Electric cars?

[sptrawler]

Just out of interest, are you a member of charge fox?

Because I saw a guy in an electric mini one day trying to use the charge fox charger and looking very frustrated so I went to try and help him and it turned out he wasn’t a member, I got him to download the app and sign up and we got it working for him though.

They are a confusing charger, you have to do all the steps in order otherwise it doesn’t work, hence why I drive past them normally and use the Tesla ones, even though charge fox is normally half the price.

Yes I plugged it in ok, the rfid card read and said charging had started, it was showing 45%.
We went off to get a coffee then 20 minutes later walked back to the car, it was still showing 45% and said finished charging.
I looked in the car on the dashboard it said the plug isn't in incorrectly, so removed it a re set the whole process a couple of times, same result.
Decided I have enough to get back anyway, so gave it away and left, the mate wasn't happy he was stressing all the way back home. ?

 

[Value Collector]

Yes I plugged it in ok, the rfid card read and said charging had started, it was showing 45%.
We went off to get a coffee then 20 minutes later walked back to the car, it was still showing 45% and said finished charging.
I looked in the car on the dashboard it said the plug isn't in incorrectly, so removed it a re set the whole process a couple of times, same result.
Decided I have enough to get back anyway, so gave it away and left, the mate wasn't happy he was stressing all the way back home. ?

Normally you have to do the following

1, open the app
2, select which location you are at
3, choose which outlet you are using.
4, plug in.

The rfid reader doesn’t seem to do anything from my experience, you need to use the app, that’s how I got it working for the guy in the mini.

I understand it’s a stupid process, you should be able to just wave your credit card and start filling, but it doesn’t seem to work that way, you need to sign up.

 

[JohnDe]

Normally you have to do the following

1, open the app
2, select which location you are at
3, choose which outlet you are using.
4, plug in.

The rfid reader doesn’t seem to do anything from my experience, you need to use the app, that’s how I got it working for the guy in the mini.

I understand it’s a stupid process, you should be able to just wave your credit card and start filling, but it doesn’t seem to work that way, you need to sign up.

What a hassle.

This is why infrastructure should be the first priority. Get the charging network sorted, consult Tesla and get it working so it's as easy as filling up with fuel. Or even easier, like the Tesla network is.

 

[sptrawler]

Normally you have to do the following

1, open the app
2, select which location you are at
3, choose which outlet you are using.
4, plug in.

The rfid reader doesn’t seem to do anything from my experience, you need to use the app, that’s how I got it working for the guy in the mini.

I understand it’s a stupid process, you should be able to just wave your credit card and start filling, but it doesn’t seem to work that way, you need to sign up.

If you have a charge fox rfid card, which is similar to and looks just like a credit card, you just plug in, then it asks you to tap the rfid card on the touch pad and off it goes.

 

[Value Collector]

If you have a charge fox rfid card, which is similar to and looks just like a credit card, you just plug in, then it asks you to tap the rfid card on the touch pad and off it goes.

Ok, I didn’t know they existed, they should just make it a credit card reader.

Also, though does the car you had have an app on your phone? Because with Tesla you can check your Tesla app and see your car charging and what level it’s at, it will also notify you if charging stops for some reason, (not that it ever does stop on the Tesla chargers)

 

[sptrawler]

No I borrowed the car off a mate and he gave me his charge fox card, to take with me.
On the front of the charge fox charger, there is a white square with a hand holding a credit card, it is a tap and go pad.

1. Swipe your Chargefox RFID card on the station you wish to use.
2. If using your own cable, connect it to the station first.
3. Plug the cable into your car and start charging.
4. Swipe the same RFID card on the station to stop charging.
5. Unplug the cable.
6. Unplug your cable and shut the port cover securely.

 

[Value Collector]

No I borrowed the car off a mate and he gave me his charge fox card, to take with me.
On the front of the charge fox charger, there is a white square with a hand holding a credit card, it is a tap and go pad.

1. Swipe your Chargefox RFID card on the station you wish to use.
2. If using your own cable, connect it to the station first.
3. Plug the cable into your car and start charging.
4. Swipe the same RFID card on the station to stop charging.
5. Unplug the cable.
6. Unplug your cable and shut the port cover securely.

In post 5984, you mentioned you plugged in first then tried to swipe, I wonder if the issue was something simple like that.

Not trying to be pedantic, I just know in the two times I have used charge fox I have had trouble getting the power flowing because it seems you have to do things in the exact steps, eg you have to plug in at the right step, otherwise it seems to not work until you get it right.

I am sure if I used it regularly, I wouldn’t have trouble, but given I use them like once a year, I always have struggle for 2 mins or so trying to get it flowing, hence why I drive past them.

I have one near my house, I might give it another go soon.

 

[sptrawler]

It had the steps that light up in sequence.
The last step, charging started lit up.
Next time when Im in less of a hurry, I will spend more time checking it out.
I think it was a 100Kw fast charger so only three steps.

 

[mullokintyre]

Took the Ionic 5 for a run today, was it nice, yes, would I buy it probably not. It used about 19Kw/100klm, said I had 340 klm of range at the start when I worked it out the actual range I had it would have been 310klm. If I had actually had 340 I would have had about 100kl left, it said I had just under 70 left. 90% was on the highway at 110kl/hr.
I didn't like the instrument panel, seats were comfortable, very quiet around town, a similar noise level to the Jeep on the highway mainly tire noise, the lane assist would end up driving me mad so i would have to learn how to switch that off.
Interesting day, I think for me the Kona fits better because it is just like getting into an Ice car so it's familiar, the Ionic was a bit like driving an arcade machine, maybe I'm showing my age.

according to top electric suv , Hyundai are about to release the Ioniq 6 towards the end of the month.
It will be more sedan like rather than a SUV.
With a bit of luck, it will mean that the Ioniq 5 will become less in demand and leave a few more to be exported to OZ.
Mick

 

[mullokintyre]

From Eletric vehicles.com

Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe warned on Monday April 18 that the shortage of electric vehicles batteries can affect the auto industry soon being a challenge that “could surpass the current computer-chip shortage”. Auto makers have been facing limited supplies of raw materials like cobalt, lithium and nickel that are fundamental when making a battery. As reported by WSJ, Rivian’s CEO told reporters last week:

Put very simply, all the world’s cell production combined represents well under 10% of what we will need in 10 years. .. Meaning, 90% to 95% of the supply chain does not exist.
Rivian Automotive Inc. Chief Executive RJ Scaringe
“We don’t have a demand challenge at all. We have a ‘can we create enough vehicles’ challenge?” Scaringe told CNBC, “We have a supply chain problem. It’s frustrating, but we’re going to get through that.” Although, Rivian’s CEO said the company is “really confident” it can produce a total of 25,000 vehicles in 2022.

Rivian will most likely struggle to reach its production targets, small though they may be.
The larger players will hog the EV battery market leaving precious little for the smaller players, no matter how good their vehicles might be.

 

[mullokintyre]

according to top electric suv , Hyundai are about to release the Ioniq 6 towards the end of the month.
It will be more sedan like rather than a SUV.
With a bit of luck, it will mean that the Ioniq 5 will become less in demand and leave a few more to be exported to OZ.
Mick

Have heard of a few people complaining about issues with coolant in Hyundais cars.
It seems that the Coolant used to keep the battery controller and other electronics cool is a special variant, nothing the green or orange stuff we pour into radiators in ICE vehicles. It has tended to crystallise, and throw up warning lights putting the vehicles in limp mode.
Dealers are replacing the cooling pumps as well as the coolant. One guy reckons he has had the same issue three times since he got his IONIQ at Christmas.
Mick

 

[Value Collector]

Have heard of a few people complaining about issues with coolant in Hyundais cars.
It seems that the Coolant used to keep the battery controller and other electronics cool is a special variant, nothing the green or orange stuff we pour into radiators in ICE vehicles. It has tended to crystallise, and throw up warning lights putting the vehicles in limp mode.
Dealers are replacing the cooling pumps as well as the coolant. One guy reckons he has had the same issue three times since he got his IONIQ at Christmas.
Mick

If it’s a fault I am sure they will get around and fix all the affect vehicles, but it’s not something that the user has to think about normally, I couldn’t tell you what colour or type of coolant car has, the only thing available to be refilled by the user on the model 3 is window washer fluid.

 

[SirRumpole]

High insurance costs could be deterring EV buyers.

There is another cost that could be keeping EV ownership low

The cost of insuring electric vehicles will eventually drop as demand rises, but in the meantime the fledgling supply chain and relatively new tech attracts premiums almost double that of a regular car.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Value Collector]

High insurance costs could be deterring EV buyers.

There is another cost that could be keeping EV ownership low

The cost of insuring electric vehicles will eventually drop as demand rises, but in the meantime the fledgling supply chain and relatively new tech attracts premiums almost double that of a regular car.

www.abc.net.au

Mine only cost $1215 / year
That’s full comprehensive, It was 2 years old at the last renewal, it doesn’t seem to bad for a car that was nearly $80k new.

How much would a petrol car in a similar price range cost?

 

[sptrawler]

Mine only cost $1215 / year
That’s full comprehensive, It was 2 years old at the last renewal, it doesn’t seem to bad for a car that was nearly $80k new.

How much would a petrol car in a similar price range cost?

When I renewed my insurance for my ICE vehicle, I asked if it was more expensive to insure an EV as I had ordered one, they said it was cheaper as they gave a green discount.
That was with RAC WA.

 

[qldfrog]

When I renewed my insurance for my ICE vehicle, I asked if it was more expensive to insure an EV as I had ordered one, they said it was cheaper as they gave a green discount.
That was with RAC WA.

Well, EVs being (still?) much more expensive than equivalent ICEs, the premium sill be higher, after adding a discount for an MG EV to bring it back to maybe a beemer premium might be honourable..is it? But a $ is a $

 

[sptrawler]

Charge Fox to increase its prices on the fast chargers. Hopefully the new Government starts to roll out public charging infrastructure.

Australia's largest electric car charging network hikes prices

From next month, topping up with Chargefox will be 50 per cent more expensive.

www.drive.com.au

From the article:
Australia’s largest electric car charging network will hike its prices by 50 per cent from next month, Drive understands.
Chargefox currently operates approximately 1400 plugs across 100 sites between Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane.
Pricing is currently set at 40 cents per kWh for 350kW 'Ultra-Rapid' outlets, however that figure will climb to 60 cents per kWh from 9 May 2022.

Chargefox has faced criticism in recent years for perceived reliability flaws, and it's expected the company will target improved consistency alongside the price rise.
Despite the not-insignificant hike, by Drive’s estimation topping up at a Chargefox site remains approximately 60 per cent cheaper than filling an equivalent petrol car.

In 2020 Drive revealed Tesla Australia had hiked its Supercharger pricing to 52 cents per kWh, however that figure has since been pulled from the marque’s website.
Last year the Federal Government announced its Future Fuels Fund, subsidising the private sector roll-out of approximately 400 charging stations.

 

[Value Collector]

Charge Fox to increase its prices on the fast chargers. Hopefully the new Government starts to roll out public charging infrastructure.

Australia's largest electric car charging network hikes prices

From next month, topping up with Chargefox will be 50 per cent more expensive.

www.drive.com.au

From the article:
Australia’s largest electric car charging network will hike its prices by 50 per cent from next month, Drive understands.
Chargefox currently operates approximately 1400 plugs across 100 sites between Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane.
Pricing is currently set at 40 cents per kWh for 350kW 'Ultra-Rapid' outlets, however that figure will climb to 60 cents per kWh from 9 May 2022.

Chargefox has faced criticism in recent years for perceived reliability flaws, and it's expected the company will target improved consistency alongside the price rise.
Despite the not-insignificant hike, by Drive’s estimation topping up at a Chargefox site remains approximately 60 per cent cheaper than filling an equivalent petrol car.

In 2020 Drive revealed Tesla Australia had hiked its Supercharger pricing to 52 cents per kWh, however that figure has since been pulled from the marque’s website.
Last year the Federal Government announced its Future Fuels Fund, subsidising the private sector roll-out of approximately 400 charging stations.

View attachment 140636

If charging 60cents means they make enough return to incentivise them to roll out more and more then I support it.

Although their 50 KWH locations only charge 20cents so if you are a bargain hunter, and don’t mind taking an extra 20mins to charge you can get a good deal, it could be a hassle on a road trip, but if your going to charge while you do your grocery shopping or something it’s a good deal.

 

[sptrawler]

A bit of common sense starting to evolve in the E.V space.

BMW joins Toyota in denouncing a fully electric future

BMW's CEO has cautioned against exclusively selling electric cars, warning it will constrain consumer choice and cause supply-chain issues.

www.drive.com.au

From the article:
Mr Zipse (pictured above) said mandating all vehicles to become electric could be a counter-productive measure if the unintended consequence was that people held onto their older, higher-polluting petrol or diesel cars rather than upgrading to a more efficient one.
"If someone cannot buy an (electric vehicle) for some reason but needs a car, would you rather propose he continues to drive his old car forever?” Mr Zipse was quoted by news agency Reuters as saying.

The BMW executive's candid comments follow those of Mr Toyoda, who said Toyota's strategy for achieving carbon neutrality would involve hybrid cars, as well as pure-electric vehicles.
“We are living in a diversified world and in an era in which it is hard to predict the future,” Mr Toyoda (pictured below) said in December 2021.
“Therefore it is difficult to make everyone happy with a one-size-fits-all option. That is why Toyota wants to prepare as many options as possible for our customers around the world.”

Mr Zipse has been consistent in voicing his concerns about prematurely phasing out petrol and diesel engines, telling politicians in Germany in February 2022 that shutting down production would not benefit consumers or the environment.
“The largest market segment in absolute terms by a wide margin in Germany, but also in Europe and worldwide, is the internal combustion engine. Before you simply shut something like that down within eight or ten years, you have to know well what you’re doing,” Mr Zipse said at the time.
“It would be harmful to simply give up a technology in which you have a global market position without need. I don’t think that would help the climate or anyone else.”

Locally, Toyota Australia executives have shared similar sentiments, cautioning governments against leaving the masses behind in the push for electric vehicles.

Sean Hanley, the sales and marketing boss of Toyota Australia, said in January 2022 the company would retain its commitment to hybrid vehicles in tandem with its development of electric cars, suggesting hybrids were an affordable low-emissions alternative for consumers.

 

[mullokintyre]

Bosch has resurrected an old idea of "renting" batteries t EV users rather than using a charger.
From Go Auto

ALMOST a decade after the collapse of a company (BetterPlace) poised to make EV ownership convenient by swapping batteries, Bosch has launched a global plan to rent car batteries to fleets.


Bosch, in partnership with Mitsubishi Corporation, said the battery swap service will remove the cost of batteries – the most expensive single component of an EV – and slash costs for EV fleets.

The launch comes nine years after US-based start-up BetterPlace opened its EV sales and battery swap concept in Israel and then established offices in global markets including Australia.

BetterPlace separated the owner’s car from the battery that it owned. It opened automated battery-switching stations (37 were built in Israel) where a depleted battery was replaced with one fully charged in about five minutes.

The stations used robots that slid under the car, removed the old battery and replaced it in considerably less time than plugging the car into a charger.

BetterPlace said that by retaining ownership of the battery, it could reduce the price of the EVs that it sold. The battery could also be upgraded to new technology as it evolved.

BetterPlace founder and first CEO Shai Agassi, a Silicon Valley executive, and his replacement as CEO, Evan Thornley, said after the business’s collapse in 2013 that there was nothing wrong with the company’s strategy.

Evan Thornley, there is a blast from the past. Listed as an "entrepreneur" , he also started Looksmart, which failed at the end of the dot com boom. He ran for the Victorian parliment and won then made few friends when he quit after two years. He was also the founder of ABC learning, another troublesome enterprise.
He was one of the founding members of Getup!, and sat on threboards of various left wing think tanks.
Have not heard mych from Evan of recent times.

“I continue to believe that the BetterPlace vision is both accurate and commercially sound, and trust that whatever shortfalls we suffer are correctly seen as errors of execution not of strategy,” Thornley wrote to employees when he left.

Cue in Bosch. The German industrial business said in launching its EV battery swap idea that it will cut costs for electric vehicle fleets.

It has teamed up with Mitsubishi Corporation and Chinese company Blue Park Smart Energy to develop business models for battery swapping.

Blue Park, owned by giant Chinese auto business BAIC and with a 13.3 per cent stake held by South Korean battery manufacturer SK Innovation, already successfully operates a battery swap operation for Beijing’s electric taxi fleet.

The story gains strength as SK is looking at using the batteries kept in the swap stations to double as an Energy Storage System to establish a decentralised power infrastructure network in urban areas.

SK, incidentally, has South Korea’s biggest network of petrol stations that it sees as also becoming battery swap stations and providing Energy Storage System services across the country.

Mitsubishi Corporation’s general manager of the battery business department, Seiji Hamanaka, said in a statement that Mitsubishi’s broad commercial experience and resources together with Bosch’s Battery in the Cloud service will link the battery swapping business to the financial service.

Mick