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Electric cars need a sharp drop in price quickly if they are to overtake ICE cars before the 2035 Government ban, says Mike Rutherford
I’m more convinced than ever that the shift from 100 per cent petrol or diesel (ICE) cars to their pure-electric counterparts (EVs) ain’t going to happen in one short, sharp, revolutionary burst.The transition will be more drip, drip than tidal wave – not least because of major problems within the UK’s entrepreneurial, sometimes iffy, EV- charging industry. Then there’s the separate disaster of inadequate Government investment; if the state is willing to seriously consider blowing £100billion-plus on the HS2 rail project, how about a tenth of that on EV infrastructure?
• New petrol, diesel and hybrid-powered cars to be banned by 2035
On top of all this sits another tricky issue: the understandable and justifiable caution on the part of consumers expected to spend their hard-earned cash on EVs that remain considerably more expensive to buy than their petrol or diesel equivalents.
Sadly, the AA in Britain lately seems to offer far fewer instantly recognisable and readable tables spelling out the typical annual all-in costs of buying, insuring, running, refuelling/charging, servicing, then reselling cars with entirely different modes of power. But the equivalent organisation in the US – AAA – has in recent days been getting stuck in, declaring that “owning an electric vehicle is the cure for most consumer concerns” – whatever that’s supposed to mean.
More helpfully, AAA states its new research finds that, after five years/75,000 miles, “the annual cost of owning a small to medium-sized electric vehicle bought new is, on average, only about $600 (£460) a year more expensive than its petrol-powered alternative”. Call it a difference of a quid a day, eh? Put another way – and still solely with money in mind – AAA concludes the “overall” annual cost of small-to-midsize EV ownership is just eight per cent higher than ICE car ownership.
• What is the UK plug-in car grant?
It’s no surprise that in the EV vs ICE financial stakes, EV owners save hundreds a year on fuel, servicing, maintenance, tyres, road user taxes, etc. Conversely, ICE buyers spend hundreds less in finance charges, and are thousands better off when it comes to the big one – vehicle depreciation. This is THE most expensive thing owners of new cars (eventually) have to pay at the stage when they trade in their vehicles, be they ICE or EV.
I’m delighted to see what seems like clear evidence from a respected and unbiased source, albeit one from overseas, saying small-to-medium pure-electric cars are, all things considered, becoming more affordable in terms of all-in standing and running costs. But that affordability gap remains too large. It has to become even smaller – or in some cases, non-existent – if EV purchases are to catch up with and overtake ICE sales.
Manufacturers and dealers have more than enough on their plates already. But they need to somehow ensure (via more attractive buy-back schemes, for example) that their pure-electric cars will only lose as much in depreciation as their internal-combustion counterparts. At that point the EV will equal or beat the ICE in overall cost of ownership terms. And that may mark the beginning of the end for 100 per cent petrol and diesel cars.
The only person who got all his work done by Friday was Robinson Crusoe.
Anything i post over three lines long please assume it is an article lol.
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Mike can talk sense from time to time.
One thing that puzzles me in all this is the sound, or lack of.
Surely EV’s silent running is dangerous. I’ve seen it mentioned from time to time but isn’t this really important? As manufacturers bring out more & more sophisticated safety features, the fact that a silent two ton vehicle can be mowing us all down seems to be up there.
Road noise from the tyres is not really enough. I’ve no idea what the solution is but it needs to be addressed. Maybe a speaker system to pipe out a selective engine sound? Some manufacturers do this for inside the cabin! I can then sound like an old F1 car in a Leaf. ??? I will be remembered for nothing but had great fun doing it ?
Exactumondo! ?
Hadn’t read this to be honest and have heard very little of it. It’s daft though if it can be deactivated.
? I will be remembered for nothing but had great fun doing it ?
Well, the Outlander PHEV apparently has an AVAS system. There is no way of deactivating it, as far as I am aware.
Not 100% on-board with this. I’m a believer in being responsible for yourself. If you don’t have the sense to look before stepping into a road, I’m not sure there’s much help possible. Modern cars have MUCH quieter engines than in previous times, but no-one is demanding a minimum noise level, in fact, the opposite is true, there ARE limits on too noisy.
I appreciate there are some people who can’t see at all and there’s an argument for protecting those individuals, but the majority of blind people tend to either have company, a dog, or a visible white stick, so there are already some systems in place to protect them.
Generally, I’m not a fan of rules for the sake of rules, and I accept that it is very possible, if not probable that my response above is strongly influenced by that attitude.
As regards the original post, however, it’s assuming that Manufacturers are artificially inflating prices. With any new technology, there is (and needs to be) a period of time where there is an aspect of recovering development and reseach costs, so new things are “over-priced” for this VERY good reason. Without the ability to recover start-up costs, no-one would ever start anything and development would be severely reduced.
"Man is born in freedom, but he soon becomes a slave, in cages of convention, from the cradle, to the grave."
To be honest I’m not anti or pro for it but if it saves at least one child’s life it’s gotta be a good thing. Plus it’s not always the pedestrian’s fault. Distracted drivers (phones, looking elsewhere, passenger distraction, etc) can be and are just as much to blame.
Plus I want the 90’s F1 sound in my Nissan Leaf. ?
For me, the lane control devices are more an an issue. If you need to be reminded to stay in lane then perhaps you shouldn’t be on the road!? I will be remembered for nothing but had great fun doing it ?
One thing I don’t get Brydo,
“It’s no surprise that in the EV vs ICE financial stakes, EV owners save hundreds a year on fuel, servicing, maintenance, tyres, road user taxes, etc. Conversely, ICE buyers spend hundreds less in finance charges, and are thousands better off when it comes to the big one – vehicle depreciation”
How does it cost more for tyres on an ICE car than a BEV?
The thing about the noise I agree with and some saying that the blind can look out for themselves ie guide dog etc, those fuzzy creatures rely hugely on their hearing and not their sight.
some saying that the blind can look out for themselves ie guide dog etc
When I said “blind people tend to either have company, a dog, or a visible white stick, so there are already some systems in place to protect them.” my intention was to say that the DRIVER of the EV should be more aware of them, not that they can look out for themselves. While dogs may well depend on hearing as much as sight, pretty sure the white stick is all about BEING seen…
"Man is born in freedom, but he soon becomes a slave, in cages of convention, from the cradle, to the grave."
Re-reading that last post and it comes across as more confrontational than I intended (the joys of text huh?) – it was meant as clarification with a little humour to take away any potential sting, ironically, it may well be the attempt at humour delivering the bigger sting. My apologies if that’s the case.
"Man is born in freedom, but he soon becomes a slave, in cages of convention, from the cradle, to the grave."
Hmm, I’m more worried about smartphone addicts sporting a phone in front of their face & wireless ear buds simply walking out in front of me anyway, ICE engine or EV with a soundtrack. After all, I’ll have see the blind person & assume they may well step out without realising, but the smartphone addict will step out & dent my car at random, probably when I’m parked, & they’ll find the charge cable & trip over that too.
That’s okay Colin, I get the misconstrued text thing with the missus every 1 in 3 so no worries, I wasn’t having a go I just know that guide dogs rely heavily on hearing and I can’t imagine what it must be like for a blind person trying to cross a road full of noisy cars never mind a load of stealth runners.
As for paying more attention we’re all guilty of missing things happening around us, it doesn’t take much to shift your attention away for just a second with all the plebs on the roads these days and as for the idiots that are glued to their phone while just walking into the road without ever looking away from the screen I can only think it’s a way of thinning the herd with natural selection and removing certain genetic deficiencies from the gene-pool . ???
I just get frustrated by the whole lack of responsibility – they want me to be 100% responsible if johnny “can’t take his eyes off of his phone” steps into the road – engine noise or not, that’s HIS bloody fault lol. My 7-year-old has more gadgets than you can shake a stick at and HE knows to stop and look – if a 7-year-old can do it, why can’t the idiot with the square eyes?
Before anyone pipes up, my 7-year-old has never crossed a road unsupervised in his life, but hopefully, with his nagging PITA dad hassling him every time we get to a road, when he does, he’ll still look!
Making cars noisier isn’t the solution in any way – I can pretty much guarantee there are more people walking around with noise-cancelling headphones on than there are blind people – they’re probably more of a danger and a little buzzer annoying the hell out of everyone else isn’t going to help.
"Man is born in freedom, but he soon becomes a slave, in cages of convention, from the cradle, to the grave."
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