Electric car thread

[facthunter]

At this stage it might Just as well Be an ordinary ICE car. They ARE NOT Cheap. Nev

[old man emu]

This is an interesting video.

 

 

[Siso]

On 03/12/2025 at 1:39 PM, facthunter said:

At this stage it might Just as well Be an ordinary ICE car. They ARE NOT Cheap. Nev

I think you will find the fuel economy is pretty good for a larger car, especially around town. Still take some time to pay back the monetary difference of the fuel but over the buy price.

[facthunter]

Long term you still have the servicing and maintenance factor that an EV doesn't have. Once the fixed cost servicing has expired and the warrantee. Nev

[Siso]

I do my own maintenance and servicing. Parts are a small part. One thing I have noticed with my son being a mechanic is the change it out mindset. Air filters being an example. No one checks the condition of consumables, they are just changed every service.

[facthunter]

Time is Money. Often cheaper to just replace. Modern cars are a bit too complex for the Normal owner bar the oil and filter bits.   You need the analytical gear. Engine reconditioning is a Lost art. Engines last the Life of the Vehicle but once they Overheat they are NOT reliable. I use good Oils Best coolants and good filters. I have always got high Mileages from my vehicles. It's the way you drive them as well.  Jeep parts are expensive and some Makes parts  unavailable after a few years. Any Modern car out of warrantee is only worth about 50% of new Price. A car built from Parts would be about 10x the new price.  at least.  Some very high Kilometers with little cost are very achievable and common but there's a TIME to quit anything unless it's collectable and doesn't have too many diemetal  (zinc alloy) Plastic or Magnesium alloy Parts.  or unobtainable engine Mounts and Hoses.  When your modern car has 300K+ on it. it Owes you nothing. Asses it day by day depending on what happens in service Older vehicles can be repaired by cutting out Parts of the structure  Rusted or damaged and welding in replacement bit's Not so with Hi tensile thinner steels. creased or rusted it's Over,  rover.  Nev

[onetrack]

The EV sales figures have been skewed by Govt intervention, rebates and incentives, tariffs, the Chinese assault on global car manufacturers, and much misinformation.

In my neck of the woods, tax lurks such as salary sacrifice and novated leasing has propelled EV sales. On a stand-alone basis, EV's are still too expensive, and their depreciation is still high.

 

The Europeans have shot themselves in the foot, trying to protect their (very profitable) local car manufacturing industries. They introduced high tariffs on Chinese EV's being imported into Europe, and the Chinese simply imported more hybrids and IC-engined vehicles, and therefore STILL improved their overall sales levels.

The Chinese EV sales into Europe dropped 10% as against this time last year, so that probably explains all the cries from the fossil-fuel adherents, of "EV's are finished, sales are falling, now that people have woken up!!"

 

The bottom line is, the Chinese attack on the global car manufacturers is relentless, and they will undoubtedly win. Their productive capacity is mind-boggling, and their cost base is 30% lower  than anywhere else in the world.

I wouldn't buy a Chinese EV today, because I believe there's going to be a shakeout in the Chinese car manufacturers within 4 or 5 years - but I'll wager in 4 or 5 years time, over 2/3rds of cars (and trucks and buses) on our roads, will be Chinese.

 

I just sighted the Chinese car market stats, and they currently sell 114 brands and 1,142 models of Chinese cars within the country. That is just staggering, and there will surely be many of those brands fall by the wayside over the next few years.

 

https://www.drive.com.au/news/chinese-ev-european-tariffs-have-backfired/

 

Edited 23 hours ago by onetrack

[red750]

There's a car dealership yard a couple of k's up the road which has changed hands a few times over the past few years. First it was a Ford dealership, till they moved to a larger premises in Ringwood, then a Holden dealership till Holden ceased production. Recently it was a dealership for Mahindra SUV's and FWD, but at the moment it is empty.  We are wondering if an EV dealership might take it over.

[onetrack]

The Chinese are driving EV (and battery) development with relentless research and development. The latest news is BYD has patented a Variable Flux, Permanent Magnet, Synchronous Motor.

The ability to vary the magnetic flux levels in an electric motor that is running, leads to more consistent torque output and reduced energy loss - especially at highway speeds.

This ability to vary the magnetic flux of the motor then leads to improved EV range, and lower thermal stress levels on the battery.

BYD's research also indicates they are developing improved stator and rotor designs, and magnetic flux control components, which all lead to greater EV efficiencies.

 

https://carnewschina.com/2025/12/14/byd-advances-variable-flux-permanent-magnet-synchronous-motor-technology-patents-unveiled/

[facthunter]

There's NO other Motive Power approaching the efficiency of an electric Motor already.  Nev