The time has come to address the elephant in the room. EVs. Not just Tesla but all EV’s, from all manufacturers. Ford, GM, Mercedes-Benz VW. I’ve been meaning to post up this read for a long time and then think I’ll put it off as the BIG EV announcement is about to come. But then next week there's another...
Now that Ford EU has announced that all new models introduced from 2030 will be EV it can no longer be ignored.
As of today, we have about 12 full Electric propulsion vehicles available for sale in Australia, these range from the MG ZS at around $46,000 one end through to the Porsche Taycan Turbo S at the other, at about 10 times the price of the MG.
The number one issue with EVs is without question the initial purchase price, closely followed by range anxiety and a lack of charge points particularly in regional areas.
For mine I see that an EV that may be the second car in the form of the MG ZS or the Hyundai Kona, or even the mini Cooper SE, all of which are small commuter cars with limited range but easily able to be used on a weekly commute to and from work, charging at home overnight without much drama. They would fail miserably as a vehicle to take on a family holiday. But as most households have more than one car these days the other car could easily be a traditional SUV or twin cab Ute.
A key driver in this change is something that none of us can control, it is the global shift. With markets, in Europe and Asia, the main ones being the UK and India, mandating the sale of zero-emission vehicles from 2035, in some cases earlier. What we use Australian consumers do will have little or no impact, as the production of internal combustion engines will cease. We will have no option.
Other drivers are the announcement by GM that all their passenger cars and light trucks will be EV by 2035, not that GM has a presence here in Aus anymore, but they are still a global heavyweight. It's also creating a new age of auto manufacturing with the introduction of new brands which were yet to see in Australia such as Lucid and Rivian whose battery tech and innovation could easily turn the entire market on its head.
I believe the leaders in this field in 10 years’ time will be of course Tesla, the Volkswagen Group (VAG have so far invested USD$60 billion in their EV program, but that's possibly less than the diesel-gate fines) Ford possibly through its investment in Rivian. The head of VW has stated that Tesla is 5 years ahead of them in tech. However, it's fair to say VW and Ford are 100 years ahead of Tesla in vehicle manufacturing. So we will see where that lands.
The advantages with EV other than low emissions are instant acceleration and low running costs. There are significantly fewer wear parts to worry about, there is no oil to change there is no transmission to fail there is no cooling system to spring a leak and as most use regenerative braking to recharge the battery during deceleration brake pad wear is minimal. In fact it Tesla scheduled servicing is an annual $300 inspection. No doubt eventually you will need to replace tyres, brakes, windscreens, and everything else but that is no different to any other car.
On mains power here in VIC which does not have cheap power by world standards, it costs between $9 and $13 to fully charge a vehicle overnight. That off the grid in Vic. Obviously, if you have solar panels or some other low-cost energy source that cost will reduce. Over friend who is the owner of a Tesla Model 3 Performance, and has a large solar array on his roof and a power wall battery, his wife has a BMW 330 E, which is a PHEV so only has a limited range on full Electric of about 50 km, but between them, they will be lucky to spend hundred dollars a year on fuel or fast charging, as they simply plug in their cars at home and they charge just like we do with our phones. It’s a mind shift.
Research has shown that even in Victoria with our dirty brown coal, a vehicle charge from the grid emits 1/5 of the emissions that an ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) equivalent does.
For mine, I’m looking forward to this move. Whilst an EV lacks the theatre that is a rumbling V8 that we love there is a certain reality around the fact that that is also gone by the wayside, and there is effectively no V8’s available other than expensive European cars. And even they are disappearing. So when you talk about they lack the sound, the silence it may not be like a cranky Cleveland, but is probably better than diesel Hi-Lux with a muffler removed.
Discuss..
