The EV is the new Concorde, and it won’t work any better. The Concorde was so noisy they had to travel mostly over oceans, which cost a lot. It was only good across the ocean to Europe.
“In the 1960s and 1970s, the French and British Governments invested heavily in the development of Concorde to provide a supersonic flight for everyman…
“Once British Airways and Air France started using Concorde to provide supersonic flight on routes to the US and Far East, environmental problems quickly emerged. The aircraft’s very loud take-off noise was disturbing, and the sonic boom it generated in supersonic flight was so invasive that it was forced to slow down over land or stick to routes that were mostly over the oceans, a severe setback to its economics…”
The costs were so high to operate the thing that only the rich could afford the tickets. It was a beautiful piece of engineering but would never be a commercial success. It only lasted 27 years, and companies lost a great deal of money.
The author of the article linked here is British, so we’re talking BEVs at times, but it applies to all EVs.
Commercial car makers around the world have subsidized these cars and invested billions of dollars. The early BEV sales were to wealthy people. Car fleets have been the backbone of sales. The tax relief enticed buyers.
However, over the last few months, BEV sales have stalled in many parts of the world, and unsold stock has started piling up at ports and on lots.
These cars will possibly be dumped and scrapped as they become dated and unsold.
“The man in the street has failed to embrace BEVs for the same reason he failed to embrace Concorde nearly 50 years ago: the extra cost – of order £10,000 per vehicle – represents an insurmountable barrier.”…
Insurance costs are higher because some batteries spontaneously combust. It can lead to disaster.
“While oil and gas are widespread commodities, with numerous suppliers around the world, the materials for BEV batteries are mostly controlled by China. Expansion of the EV market will reap rich rewards for Beijing (while simultaneously causing immense environmental damage), and limited supplies combined with rising demand will push up prices still further.”
“Another source of cost inflation is human resources. We will need 40,000 professional engineers for the next 30 years just to expand the electricity supply industry – generation, transmission, and distribution – to cope with the 170 percent increase in demand required by the planned transition to all-electric transport and heating, both industrial and domestic. Staff to repair BEVs already appear to be in short supply.”…
“The energy density is still 40 times worse than petrol. Experts suggest that the best we can hope for is an improvement by a factor of two over the next 50 years.
The big problem this time, over Concorde days, is the government has decided you will buy EVs and like it!
You can comment on the article after the ads and subscribe to the Daily Newsletter here if you would like a quick view of the articles of the day and any late news:
I’ve been saying for a LONG time that if the government spends a lot of money advertising something or subsidizing something, DO NOT BUY IT!
If I am not mistaken the Concord – to go faster than the speed of sound – was using 8 times more fuel than a jumbo jet, but it carried less people, which in part explains the very cost of the plane tickets…and that fuel also meant more pollution.
Back in the 90s I had a collection of over 70 hours ( on video cassettes) of documentaries about airplanes.
The Concord was noisy so noisy most city refused to let it land and take off from there.
The Concord was a bad idea.
… … …
Now about EVs
did you know the hot sun of places such as California reduce the power of the battery ? and also reduce the life of the battery ?
and the cold winters of places such as Canada also reduce the power of the battery?
Elon musk in a recent interview said you should not charge the battery to more than 80% and never let it go below 20%
that leaves you with a 60% window…which means if the car has a maximum range of 300 miles, you can only drive for 60 % of that, which is 180 miles…
and that is in ideal conditions
if you are in hot California that already short range is reduced by at least 20 % , meaning your 180 mile range has shrunk to 145 miles…
and in cold Canada that range is cut by at least 40 %
, meaning your 180 mile range has shrunk to 108 miles
To compare ; My Kia with its 4 cylinder gas engine does well over 400 miles summer or winter.
EVs as they are today are a very bad idea.
Maybe in the future they will be better but as they are now they are a disaster.
We the people will decide what’s best for us….
As America’s Gilded Age came to a close, the internal combustion engine(ICE) was born. By 1920, ICE were growing in popularity, replacing the horse. By 1930 many middle class families had a car. By 1950, even lower income Americans had cars. That’s what happened.
So, what didn’t happen? There was no government program to wean Americans off horses. Horse feed and pastures were not taxed to get riders out of the saddle and behind the steering wheel. People went from the horse based transportation to ICE because the ICE was measurably better. There was a niche for horses, but their use has continued to shrink, with the advent of 4 wheel drive trucks, dirt bikes and drones.
Now, think about EVs and their charging requirements. If you charge your EV at home, it may be economical, however that won’t be the case if you have to drive greater distances. Where will you find charging stations? You’ll have to download the EVCS app, to stay current on location and pricing. Who will own and operate the EVCS? Local, state or federal governments? When was the last time you visited a “government” gas station?
My prediction is, Big E or Big P or some other bigly entity will own and franchise charging stations. You’ll pay for the juice and the speed of the recharge. Yes, the poor, will have to be at the slow charging ports, but, if we didn’t have poor people, who would use the slow charging ports? Anyway, EVCS will eventually be franchised outlets, everywhere.
How much will you pay for your EVCS visit? More than at home. The business will have to charge 5 to 6 times(?) the cost of a home recharge. The costs are the same for any small business including capital costs, insurance, taxes, maintenance and upgrade costs. I haven’t heard what the plan is, if there is a grid failure, but I’m sure it’s a good one.
And all of this is just wasted debate time. The auto companies are scaling back or cutting EV production all together.
You hit nail on the head. So, what didn’t happen? There was no government program. Every government program has only caused problems.
The government has done nothing but to subvert innovation by destroying the free market with mandates and government subsidies , or in the form of bailout, same thing; only benefits corporate monopolies and bankers for the short term. It does nothing, only subverts and prohibits the free market and innovation.
Time and Time Again, at the Tax Payers Expense. Bailout After Bailout. When a business fails, there is a reason. Dumping money into (failing company.) is never a wise thing to do.
There are too many issues with EVs to make them successful for people. The biggest is cost to buy one, operate one (cost of EV is $17 per gal vs ICE per in depth study), and insurance is much higher.
To add to a “marvelous” comment: the efficiency of the charging of the EV also depends on the *quality* of the device in the EV that “converts” the electricity to charge the battery. In some EVs it’s as has high as 30-40% loss of electricity during the conversion process.
They’re not practical for all applications,, but for someone that produces their own power’ and for around town and short trips. What I don’t like is that they’re all being made to be dependent on software and computer flat screen crap. Same as all the new combustion engine vehicles, junk!. They do not make any new vehicles today that I would even want to own.