before they are so I may have one purchase left in me of a petrol car before taking the plunge on electric.

 

[Baldy]

I'm afraid the age of mass car ownership has got to come to an end. Everyone wants a great big shiny new car, there are more and more people so there are more and more cars and their screwing the world up. Soon there will just not be enough room for all the cars and roads. Get used to it, you're being priced off the road.

 

[slowmotion]

At the moment, the Chancellor is on a big winner with lots of extra revenues on fuel duties. The worrying bit though is inflation will also go through the roof with many price increases due to the cost of fuel.
As usual, the rich will benefit the most from all of this and the rest of us will have to survive the best we can.

They won't "benefit", just suffer less than ordinary people, which is the way it's always been. That's why people want to be wealthy, isn't it?

 

[Gunk]

We’ll end up like Cuba, the masses will all be driving 40 year old cars. Cars are just not a priority for myself and Mrs Gunk (motorcycles are for me!) we just run older cheaper cars and try and keep them well maintained so they’re reliable (I’ve just spent £1300 on servicing my 100,000 mile 6 year old Golf GTD). I’m buggered if I’m spending £30,000 plus on an electric car.

 

[Cycleops]

I despair for the future.

Never mind, think how you'll be saving the earth as you zoom around in your Super Thunberg Deluxe.

 

[gavroche]

Never mind, think how you'll be saving the earth as you zoom around in your Super Thunberg Deluxe.

Like I said many times before. the earth is no danger, only its inhabitants are.