On street vehicle charging points

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gzoom

Über Member
OK my argument all along that no-one has picked up on is, for commercial use they are useless, my current van has 110,000 on it at 4.5 years old, if it was an EV it's now scrap,

How/why do you think that? Can you show me an EV at 110,000 miles that is 'scrap'?
 

DRM

Guru
Location
West Yorks
How about milk floats......We all know EVs are just like them ;)


View: https://youtu.be/_NnNEuxqoPo


Maybe towing a ForkLift :smile:.


View: https://youtu.be/RRbgChhJFCs

Yes, Yes they can only do that due to the way an A/C motor works, now put a trailer on it, load it up 7 tonnes and see how long the battery lasts, the systems in there are exactly the same, yet designed to a different job, milk floats were D/C with lead acid batteries, so no comparison
 

DRM

Guru
Location
West Yorks
How/why do you think that? Can you show me an EV at 110,000 miles that is 'scrap'?
I haven't finished with it yet, it'll have a lot more on it than that when it goes back, try a full charge from flat to full 5 days a week and see how long the battery lasts
 

gzoom

Über Member
I haven't finished with it yet, it'll have a lot more on it than that when it goes back, try a full charge from flat to full 5 days a week and see how long the battery lasts

So you state EVs packs will fail after 110k miles, I show you real life evidence that proves otherwise.

You now want to know about charging, there are UK Taxi companies now running only EVs.

Any other anti EV myth you want busting? :smile:.

https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/en...ll-ev-taxi-firm-with-dozen-leafs-on-its-books
 
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What is it about the battery on EV cars that makes them so expensive.
I'm curious, is it the difficulty in making them, the materials in them? What makes them so expensive?
I'm sure increased manufacturing volumes will lower the cost but this will only be the manufacturing part not the materials.
 

simongt

Guru
Location
Norwich
What I'd really like is fewer cars.
And with the Govt. 'trying to encourage us' to use cars less, outside Norwich, houses are currently going up like mushrooms on vast new estates with no infrastructure. Thus to get to any decent sized shops etc. will require a car - ! :wacko:
 

Pale Rider

Legendary Member
What is it about the battery on EV cars that makes them so expensive.

EV batteries are made up of hundreds of pen cells, similar in size to AA or AAA.

Each cell is relatively costly, and they all need to be reliably wired in series and parallel to get the desired voltage.

All of which makes the EV battery as a whole expensive.
 
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gzoom

Über Member
What is it about the battery on EV cars that makes them so expensive.

Initially it was production costs, hence why cheaper EVs in 2015 came with very small sub 30kWh packs.

Now prices remain high because manufacturers have to recover R&D + investment costs.

Battery+motor manufacturing lines are totally different traditional lines so you need to retool and retrain.

However some brands like Hyundai/MG are willing to sell their EVs at near cost neutral/no profit to get market share.

Where as brands like Tesla/Porsche are trying to hit high profit margins. Our Tesla cost £75k in 2016, the same car today is nearly £100k. The car today has a bigger battery but no where near £25k worth- more like £5k, but Tesla need profit so are willing to test the market at high margin prices.

Overall though battery production globally is still limited and EV demand is out stripping supply, so prices aren't likely to come down any time soon :sad:.
 
What makes these cells costly, the materials in them or difficulty to make them? I don't believe connecting them up would be a huge part of the cost and automation would most certainly be used.
 
All new product introductions have to factor in development costs.
Same for new generations of petrol and diesel engines. Recovery of these costs is spread over the lifetime of the model. Are development costs for batteries that much higher?
 

gzoom

Über Member
What makes these cells costly, the materials in them or difficulty to make them? I don't believe connecting them up would be a huge part of the cost and automation would most certainly be used.

These things may look like normal AA cells or pouch packs found in consumer electronics but their manufacturing and management/building of the packs are far more complicated.

Car battery packs are designed to survive crashes, fires, deliver discharge and recharge rates no bog standard non EV cell can dream about. As I've mentioned these cells can discharge their entire power content at 5C+ than recharge at 3C, which is crazy amount of energy transfer.

This is how much energy they contain, and how reactive the lithium is, and what happens if it all goes wrong!!


View: https://youtu.be/DwgdpysXUkA



View: https://youtu.be/WdDi1haA71Q


Because of their high construction quality EV packs from crashed/written off cars are worth a pretty penny!!

When I had my first EV written off a few years ago, the battery pack appeared on eBay within 48hrs of me confirming with my insurers I was 'happy' to accept the settlement deal offered and released the car to the insurance company!!
 
I wonder at what point the cost of the battery will come down?
At the moment I can't say I'd feel comfortable buying an elderly EV from a non franchised dealer or privately. As the battery is the heart of the car you'd need to know it's condition.
I've always bought cars privately and know enough about what to look out for.
EV's are something for the specialist.
 

gzoom

Über Member
At the moment I can't say I'd feel comfortable buying an elderly EV from a non franchised dealer or privately. .

I wouldn't buy a used EV full stop. As you say unless you guarantee the previous owner has treated the pack with reasonable care you have no idea what you are letting your self in for.

Even BMS software can be tricked to show fake readings.....Not proven but people have bought EVs from branded main dealers with that looked like 'good' battery packs only to find massive degredation a few months later. They go back to the dealer who shrugs their shoulders and point out when they sold the car every thing looked good, so tough luck. Its essentially the same as clocking a high milage combustion car.
 
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