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[Technology] The In no way official Electric Car thread



nwgull

Well-known member
Jul 25, 2003
14,533
Manchester
I wasn’t really looking at electric cars until I got an email sent to me regarding company car tax and how it’s 0% this year, moving to 1% next year. That got my attention and I might start looking now.

This is what prompted me to go fully electric earlier this year. Although having had my car (an iPace) for about 8 months now, I think I'd be a convert even without the tax incentives.
 




middletoenail

Well-known member
Jul 2, 2008
3,580
Hong Kong
I really like NIO, they're kind of the Chinese competitor to Tesla. Their model is quite interesting in that they operate battery swap out/swap in centres that are very similar to a petrol station, in so much that you drive in and get your battery replaced in about 3 minutes.

It's worth taking a look at this video to get an idea. I might be biased because I'm an investor, but you can't deny they're a cool company!

https://youtu.be/hTsrDpsYHrw
 


Springal

Well-known member
Feb 12, 2005
24,780
GOSBTS
I was tempted by one this time but the financials didn't quite stack up just yet. I like the look of the Audi E-Tron and JLR look like they are making some huge moves towards going all electric.

For smaller cars look like there are plenty of options on the market. You can lease a Nissan Leaf or Hyondai Ioniq for not a lot at the moment. Big incentive to company car leases as mentioned above
 


Audax

Boing boing boing...
Aug 3, 2015
3,263
Uckfield
Unfortunately last year my company stopped allowing us to take a company car and we now have to take what was the company car allowance as cash (and get it taxed into oblivion as a result :censored:) because some bean counter looked at the BIK changes for petrol / diesel vehicles and concluded it was no longer cost effective to let us take the car. They completely missed the advantages of full electric.

However, when I went and ran the numbers, for me it actually made sense to go electric anyway. Well, it did pre-lockdown anyway... And will again once we're back to working in the office. Ultimately, the cost of a 4 year high-mileage lease on a Zoe, combined with the fact my office has free charging points, and I have solar at home (more free charging), and the money I would save on fuel and the Zoe worked out cheaper for my budget than my company car Prius was over the previous 4 years.

I suspect for many who look at the costs, they do forget to include in the calculation how much they can save in fuel costs. I know not everyone is as lucky as I am in having easy access to free / extreme low cost charging options, but even for those who don't it doesn't take too much research now to find places where you can charge for a lot less than filling up in a forecourt. In the last few months the Tesco's in Lewes and Uckfield have installed EV charging bays.

And again, as with my earlier post today, we're not far away from hitting a tipping point where access to charging will vegin to improve significantly. The likes of BP, for example, are already a long way advanced in plans to convert some of their existing sites from petrol/diesel to EV. That'll be a game changer when it starts happening I think.
 


GOM

living vicariously
Aug 8, 2005
3,259
Leeds - but not the dirty bit
I bought an MG ZS EV last November, absolutely love it. Range is 'only' 160ish miles but when I thought about it before buying I realised I did very few journeys a year more than that.
Lucky I have off road parking so have a box in the driveway and charge whenever needed for pennies, also a free dispense rapid charger half a mile down the road. Also get free parking in local council car parks and pay and display areas/streets.

They are expensive at the moment but many people are taking the lease option and then see what is available/cost in 3 years time. You could have got my car for about £220 a month when I bought mine.
 




Audax

Boing boing boing...
Aug 3, 2015
3,263
Uckfield
Worth a read: https://www.theguardian.com/busines...ndreds-of-times-more-waste-than-electric-cars

Not the best written / researched article (very light on detail), but hits the key takeaways from the source material.

I believe there's also already been research done in Europe that confirms that EV's are already (and that's before the most recent advances, IIRC the report was published in 2019) more cost effective than ICE when you look at total cost of ownership over a multi-year period. You pay more for an EV upfront, but the running costs are lower and you do eventually come out better off.
 


nwgull

Well-known member
Jul 25, 2003
14,533
Manchester
I really like NIO, they're kind of the Chinese competitor to Tesla. Their model is quite interesting in that they operate battery swap out/swap in centres that are very similar to a petrol station, in so much that you drive in and get your battery replaced in about 3 minutes.

It's worth taking a look at this video to get an idea. I might be biased because I'm an investor, but you can't deny they're a cool company!

https://youtu.be/hTsrDpsYHrw

Can you charge the battery at a charger as well? It'd be annoying to not be able to up at home prior to a long journey.
 






May 5, 2020
1,525
Sussex
I like the Tesla Truck,it's the only electric vehicle I like the look of at the moment.
Only trouble is I can't afford one and have no way of charging it without running a cable all over the neighborhood.
If I could choose one though it would be the Tesla Truck.
I was watching a car programme and the model T ford was the main feature and I wondered if the Tesla Truck would be the model T ford of the future.
 


zefarelly

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 7, 2003
22,786
Sussex, by the sea
The prices are eye watering at the mo but hopefully by the end of the decade, they will have come down, capacities and ranges will have increased and there will be a grater number of charge points/options. £30K for an eVW up is too much - despite it being the ideal urban get about.

I am more interested in emotorbikes. 50mph with 60 miles range would do it and is in range financially.

I'm looking at a decent, sporting saloon, with very efficient petrol engine ( for the performance )

Have been considering electric for a small car as a family, and would jump at an electric conversion for a Lambretta. 60-70 mph and 80-100 mph range, I'm in!
 


dolphins

Well-known member
Jan 26, 2012
5,660
BN1, in GOSBTS
Yesterday afternoon I ordered the 2021 variant of the Tesla Model 3, through my wife's work as they are doing a special deal thingie, akin to getting a company car, but the choice is purely an EV. So, making a reasonable saving over the normal retail. My mum passed away last August so it's a way of using some of the money inherited from her, to do something tangible with it. Been tempted by an EV for a while and have done lots of research into it, and settled on the Model 3 as ticking all the boxes (for me). We insisted that it was the 2021 edition due to the small but significant changes made to the older, 2020 edition. Lucky in having a driveway so will get a charging point installed, hopefully without too much hassle. I was interested to see the earlier post on this thread talking about council chargers being free, if I read that correctly. If so, that's excellent and should help with overall take-up. Presume they are lamp-post ones? You would think B&H Council will want to encourage EVs as much as possible, so providing a lot of chargers is a good start.

The new car isn't due until mid-May so got a bit of time to get ready, thankfully. Will probably look to move my BHA number plate over from my old car (which one of my sons is having).
 




A mex eyecan

Well-known member
Nov 3, 2011
3,872
I wasn’t really looking at electric cars until I got an email sent to me regarding company car tax and how it’s 0% this year, moving to 1% next year. That got my attention and I might start looking now.

it will soon move nearer standard cars tax levels, you can be assured of that
 


Seasidesage

New member
May 19, 2009
4,467
Brighton, United Kingdom
Yesterday afternoon I ordered the 2021 variant of the Tesla Model 3, through my wife's work as they are doing a special deal thingie, akin to getting a company car, but the choice is purely an EV. So, making a reasonable saving over the normal retail. My mum passed away last August so it's a way of using some of the money inherited from her, to do something tangible with it. Been tempted by an EV for a while and have done lots of research into it, and settled on the Model 3 as ticking all the boxes (for me). We insisted that it was the 2021 edition due to the small but significant changes made to the older, 2020 edition. Lucky in having a driveway so will get a charging point installed, hopefully without too much hassle. I was interested to see the earlier post on this thread talking about council chargers being free, if I read that correctly. If so, that's excellent and should help with overall take-up. Presume they are lamp-post ones? You would think B&H Council will want to encourage EVs as much as possible, so providing a lot of chargers is a good start.

The new car isn't due until mid-May so got a bit of time to get ready, thankfully. Will probably look to move my BHA number plate over from my old car (which one of my sons is having).

If my and a couple of colleagues experience is anything to go by, don't be surprised if you suddenly get a text telling you your car is being delivered early All three people I know who ordered one this has happened to. Managing expectations I guess.
 


SAC

Well-known member
May 21, 2014
2,631
Can the batteries be stolen from under the car? I had my catalytic converter stolen when my car was parked in a busy car park in daylight. Had to pay excess and lost my NCD.
 






dolphins

Well-known member
Jan 26, 2012
5,660
BN1, in GOSBTS
If my and a couple of colleagues experience is anything to go by, don't be surprised if you suddenly get a text telling you your car is being delivered early All three people I know who ordered one this has happened to. Managing expectations I guess.

Mmm, interesting - thanks for this. Was this through Zenith?
 


Goldstone1976

We Got Calde in!!
Helpful Moderator
NSC Patron
Apr 30, 2013
14,124
Herts
Yesterday afternoon I ordered the 2021 variant of the Tesla Model 3, through my wife's work as they are doing a special deal thingie, akin to getting a company car, but the choice is purely an EV. So, making a reasonable saving over the normal retail. My mum passed away last August so it's a way of using some of the money inherited from her, to do something tangible with it. Been tempted by an EV for a while and have done lots of research into it, and settled on the Model 3 as ticking all the boxes (for me). We insisted that it was the 2021 edition due to the small but significant changes made to the older, 2020 edition. Lucky in having a driveway so will get a charging point installed, hopefully without too much hassle. I was interested to see the earlier post on this thread talking about council chargers being free, if I read that correctly. If so, that's excellent and should help with overall take-up. Presume they are lamp-post ones? You would think B&H Council will want to encourage EVs as much as possible, so providing a lot of chargers is a good start.

The new car isn't due until mid-May so got a bit of time to get ready, thankfully. Will probably look to move my BHA number plate over from my old car (which one of my sons is having).

If I said I was your wife's long lost brother, do you reckon I'd get the special deal thingy too?
 


carlzeiss

Well-known member
May 19, 2009
6,234
Amazonia
Can the batteries be stolen from under the car? I had my catalytic converter stolen when my car was parked in a busy car park in daylight. Had to pay excess and lost my NCD.

Think the whole car would have to be stolen to remove the batteries . Got rid of my Toyota Hybrid due to the catalytic converter theft problem . At least with a full EV there is no cat .
 






Driver8

On the road...
NSC Patron
Jul 31, 2005
16,212
North Wales
Can the batteries be stolen from under the car? I had my catalytic converter stolen when my car was parked in a busy car park in daylight. Had to pay excess and lost my NCD.

Not on a Tesla. It’s also very hard to steal the car unless you literally tow it away (with alarm blearing), and even then you can find it using GPS.
 


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