Is there increasing resistance against EV’s?

[chockswahay]

I think there is actually (me included!).

I'd love one, yet the purchase price, low range, lack of infrastructure, and high charging prices go a long way towards putting me right off!

Thoughts anyone?

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

I think there is actually (me included!).

I'd love one, yet the purchase price, low range, lack of infrastructure, and high charging prices go a long way towards putting me right off!

Thoughts anyone?

My feeling too @chockswahay .
Plus, the increasing demand and unregulated rare earth mineral mining is going to potentially be a big issue environmentally and politically.
First dieselgate, next EVgate?

 

[dspuk]

I would't call it a "backlash" - but for sure the barrier to entry is high and getting worse. From range to price to availability of working infrastructure for charging, the issues today are the same as when I launched the Nissan Leaf.

 

[Azteccamper]

I think there is actually (me included!).

I'd love one, yet the purchase price, low range, lack of infrastructure, and high charging prices go a long way towards putting me right off!

Thoughts anyone?

I like the idea of going ‘EV’ and have looked into since retiring 18 months ago many times. But financially for me it just doesn’t add up. I have a lovely 1.4 TFSI Audi A3 that does all the running around stuff and anything longer than 20 miles we use the Cali (as I believe they need to be used) - which is a couple of days a week. So we are probably prime targets to swop the run around, but when I sit down and do the maths it’s a no brainer.
My heart says do it, my maths brain says why make yourself worse off! The big change in my thoughts came with energy cost increase - now paying £200 p/m more and that would have gone towards an EV.

 

[WelshGas]

I think there is actually (me included!).

I'd love one, yet the purchase price, low range, lack of infrastructure, and high charging prices go a long way towards putting me right off!

Thoughts anyone?

First it was change to Diesel, better for the enviroment and then Dieselgate, so change to EVs, all the hype and less than honest information on their abilities but now the real life experience is coming home to roost.
As a 2nd or 3rd vehicle for City/Town driving and easy access to a home charger, useful for those who can afford them. But for the general population they have a long long way to go before they become mainstream.

 

[GrannyJen]

There should not be a backlash as long as a choice is offered. It's when we get the "No choice ultimatum" of no more ICE cars to be produced post 2030 that a push back occurs. Given that for a large proportion of the motoring public an EV does not represent a viable alternative for many reasons then yes, there will be a backlash.

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

In Koh Samui for a couple of weeks recently and didn’t see a single EV. Just saying.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

In Koh Samui for a couple of weeks recently and didn’t see a single EV. Just saying.

No EV’s but a very strong smell of vehicle fumes in the towns & lots of plastic polluting the beaches.

Had a works trip near there last Sept..this made me laugh..

 

[Vagophile]

I agree with the comments in the first six posts. I have considered an EV, but the initial expense vs likely use means it's not attractive to me. I think that the lack of charging infrastructure ia a major disadvantage and will not be remedied for a long time. In the meantime another form of propulsion (hydrogen) could be developing strongly, given that it can now be used to power aircraft.

 

[willwander]

Is there an increasing backlash against EV's ?
No, just the usual boomers fearing change.

 

[kurienp]

Backlash may be a strong word/incorrect word. Because of discussions such as in the other "which electric car to buy?" thread, and also peoples' experience emerging and being documented, there is more awareness and more data available to aid decisions.

As with any industry, people will classify others as fanboys, naysayers, critical ... etc. based on their own views ... but the more information there, it enables others to take an informed decision.

I would say, where due to the lack of the Internet Infra when Diesel was introduced/started, people came to the realization of the detrimental effects much later ... much after the system was well embedded/established.

With EVs having come at a time where information flow is more free and instant, people are able to take their own decision ... and hence a more a considered decision than a backlash.

... and with the increased availability of information also comes confusion and delayed decisions for many.

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

Is there an increasing backlash against EV's ?
No, just the usual boomers fearing change.

No, just the boomers considering the whole picture not just the hype.

 

[chockswahay]

I agree that 'backlash' may have been too emotive..... changed it to 'resistance' now

 

[willwander]

I agree that 'backlash' may have been to emotive..... changed it to 'resistance' now

Nice pun

 

[chockswahay]

Slight thread drift ..... why call us boomers? you will all get older one day! (well you hope so)

 

[kurienp]

No EV’s but a very strong smell of vehicle fumes in the towns & lots of plastic polluting the beaches.

Had a works trip near there last Sept..this made me laugh..View attachment 104442

Ah! The smell of two strokes burning oil - heavenly not too many of them two strokes left though

 

[WelshGas]

Is there an increasing backlash against EV's ?
No, just the usual boomers fearing change.

Fortunately the " Boomers " have considerable " Life Experience ", and unlike the younger generations can see through the " Hype " and don't believe everything they read on Facebook, Instagram, Tic Toc etc. They are also able to read articles and books that last longer than 30 secs and have words with more than 2 syllables, and also don't depend on video clips from supposed " knowledgeable Celebrities " who rarely have IQs greater than their shoe size.

 

[chockswahay]

Fortunately the " Boomers " have considerable " Life Experience ", and unlike the younger generations can see through the " Hype " and don't believe everything they read on Facebook, Instagram, Tic Toe etc. They are also able to read articles and books that last longer than 30 secs and have words with more than 2 syllables, and also don't depend on video clips from supposed " knowledgeable Celebrities " who rarely have IQs greater than their shoe size.

Haha, I can't believe I'm gonna say this @WelshGas ........ that (rather accurate) statement makes us sound like Boomers!

 

[chockswahay]

Any way, back on topic eh?

 

[chockswahay]

My feeling too @chockswahay .
Plus, the increasing demand and unregulated rare earth mineral mining is going to potentially be a big issue environmentally and politically.
First dieselgate, next EVgate?

C'mon @GrumpyGranddad ..... for you and me it's probably more like the Garden gate!

 

[chockswahay]

Ooops!

 

[willwander]

No, just the boomers considering the whole picture not just the hype.

To people 'of a certain age' ICE and cars are very emotive, after all, it almost defined their generation.
People under 30 don't have this, in fact they hardly care about cars at all.

Boomers, in an effort to remain relevant, offer the only thing they have left, life experience, the ability to say 'I told you so'. If you're under 30 no one cares.

ICE and Oil had a lot of drawbacks, pollution, global warming, oil wars, corruption.
EV's will have a lot of drawbacks, pollution, resource wars, corruption etc.

History is just new people making the same mistakes.

 

[haydnw2]

Fortunately the " Boomers " have considerable " Life Experience ", and unlike the younger generations can see through the " Hype " and don't believe everything they read on Facebook, Instagram, Tic Toc etc. They are also able to read articles and books that last longer than 30 secs and have words with more than 2 syllables, and also don't depend on video clips from supposed " knowledgeable Celebrities " who rarely have IQs greater than their shoe size.

EV made sense for us - I lost the company car when changing job, so was not already wedded to an existing vehicle. Solar PV means cheap charging at home, and since the primary use of the vehicle is shorter trips, it's unlikely that dodgy or pricey external infrastructure is going to significantly disadvantage us.

In terms of individual market factors, I agree that there is currently a big premium on the initial purchase price, and one would hope this will drop over time with scale. There's another seven years before anyone is being "forced" to get an EV (inverted commas because second-hand ICEs will still be available anyway). The last figure I heard was that 2-3% of vehicles in the UK are now BEV or PHEV, so this is still not an overnight sweeping change of the make-up of the UK fleet. I agree that 'resistance' is probably a better word than 'backlash', judging from the people I've spoken to - people like the principle but have some historical drag (e.g. perfectly functional existing vehicle) that means it doesn't make sense to take the leap just yet. I am sure the friction points will reduce over time rather than increasing, particularly as generational attitudes come in to play; those who can change now are setting up the economies of scale that will enable others to do so further down the line.

As regards the technology more generally, I'm sure it won't turn out to be perfect, but the evidence suggests that at the moment it's better than the available, viable alternatives (hydrogen may be promising, but isn't widely available). By "the evidence" I do mean proper peer-reviewed evidence because I am, believe it or not, a millennial with a PhD* and therefore able to do all of the things so confidently stated above as being impossible for someone of my generation.

* Let's agree to skip the bit where I'm told that exams are all so much easier nowadays, and PhDs are handed out like sweets.

 

[flying banana]

Is there an increasing backlash against EV's ?
No, just the usual boomers fearing change.

most people don't fear change, but when that change means forking out the thick end of £40000 instead of a £2k for a runabout off autotrader ,that is something alot of people actually worry about,unlike the fortunate few

 

[Borris]

I think there is actually (me included!).

I'd love one, yet the purchase price, low range, lack of infrastructure, and high charging prices go a long way towards putting me right off!

Thoughts anyone?

And HM Government funneling us all in the direction of mass EV take up. If the government want us to do it then it's almost certainly going to be a bad idea.