Electric car thread

[facthunter]

Trump is making the Mistake of  trying to micro manage everything, HIMSELF That didn't work in the USSR either, especially with agriculture.. Companies know best How to run Companies and a lot of it lately is world sourcing. America is a rust Belt with a lot of OBSOLETE methods. No easy fix. Nev

[kgwilson]

Trump thinks his tariffs will bring manufacturing back to the US. It disappeared years ago and the factories are either derelict or gone along with all the knowledge and expertise. Plus of course he is deporting all the people who would work in these manufacturing industries.

[facthunter]

GM was Broke and only held on by Obama's Gov't bailing it out. So much for the Saying" What's good for GM is GOOD for AMERICA. IS Boeings Quality GOOD? NOT LATELY.  Is the US Air Traffic Control GOOD? Certainly NOT and so on.  TRUMP BLAMES others even for some things HE initiated. Clowns belong in Circus's.  HE is SO VAIN. Nev

[old man emu]

8 hours ago, onetrack said:

China's major advantage is simply mass production abilities.

It is ironic, isn't it, that the Allies won WWII largely because of themass production abilities of the USA, and now China is winning WWIII by the same means.

[facthunter]

It's population is Large enough by itself to absorb High Production numbers. Roughly 4 x that of the USA.. THAT supports  It's production BASE, and everything is Modern. and state of the Art. so high Quality at lower cost.  Nev

[red750]

https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/other/hundreds-of-byds-found-in-aussie-car-park-after-complaints-by-residents-to-council/ar-AA1OZynX?ocid=winp2fptaskbar&cvid=68fa11fba046431391cfcb4a2ff9f300&ei=197

[facthunter]

That's a lot of SOMETHING/ Nothing.  Local Councils are notorious for doing weird things. It could have been empty Beer bottles instead of New  Cars.  Nev

[onetrack]

I reckon I've seen the future of electric motoring in the article below. There are multiple complaints and reservations about inbuilt battery life, range limits, costs, and even how inbuilt batteries in military equipment would see them stranded in combat, waiting for a recharge. The battery-swap principle fixes all those problems.

 

The car only costs $22,000, because you don't have to buy an inbuilt battery with it, you can select the battery size you need for your trip, or for the day.

The battery lease cost is 49,900 yuan (AU$10,725), and there's a monthly battery lease fee of 399 yuan (AU$85), which obviously covers the cost of fully recharged batteries and the swap stations infrastructure costs.

 

https://thedriven.io/2025/11/10/new-a22000-ev-takes-88-seconds-to-have-a-fully-charged-battery/

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42hNpYr-vKs

 

 

Edited 8 hours ago by onetrack

[octave]

5 minutes ago, onetrack said:

w. There are multiple complaints and reservations about inbuilt battery life, range limits, costs,

I think the life span of EV batteries is proving to be better than expected. This is not just anecdotal 

 

And research from fleet management technology Geotab suggests EV batteries on the market today could last 20 years or more. That report found that newer EVs degrade by about 1.8 per cent per year, a significant drop from the 2.3 per cent degradation rate seen in 2019.

Meanwhile, a study published in Nature Energy in January this year found that in the UK, EVs were achieving comparable lifespans to ICE vehicles, even under more intensive use.

 

EV batteries may last 40 pct longer than previously thought, new study shows

 

We have debated this before. There are pros but considerable cons to battery swap. The short times quoted at existing battery swap stations sound good, but you have to consider the relatively small number of vehicles using them.

Consider these charging centres.

 

Insights About FAQ For business The Largest EV Charging Hubs In the World

 

I would seem a little problematic to replace these purely with battery swap without creating queues and logistical problems.

 

On a trip with my son in NZ in his Tesla, we made 3 charging stops. All of these stops were to just top up whilst having coffee

 It's a piss stop. The first one was about 40 minutes in the car park of a supermarket, where we picked up some supplies and had a coffee. The other stops were no more than 10 minutes.   With the battery swap system, I guess you would have to decide on the optimal swapping point.   There would be no point in swapping a battery that still had substantial range.  Also, on the particular trip, it would be hard to imagine battery swap facilities in the backblocks of NZ, but plenty of charging centres.

 

Another issue is that my son's Tesla is charged solely from his solar system (except on long trips)  Why on earth would he want to go to a battery swap service and pay instead of using his own clean power?

In the end, the market will decide.  Given that battery swap vehicles can also be charged by conventional means, people will do what is cheapest and most convenient.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[facthunter]

Followed a BYD SHARK the other day for a reasonable distance, What a great suspension. SUPER ride on bumps for ANY vehicle.  Nev

[kgwilson]

85-90% of EV owners charge at home, usually when the electricity tariff is off peak, from their own solar, during free zero tariff times or all 3. Battery swap may be useful for only a small percentage of owners & possibly hire companies as renters are often going long distances. 

 

It wouldn't suit me at all. I charge from my solar and also get 3 hours of free electricity each day (11.00am- 2.00pm) plus only 8c/kWh from midnight to 6am. When I do go on a trip the cars range is longer than my bladder so 20 minutes at a fast charger will get the battery back to 80% & that is barely enough time for a coffee and ablution break. Lots of hotels & motels now have destination chargers. These are slow AC 7kW chargers but you just plug in and unplug in the morning with a full charge.

 

I also note the government is considering legislating free power for everyone in the middle of the day. There is now so much solar & wind power that they are turning the systems off as the price goes negative so they have to pay to get rid of their energy. Of course the real solution is to install battery storage & use that when demand & spot price is high. I am installing a battery with a new solar system at the property I have just moved in to. In theory I will be able to go off grid but I will see how it goes through all different conditions first.

[old man emu]

Has battery-determined range become yesterday's problem?

[facthunter]

 My opinion is "Not Quite" But constantly Improving. When Piston engines first came they used Whale oil and Later Crude oil refined in a fractionating Column and sold in containers and the tank Filler holes were about 1" ID and supplies were few and far apart. Now some are Servo's CLOSING as the sites are too valuable and not profitable. Nev

[octave]

EV ranges have increased as well as the charging speed and availability.  Toyota has developed an SSB (solid state battery) with a range of 1000km and an extremely short charging time. These batteries already exist and should be on the market soon. What is still to be done is to perfect mass manufacture at a reasonable price. They say the first wave will only be in premium cars, but like with previous innovations, it will work its way down to cheaper cars. 1000k and a 10-minute recharge time will surely bury range anxiety.

 

Apart from that, a lot of range anxiety is based on old thinking,"How far can I go between refuels?" instead of How easily can I top it up?"    Unless you can not charge at home, "refuelling" an EV is much more convenient than refuelling with petrol.