Electric cars?

[JohnDe]

Maybe the USA are putting in more infrastructure? But I'm not driving there and I'm more talking about my experience in W.A.?
But as VC and you have said, the East Coast sounds as though it has enough infrastructure already, I think the Northern Territory has one fast charger.

Mercedes plans 10,000 electric vehicle chargers globally by 2030, but not Australia

All electric vehicles could eventually benefit from a planned 10,000 charging network from Mercedes-Benz.

www.drive.com.au

From Tesla website.

View attachment 151471

PlugShare

 

[sptrawler]

PlugShare

View attachment 151473

A lot of the plug share ones in W.A are 250v/10a outlets, even the fast chargers are a hit and miss story as they are few and far between, break down often and are vandalised a lot.
Just draw a line North South at Adelaide, then look West at how many yellow fast chargers there are.
Actually better than that, draw a diagonal line from Adelaide to Townsville and look on the left hand side of the line, then count the yellow dots. ?
I live in that sector.
Looking at Esperance and going West, that one shows under repair and the next one toward Albany is Ravensthorpe 187km and that is a 20Kw charger. To say that isn't a bit of a problem is underplaying the issue somewhat IMO.

 

[JohnDe]

A lot of the plug share ones in W.A are 250v/10a outlets, even the fast chargers are a hit and miss story as they are few and far between, break down often and are vandalised a lot.
Just draw a line North South at Adelaide, then look West at how many yellow fast chargers there are.
Actually better than that, draw a diagonal line from Adelaide to Townsville and look on the left hand side of the line, then count the yellow dots. ?

Just had a quick look on my Plug Share app, all the green ones I checked are 3 phase. And a lot more pop up when you get in closer.

 

[sptrawler]

Just had a quick look on my Plug Share app, all the green ones I checked are 3 phase. And a lot more pop up when you get in closer.

View attachment 151474

It is a long drive around the South West coast from Perth to Esperance which is where most people live in W.A, the infrastructure is limited, but better than the Northern Territory.

Have a look at Albany on the South coast population about 40,000, a couple of Tesla outlets the rest are a bit limited for travellers. Then head West toward Denmark - Perth, which is the most popular tourist route in W.A.
It will improve, but I'm only talking about at the moment, meanwhile incentives are been thrown at uptake, not support.
Anyway, it is what it is and it doesn't effect me at all, just passing the time.

 

[JohnDe]

It is a long drive around the South West coast from Perth to Esperance which is where most people live in W.A, the infrastructure is limited, but better than the Northern Territory.

Have a look at Albany on the South coast population about 40,000, a couple of Tesla outlets the rest are a bit limited for travellers. Then head West toward Denmark - Perth, which is the most popular tourist route in W.A.
It will improve, but I'm only talking about at the moment, meanwhile incentives are been thrown at uptake, not support.
Anyway, it is what it is and it doesn't effect me at all, just passing the time.

Not much less than where I live, with only one set of Tesla chargers in the city next to my home suburb, which has none. I still manage to get out & about to country locations & interstate. Things can only get better.

 

[sptrawler]

Not much less than where I live, with only one set of Tesla chargers in the city next to my home suburb, which has none. I still manage to get out & about to country locations & interstate. Things can only get better.

View attachment 151493

View attachment 151493

I think the Government should push to get at least one fast charger into every Town above a certain number of people, if that was done it would increase the uptake and would have the added benefit of encouraging people to install their own solar panels, which would reduce the demand on the electrical system.
It could actually be a Federally funded council initiative, where the Feds instruct the councils to organised it and the Feds funded it. It would also improve tourism options, for a lot of the more remote areas.
Just increasing the demand by giving business incentives to buy E.V's, is putting the horse before the cart IMO, but they have to start somewhere I suppose.

 

[qldfrog]

I'm not confident that most people will actually have a car in years to come, I'm of the opinion that autonomous ride share will be the end game for the plebs and personal vehicle ownership will be the realm of the essential services and the wealthy.
Just my two cents worth.

That is what seems to be missing in all these EV talks:
the idea behind the push is not to save the planet, get independence or allow J Citizen to replace his her ICE by an EV;
This is just not materially possible with current battery technologies nor do the power in place care;
It is to have people in cities..rural people have to move 30% land back to nature 70% to agro corporation
And people in cities will NOT travel more than 20min, and for that shared Uber style autonomous EV will be used

That is clear and neat in the WEF program;
In that context, traffic will be very limited, restricted to fleet of hauling trucks and a few ultra wealthy and specialist moves
Remember that the west only saw mass car adoption, freedom of movement in the 1900's
Mega wealth (Rockfeller and Cie including UK magnate) was only attainable with the Dickens style worker armies, armies not even needed anymore so back to your hutch peons.
EV will be mandatory, will remain inaccessible to the masses and unfit by design to current uses.
We will talk about it in a decade and see where I was wrong

 

[qldfrog]

That is what seems to be missing in all these EV talks:
the idea behind the push is not to save the planet, get independence or allow J Citizen to replace his her ICE by an EV;
This is just not materially possible with current battery technologies nor do the power in place care;
It is to have people in cities..rural people have to move 30% land back to nature 70% to agro corporation
And people in cities will NOT travel more than 20min, and for that shared Uber style autonomous EV will be used
View attachment 151498
That is clear and neat in the WEF program;
In that context, traffic will be very limited, restricted to fleet of hauling trucks and a few ultra wealthy and specialist moves
Remember that the west only saw mass car adoption, freedom of movement in the 1900's
Mega wealth (Rockfeller and Cie including UK magnate) was only attainable with the Dickens style worker armies, armies not even needed anymore so back to your hutch peons.
EV will be mandatory, will remain inaccessible to the masses and unfit by design to current uses.
We will talk about it in a decade and see where I was wrong

And yes I will get an EV once I can be self sufficient off grid..the search for the perfect spot taking longer than planned

 

[rcw1]

Good morning
Publish this morning (12/01/23)

Swiss Re urges car insurance rethink with EVs​

The boom in electric vehicles could shake up the car insurance sector, reinsurance giant Swiss Re said Wednesday, urging insurers to gear up.
“Traditional vehicle insurance models are no longer enough to accurately capture the overall risk,” a study by Swiss Re said. “We need risk models that can focus on the particularities of EVs (electric vehicles),” it added.
Electric cars are quieter than internal-combustion vehicles, presenting a risk for pedestrians who don’t hear them coming in noisy urban settings. They are also heavier which can have its advantages, the study said. A lower centre of gravity may make them more stable which can reduce the risk of a serious accident.
“However, greater weight means higher impact force in collision with other road users,” the study added. Putting out a fire may also prove more difficult, while other differences with conventional cars include higher repair costs.
– AFP

Not sure what insurance companies doing in Australia. Will be finding out soon though

Kind regards
rcw1

 

[rcw1]

Good morning
Got reading this article, by Electrek: BMW, Mercedes, and VW each saw EV sales skyrocket vs. ICE slump, but who is winning? The heading kinda caught rcw1 attention.

BMW, Mercedes, and VW each saw EV sales skyrocket vs. ICE slump, but who is winning?

Following a production year riddled with supply chain constraints, chip shortages, and a war in Ukraine, German automakers BMW Group,...

electrek.co

Short end of the stick ... Volkswagen saw the highest number of EV sales but the lowest growth. Mercedes-Benz saw the most growth but the smallest number of EV sales, and BMW Group was middle of the pack in both categories.

Have a very nice day, today.

Kind regards
rcw1

 

[JohnDe]

Long but fun day today with the family. Drove onto a beach, spent the whole day there, then I drove back to our place for a quick top up charge for the Tesla and a shower for us, then a drive back to the caravan park where our family is staying. Dinner & games, and just arrived to our second home. No range anxiety, I’ll plug in tomorrow. 16A should take about 4 hours, but it’s free & we’re here for a few more days.

 

[sptrawler]

Could be a game changer for city dwellers, if BYD decide to bring it to Australia.

2023 BYD Seagull electric city car not planned for Australia – UPDATE

China's BYD is developing a pint-sized electric car however it could be ruled out for Australia if it does not meet five-star safety standards.

www.drive.com.au

The managing director of BYD's local distributor EVDirect, Luke Todd, told Drive yesterday morning the Seagull was "under review" for Australia, and that the company "would like to bring it to Australia" – but it was "not on the 2023 calendar".
After suggesting the BYD Seagull was a chance for Australia, Mr Todd has since backtracked, and now says the car is not bound for local showrooms.
The Seagull is expected to sit below the Dolphin hatch in BYD's model range in China, with boxy proportions, a city-friendly dimensions, and an expected starting price there equivalent to about $AU13,000.
The Seagull is said to measure 3780mm long, 1715mm wide and 1540mm tall, riding on a 2500mm wheelbase, according to Chinese government filings.
Power will come from a single electric motor developing 55kW – but it is believed this output is a peak figure for a brief period of time, as the government filings list a 'continuous' power output of 25kW.
The battery size is not listed in the documents, but past reports have suggested it will be a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) pack of BYD's 'Blade' design, with a capacity of 30.7kWh.
Driving range is not quoted, however the larger Dolphin hatch with the same battery pack is capable of 300km of claimed range in lenient Chinese testing – or closer to 200km in real-world test conditions.

 

[JohnDe]

Could be a game changer for city dwellers, if BYD decide to bring it to Australia.

2023 BYD Seagull electric city car not planned for Australia – UPDATE

China's BYD is developing a pint-sized electric car however it could be ruled out for Australia if it does not meet five-star safety standards.

www.drive.com.au

The managing director of BYD's local distributor EVDirect, Luke Todd, told Drive yesterday morning the Seagull was "under review" for Australia, and that the company "would like to bring it to Australia" – but it was "not on the 2023 calendar".
After suggesting the BYD Seagull was a chance for Australia, Mr Todd has since backtracked, and now says the car is not bound for local showrooms.
The Seagull is expected to sit below the Dolphin hatch in BYD's model range in China, with boxy proportions, a city-friendly dimensions, and an expected starting price there equivalent to about $AU13,000.
The Seagull is said to measure 3780mm long, 1715mm wide and 1540mm tall, riding on a 2500mm wheelbase, according to Chinese government filings.
Power will come from a single electric motor developing 55kW – but it is believed this output is a peak figure for a brief period of time, as the government filings list a 'continuous' power output of 25kW.
The battery size is not listed in the documents, but past reports have suggested it will be a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) pack of BYD's 'Blade' design, with a capacity of 30.7kWh.
Driving range is not quoted, however the larger Dolphin hatch with the same battery pack is capable of 300km of claimed range in lenient Chinese testing – or closer to 200km in real-world test conditions.

View attachment 151640

First, BYD need to ramp up production.

 

[sptrawler]

First, BYD need to ramp up production.

Yes, maybe that's why they are saying it isn't coming, yet.

 

[bk1]

BMW Group was middle of the pack in both categories.

The CEO of German car-maker BMW has predicted electromobility and electric cars “will never be cheap”

“BMW offers electric cars in all segments, and of course, if we scale things up, there will be a tendency that things will become cheaper – but electromobility will never be cheap,” Mr Zipse told CNBC.

In Australia, the least-expensive BMW electric car on sale is the iX1, which starts from $82,900 plus on-road costs – $17,000 more than its petrol-powered BMW X1 counterpart.

 

[JohnDe]

The CEO of German car-maker BMW has predicted electromobility and electric cars “will never be cheap”

“BMW offers electric cars in all segments, and of course, if we scale things up, there will be a tendency that things will become cheaper – but electromobility will never be cheap,” Mr Zipse told CNBC.

In Australia, the least-expensive BMW electric car on sale is the iX1, which starts from $82,900 plus on-road costs – $17,000 more than its petrol-powered BMW X1 counterpart.

What's the maintenance & energy cost comparison?

 

[JohnDe]

What's the maintenance & energy cost comparison?

The CEO of German car-maker BMW has predicted electromobility and electric cars “will never be cheap”

“BMW offers electric cars in all segments, and of course, if we scale things up, there will be a tendency that things will become cheaper – but electromobility will never be cheap,” Mr Zipse told CNBC.

In Australia, the least-expensive BMW electric car on sale is the iX1, which starts from $82,900 plus on-road costs – $17,000 more than its petrol-powered BMW X1 counterpart.

Not sure what the BMW EV maintenance cost is, but the Tesla is only a wheel rotation every 10,000km, cabin filter every 2 years, brake fluid every 4 years.

 

[sptrawler]

Hydrogen truck completes the Paris Dakar.

GAUSSIN Successfully Finishes The Dakar Rally Driving The Most Powerful Hydrogen H2 Racing Truck® Ever Built, Sponsored By ARAMCO

This year’s rally, the first for GAUSSIN, was a promising performance for GAUSSIN's hydrogen-powered truck...

fuelcellsworks.com

 

[qldfrog]

Yes, maybe that's why they are saying it isn't coming, yet.

Australia std are not made for macro city cars, as you see in China and Japan.
I can understand it as these cars would be smashed by any of the RAM and F150 style utes.
just matter of weight ratio, not quality or safety equipment etc

 

[sptrawler]

Australia std are not made for macro city cars, as you see in China and Japan.
I can understand it as these cars would be smashed by any of the RAM and F150 style utes.
just matter of weight ratio, not quality or safety equipment etc

It is inevitable IMO.