[Graeme]

I just took a nap and it wasn’t a very good nap!

I dreamt that it was 2040 or 2050 and there were riots on the streets due to the exorbitant price of electricity at charging stations. People unable to charge their vehicles to go to work, businesses the length and breadth of the country forced to increase their prices to cover their own increased costs too due to the relentless price hikes for a ‘gallon’ of electricity. Secret meetings being held by the former but now outlawed OPEC countries to look at ways of bringing back much cheaper ICE vehicles. Even the BBC’s Question Time has few topics other than the exuberant cost to charge one’s car.

Topic

[ChrisK]

That’s already a reality, not a dream, for folk with ICE cars that can’t afford to buy new EV’s. ?

[DumfriesDik]

For a moment I thought you were going all Martin Luther King!

I fear your dream may become a reality.

I have just gone from a fixed price energy tariff to the standard variable today. I am dreading what the future holds with energy prices. Even the cost of wood has gone up!

Skoda Enyaq Race Blue

[Brydo]

At first glance I wondered how the government could tax this “Even the cost of wood has gone up!” ???? sorry @wmcforum couldn’t resist.

[Graeme]

For me the main problems with EV’s are:

1, not being able to charge at home.

2, 5 mins to fill up a ICE car but forever to charge an EV.

3. a full tank of fuel in a ICE goes further than a fully charged EV

4. with nearly 9k petrol stations in the UK i’m never too far away from being able to fill up.

5. In my current ICE vehicle i always have half a gallon in the boot in case i run out of petrol.

6. in an EV i will hear every word of my ex wife’s conversation.

7. I STILL haven’t got the foggiest idea about all of the different pricing structures for charging an EV;

8. As EV’s gradually take over queuing at charging stations will increasingly become a ‘thing’

 

[DumfriesDik]

1. Don’t bother with an EV

2. EV’s fill up when you are asleep

3. An EV costs a 1/2 of petrol

4. See point 1

5. And that is despite having 9k petrol stations??

6. Play music

7. It’s a bit like different prices and different garages for petrol

8. See point 1

Clearly an EV isn’t for you, and that’s fine. Have a nice day.

Skoda Enyaq Race Blue

[Rene]

As to point #2, without trying to come off smart – the main reason why this is brought up is because you’re set in those ways.

In reality, for the vast majority of journeys, you won’t need to charge in the first place, and if you do, you don’t “fill” it all the way up. You charge as much mileage as you need (in modern EVs, 10 minutes give you 65-100 miles range depending on the model), and fill up at home. If you can’t, it’s still just 35 minutes charging for around 250 miles range.

That means that you need to charge for 10 minutes for a 350-400 mile journey. If you constantly do longer journeys than that, obviously you’re not the main “target” for an EV. I’d argue that the vast majority here does not do regular 500+ mile journeys.

For me personally, that slight inconvenience is made up tenfold by the running costs, especially in these times, where we simply can’t afford to fill up for £200+ per month anymore. Yes, you go further with a full tank of petrol, but you pay considerably more each mile.

Just quickly, no, there’s not 9000 petrol stations in the UK. There’s 8300. That’s almost a 10% overestimate. Second, if 8300 petrol stations is used as an argument for availability.. there’s over 29.000 chargers in the UK, at over 18.000 locations, with almost 50.000 connections, so 8300 petrol stations/locations is really not that great as an argument. We have considerably more chargers around us than petrol stations. Closer, too.

Prior: SEAT Ateca Xcellence Lux 1.5 TSI DSG MY19, VW Golf GTE PHEV DSG MY23
Current: Hyundai Ioniq 6 Ultimate
Next: we'll see what's available in 2028.

[Author]

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