Are we being forced to go electric?

[CXRAndy]

T8 surely.

Yes you're correct

 

[gbb]

It'd be interesting to see where EV take up is heaviest, and i suspect it's company vehicles where the driver is more interested in the (very generous) tax break. Unless your quite well off or buy a smaller more affordable EV, the majority are pie in the sky for average Joe I'd have thought, let alone whether you have the money to install appropriate charging at home.

I have no love nor hate for them, for me its simple, anything reasonably affordable is already half way or worse through its battery life, the infrastructure (lamppost parking perhaps) doesn't exist to suit the average person in most estates (and likely never will based on length of streets vs volume of carSo how many EVs are privately owned ? Or are company vehicles with all the tax incentives are supporting virtually the whole concept.

 

[simongt]

And now that the much vaunted BritishVolt has gone to the wall, what next for the great Brexit infrastructure regarding EVs - ?

 

[tinywheels]

I'm driving to seville in a couple months.
If you think I'm going in an ev your barking mad
When the price of electrical cars,plus the range is comparable to petrol vehicles, then I might think again.
The last electrical car I drove,a leaf was awful.
charges at public chargers are outrageous
I really wanted an ioniq but the real world intruded.
I can refuel anywhere in 5 minutes for minimal cost,then hit the autoroute.
Bugger waiting in line for a charger,then scratching my arse for an hour or so as it juices itself.
Hey ho it's the open road for this mr Toad.

 

[tinywheels]

It'd be interesting to see where EV take up is heaviest, and i suspect it's company vehicles where the driver is more interested in the (very generous) tax break. Unless your quite well off or buy a smaller more affordable EV, the majority are pie in the sky for average Joe I'd have thought, let alone whether you have the money to install appropriate charging at home.

I have no love nor hate for them, for me its simple, anything reasonably affordable is already half way or worse through its battery life, the infrastructure (lamppost parking perhaps) doesn't exist to suit the average person in most estates (and likely never will based on length of streets vs volume of carSo how many EVs are privately owned ? Or are company vehicles with all the tax incentives are supporting virtually the whole concept.

your spot on matey.
as a company lease,I can get a leccy vehicle for little cash.
unless you have a home charger, and don't want to travel far then don't even think about it.

 

[CXRAndy]

I'm driving to seville in a couple months.
If you think I'm going in an ev your barking mad
When the price of electrical cars,plus the range is comparable to petrol vehicles, then I might think again.
The last electrical car I drove,a leaf was awful.
charges at public chargers are outrageous
I really wanted an ioniq but the real world intruded.
I can refuel anywhere in 5 minutes for minimal cost,then hit the autoroute.
Bugger waiting in line for a charger,then scratching my arse for an hour or so as it juices itself.
Hey ho it's the open road for this mr Toad.

I would not do it either in my Leaf.

But

I would in my Model S

It is approximately 1500 miles from our home to Seville, a two extraordinary long days drive. It would require 7 maybe 8 stops, every 200miles. This is my absolute max drive period not the car, equates to 3.5-4 hours per 200 miles. Breaking that down further
Day one leave fully charged, charge twice on the route and once overnight.

Repeat day two.

Now it would hardly cost me a penny, my car has lifetime free supercharging worldwide. So I'd only pay for slower overnight charging.

There are plenty of superchargers in France and Spain

I know its a bloody long way having done something very similar on motorcycles. We took over 10 hours from northern France to Barcelona, doing over 100mph between fuel stops in one day. Stupid scheduling, reckless riding when I was much younger.

Use the vehicle which is designed for the job.

I don't know the costs now but it's was £100 to travel across France on the Autoroutes. I bet it's much more now. So what you think you're saving will cost you considerably more than my EV

 

[CXRAndy]

This is the future


View: https://youtu.be/fKWe1R1bWOM



View: https://youtu.be/38wrIDWsvIE


I'm very interested in doing this too

 

[tinywheels]

I'm not particularly worried about the cost,I travel to Spain most years.
Sorry matey, I don't need range anxiety, I don't need the hassle of queing for a charger,or finding one that works.
I like to run my air con and associated gadgets as I drive.
I can lease a tesla for 450 a month,but I like to avoid stress,so I will stick to my petrol drive for the moment.

 

[CXRAndy]

I don't need range anxiety, I don't need the hassle of queing for a charger,or finding one that works.
I like to run my air con and associated gadgets as I drive.
I can lease a tesla for 450 a month,but I like to avoid stress,

There is no range anxiety with Tesla's, queueing or working superchargers. I run my aircon as well.

That's a decent lease and the BIK would be like £30 compared to equivalent £ 400/month for a petrol car.

I do understand if you're averse to stress, anxiety can be a real problem for some

 

[Fastpedaller]

This is the future


View: https://youtu.be/fKWe1R1bWOM



View: https://youtu.be/38wrIDWsvIE


I'm very interested in doing this too

That may give a problem...... 'Specials', Kit Cars, and Motorhome Conversion (to name but 3 types of vehicles) have to undergo IVA (Individual Vehicle Approval) when they undergo major changes in order to be approved for road use. This is usually a straightforward (cost c £500) mechanical 'super MOT if you like' at the VOSA station (as long as all is in compliance), and they check everything including grades of fixing bolts, sharp edges of trim etc. The issue with electric is that there is nothing set up within IVA to check the systems at present, so there is another test (I can't recall its name) which needs to be checked at MIRA and the cost is c£5000. Unless vehicles which are 'converted to electric' have passed these tests, a driver could find themselves with a vehicle which is incorrectly registered and it's unlikely they would be covered by insurance, they would be breaching Construction and Use laws to boot....... Not a good position to be in. Furthermore, their vehicle would be taken off the road, so only useful as a track car.

 

[icowden]

All cars "could" do 100 mph - there are very few that can't !

A slight digression but when I were a lad back in the 80s, my best mate drove a Lada Riva. His dad was Army and would only get Lada's as they were cheap and you could just bolt on cheap replacement bits. We did spend one memorable trip back to Wiltshire on a roman road with a good downhill, trying to get the Lada to do the tonne. The speedometer finished at around 90mph as I recall so we had no idea if we made it or not...

 

[CXRAndy]

That may give a problem...... 'Specials', Kit Cars, and Motorhome Conversion (to name but 3 types of vehicles) have to undergo IVA (Individual Vehicle Approval) when they undergo major changes in order to be approved for road use. This is usually a straightforward (cost c £500) mechanical 'super MOT if you like' at the VOSA station (as long as all is in compliance), and they check everything including grades of fixing bolts, sharp edges of trim etc. The issue with electric is that there is nothing set up within IVA to check the systems at present, so there is another test (I can't recall its name) which needs to be checked at MIRA and the cost is c£5000. Unless vehicles which are 'converted to electric' have passed these tests, a driver could find themselves with a vehicle which is incorrectly registered and it's unlikely they would be covered by insurance, they would be breaching Construction and Use laws to boot....... Not a good position to be in. Furthermore, their vehicle would be taken off the road, so only useful as a track car.

I quickly found this https://www.joinbonnet.com/post/ev-conversion-law-uk

Please link to specific legislation prohibiting the ease of EV conversions

 

[bobzmyunkle]

I quickly found this https://www.joinbonnet.com/post/ev-conversion-law-uk

Interesting article.

I read this 'Installing an electric car conversion kit is not a walk in the park. It might take several hours to do it properly, and there are chances of messing up' and thought I might have 'several hours' spare at the weekend.

Luckily I read further

'The time needed for EV conversion will depend on the make and model of the car, as well as your skills. However, you would generally need around 800-1,200 hours to convert a petrol car to electric using specialist tools and equipment'

Of course several means more than one - in this case about a thousand.
Not this weekend then.

 

[Fastpedaller]

This is from the government regarding radically altered vehicles
You must follow all the instructions for registering a new vehicle.

You’ll need to include the following with your application:

• form V627/1 - ‘Built up vehicle inspection report’
• evidence of type approval, if necessary
• the vehicle log book (V5C)
• official receipts for any parts used
• photographs of the vehicle

I'll try to find the info ref electric test - I know there was something in Complete Kit Car magazine about a guy having great discussion with DVLA

 

[Alex321]

Interesting article.

I read this 'Installing an electric car conversion kit is not a walk in the park. It might take several hours to do it properly, and there are chances of messing up' and thought I might have 'several hours' spare at the weekend.

Luckily I read further

'The time needed for EV conversion will depend on the make and model of the car, as well as your skills. However, you would generally need around 800-1,200 hours to convert a petrol car to electric using specialist tools and equipment'

Of course several means more than one - in this case about a thousand.
Not this weekend then.

I think that must have been a misprint, because earlier in the article, in the key points at the top, it says it can take anything from days to months.

Thath "several hours" later must have been intended to be "several days"