Are we on the brink of an electric car revolution?

[adam2]

But were the two batteries in series for 24 volts, or in parallel for twice the capacity at 12 volts, or even independent for duty and reserve, or for engine starting/other purposes.

[kenneal - lagger]

What we need are more ver small e-cars like the Chinese ones referred to in this article together with the Citroen Ami. They take up a lot less space and are much more economical, something that most people in the west have been urged to forget about in the quest for constant growth. Prices for these start at under £4k in China.

[adam2]

Agree entirely. The main problem is that even a small electric car requires a full licence and expensive insurance.

In France, and some other parts of Europe, a small and lightweight car known as a VSP can be driven on the road by almost anyone over 14 without a driving licence. They are limited to 28MPH.

VSP is an abbreviation that may be loosely translated as "yours without permit"
Also known as "oldie killers" Though in fact serious accidents are not that common.

They are invariably powered by a small and not very efficient petrol engine, but an electric version could be manufactured. An electric version could be powered by simple low technology lead acid batteries and charged from any standard domestic outlet.

I wonder if such should be considered here ?
Much safer than two wheels for the young.
Cheap and simple.
Less fuel used and less wear on roads.
Might encourage lower speeds generally.

It would certainly be a welcome change from the accepted wisdom that "faster, heavier, bigger" is the way forward for road vehicles.

[kenneal - lagger]

..................It would certainly be a welcome change from the accepted wisdom that "faster, heavier, bigger" is the way forward for road vehicles.

But we come up against the need for economic growth again so larger vehicles are "better" and more desirable than smaller ones.

[PS_RalphW]

Last month in the UK 1 in 4 new cars had a plug, and a further 1 in 4 were a mild hybrid. Pure diesel cars were less than 7%

[PS_RalphW]

A small French company has got (french) government backing to develop small, retrofit electric conversion kits to existing popular small petrol and diesel models at a target price of 5-8000 Euros installed.

They would be relatively low power and 15KWh battery and 60 miles real world range. No report on the recharging time, probably only 7KW so 2 - 3 hours for a full charge.

The kits would be exported and your local garage would be trained to install them. Target installation time 4 hours.

The plan is to electrify the existing fleet with the smallest possible consumption of new resources. Obviously this is aimed at the city and shorter commute market. Even the gearbox and final drivetrain to the wheels are retained, and there are minimal changes in the cabin and driving controls.

Hopes to go into production inside 12 months.

This has the potential to fill a very large gap in the market.

[Potemkin Villager]

I spotted my first Tesla today parked in the town square.

Rather nondescript looking apart from a large LCD display
saying "The owner is away but when they return the cabin temperature will still be 19 C
thanks to the air conditioning.".

[johnny]

I spotted my first Tesla today parked in the town square.

Rather nondescript looking apart from a large LCD display
saying "The owner is away but when they return the cabin temperature will still be 19 C
thanks to the air conditioning.".

First? Can't swing a dead cat around here without hitting one, the wife parks beside 4 or 5 of them at the EV parking lot at the bank. And a Mach-E, a BMW i3, and two other Leafs.

Are they not as popular in the UK as they are in the States?

[clv101]

Tesla Model 3 is the best selling car in the UK. There are lots, even in my relatively poor part of the country.

[adam2]

I do not drive and never have, but sometimes feel a little guilty about use of diesel burning taxis.

I am therefore very pleased to report that a local taxi firm now have two 100% electric cars, I now feel less guilty. An electric taxi is not of course guilt free since some of the electricity to charge it is from fossil fuel. Better than diesel/petrol though. And better still if charged at night since wind power is a greater percentage of nighttime electricity production.

[PS_RalphW]

Cambridge wiil only issue new taxi licences to EVs, and have done for a couple of years. The only rapid charge stations in the city are for use by taxis only. Regardless, Cambridge is awash with EVs these days.

[PS_RalphW]

Government has cancelled the electric car subsidy entirely. It was reduced to 1500 pounds 6 months ago. Only taxis vans and special vehicles now get it.

Duty on petrol and diesel was reduced by 5p a litre recently. Expect to see subsidies on public transport reduced soon.

[kenneal - lagger]

I would have thought that the logical thing to do would be increase the subsidy on public transport to ease the burden on the government's red wall voters. We will see in due course, I suppose.

[Potemkin Villager]

Regardless, Cambridge is awash with EVs these days.

That may be so but 95% of the cars on the uk roads are still petrol or diesel. EVs will remain very boutique with
well heeled early adopters for some time, possibly forever. This is because a significant level of adoption is a long way off and possibly receding
as they become more out of reach of an ever growing percentage of the population.

It would be interesting to know the level of theft of EVs as they are certainly objects of desire. Many folk would not turn one down a dodgy car for the right price.

The problem I have with EVs is that they encourage the overall greenwash narrative that bau, conspicuous consumption et al can be sustained by painless technical fixes and we can smugly motor, with a clear conscience, in our exclusive private vehicles towards the unlikely nirvana of the low carbon sunny uplands.

[automaticearth2]

Around here, everyone (well, mainly the young) are whizzing around on e-scooters whether they be fully legal ones offered by companies such as SPIN (bright orange ones) or TIER (bright green ones).

There are also plenty of folk going around on illegal ones on cycle paths or pavements.

I'm starting to a fair few electric cars now, but suspect the uptake will be still fairly slow, unless something changes quickly, but this doesn't seem to be the case currently.