Electric Vehicles
- www.economist.com Britain’s unusual stance on Chinese electric vehicles
Unlike America or Europe, Britain is welcoming the cheap cars—for now
> BYD clearly hopes to pitch its vehicles as aspirational. But their real allure is that they are affordable. One model on display, the Dolphin, sells for around £25,000 ($33,000); British car reviewers have called the pricing “attractive” and “impressively low”. What really worries BYD’s Western rivals is that there is plenty of room for prices to fall. In China the Dolphin sells for 99,800 yuan, or just over £10,000. An analysis by Rhodium Group, a consultancy, found that BYD could cut its prices in Europe by 30% and still make the same profit per car that it does in China. > > Consumers are gradually cottoning on to the appeal of Chinese EVs. Seeing an Ora, Maxus, MG or BYD marque on the road in Britain still feels noteworthy. On current trends, that won’t be the case for long. Chinese brands now make up around 10% of new EV sales in Britain, up from around 3-4% five years ago (see chart). Those figures, if anything, understate China’s increasing role in the car market because Western brands are also shifting carmarking to China. According to data from Jato Dynamics, an automotive-research firm, 22% of EVs registered in Britain (and 7.5% of all cars) are now made in China. > > ... > > Thankfully, Britain’s new Labour government has so far largely leant away from such protectionism. Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, said in July that he was not planning to ask the independent Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) to investigate Chinese EVs, a necessary first step towards tariffs. Britain’s own car industry, which can also demand an investigation, has held off, too. > >Why the different approach? After all, Labour ran for election on a “securonomics” platform that takes explicit inspiration from President Joe Biden’s economic policies. The main motivation is likely to be fear of retaliatory tariffs. China is a big export market for high-end producers like Rolls-Royce, Jaguar and Bentley, which make up a big chunk of Britain’s car industry. Losing the market for Chinese tycoons would hurt. And China would be unlikely to limit its retaliation to the car industry. Scottish salmon and whisky might be juicy targets; China buys lots of both products and Labour is loth to risk alienating voters north of the border.
- www.theguardian.com Electric vehicle public charging ‘deserts’ revealed across Great Britain
Three-quarters of households that park cars on street do not have charger within five-minute walk, data shows
> North-east Derbyshire and Redditch, in the West Midlands, are among the worst public “charging deserts” for electric vehicles in Great Britain, according to an analysis that found 9.3m households do not have off-street parking where they could install a charger. > >More than three-quarters of households that park their cars on the street do not have a public charger for electric vehicles within a five-minute walk, according to the analysis by the Field Dynamics consultancy. > > The number of places to plug in is increasing rapidly, with a 46% growth in the number of public chargers across the UK in the year to July 2023, according to the data company ZapMap. However, regulators are concerned about big areas known as “charging deserts”, particularly outside cities, that are not served adequately by the public network. > >The average gap between London’s coverage and the rest of Great Britain is growing, from a 32 percentage point difference in 2020 to a 47 percentage point difference this year. In 38 local authorities, less than 10% of households have parking covered by the public charger network.
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Public EV chargers c.1917
> Public battery charging stations for electric vehicles in Great Britain.
Source: https://x.com/au_tom_otive/status/1818217121769267512
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xkcd #2948: Electric vs Gas
cross-posted from: https://discuss.tchncs.de/post/17620489
> Alt text: > > > An idling gas engine may be annoyingly loud, but that's the price you pay for having WAY less torque available at a standstill.
- www.autoexpress.co.uk New Kia EV3 is a £30k electric car with a 372-mile range | Auto Express
Kia expands its electric line up with the EV3 – taking plenty of inspiration from the flagship EV9
Thoughts? I doubt the base version will be £30k, but I think this looks decent.
- www.theguardian.com Worried carmakers call for urgent UK help to reignite waning interest in electric vehicles
Sector wants tax cuts, better buying incentives and more electric charging points as sales in EVs stall
> Car manufacturers have called for urgent action to reignite the switch to electric vehicles, after sales figures showed slowing demand among ordinary motorists for battery-powered cars. > > While overall UK registrations grew by 1% in April year-on-year to 134,000, the increase was caused by fleet sales, with private buyer sales down by almost 18% on last year. > > Manufacturers are alarmed by slowing sales growth in battery electric vehicles, which in the first four months of 2024 have only increased market share by 0.3% from the same period in 2023, to 15.7%, despite the rapid take-up in previous years. > > While the industry expects the figure to improve this year, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said that BEV sales would be below government targets of 22% of all new cars, and called for steps to “re-enthuse” buyers, including tax cuts, incentives and more chargers.>
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Former Top Gear host 'staggered' after Jeremy Hunt does not cut VAT rate for EV charging
www.express.co.uk Former Top Gear host 'staggered' as VAT for electric car charging is not cutThe journalist and electric vehicle campaigner Quentin Willson has said he is "staggered" after the Government did not cut VAT for EV charging in the budget.
> The journalist and electric vehicle campaigner Quentin Willson has said he is "staggered" after the Government did not cut VAT for EV charging in the budget.
> He explained: "FairCharge is staggered that the Chancellor is prepared to spend £5billion on a fuel duty freeze and continuation of the 5p cut, yet won't spend 125th of that - circa £40million - on cutting the VAT on public EV charging.
> "Why wouldn't you support a drive for cleaner air in our towns and cities? Might it have something to do with an election, we wonder."
- news.sky.com Mr Bean actor Rowan Atkinson blamed for slow electric car sales
The Green Alliance thinktank tells peers in the House of Lords the actor's views are "damaging" to the government's plans for phasing out petrol and diesel vehicles.
cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/7575755
> > The Mr Bean actor was name-checked in the House of Lords on Tuesday during its environment and climate change committee meeting. > > > > Thinktank Green Alliance gave its views on the main obstacles the government faces in its bid to phase out petrol and diesel cars before 2035, and said a comment piece by the Johnny English star published in June 2023 was damaging to the cause. > > > > The pressure group told peers in a letter that was shared: "One of the most damaging articles was a comment piece written by Rowan Atkinson in The Guardian which has been roundly debunked. > > > > "Unfortunately, fact checks never reach the same breadth of audience as the original false claim, emphasising the need to ensure high editorial standards around the net zero transition." > > > > The 69-year-old actor's piece was headlined: "I love electric vehicles - and was an early adopter. But increasingly I feel duped." > > > > Atkinson wrote that EVs were "a bit soulless" and criticised the use of their lithium-ion batteries. > > > > He suggested solutions like drivers keeping the same car for longer periods of time and increased use of synthetic fuel would negate the need for EVs, saying: "Increasingly, I'm feeling that our honeymoon with electric cars is coming to an end, and that's no bad thing." > > > > The actor, who described himself as a "car person" having got a degree in electrical and electronic engineering, said he advised friends to "hold fire for now" on EVs unless they have an old diesel vehicle.
- www.bbc.co.uk Electric cars: Lords urge action on 'misinformation' in press
The Lords Climate Change Committee called on the government to push back against mistruths on range and cost.
> "There is an anti-EV story in the papers almost every day. Sometimes there are many stories, almost all of which are based on misconceptions and mistruths, unfortunately."
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MFG and Morrisons announce forecourts partnership and EV expansion
MFG EV Power charging hubs coming to Morrisons fuel forecourts!
- www.theguardian.com Oxford becomes UK’s electric bus capital as 159 vehicles join fleet
Private operators are guaranteed faster journey times by the council in return for investment
> Oxford is launching an electric fleet that will make the city one of the UK’s leading adopters of zero-emission buses. > > The 159 new battery-powered buses will give Oxford more electric buses per capita than other cities including London, Glasgow and Leicester, under a pioneering arrangement in which the council will guarantee private operators faster journey times in return for investment. > > From Monday, the first buses will officially enter service after a ceremony to mark the launch. Only buses that are zero-emission will be allowed within the city when the entire fleet is operational, with more restrictions on other types of traffic to cut congestion as well as improve air quality. > > ... > > The partnership, in which both Go-Ahead and Stagecoach electric buses will be rebranded in the same livery, will be underpinned by further traffic measures in the city to reduce bus journey times by at least 10% compared with 2019 speeds – a contractual commitment from the council to ensure the investment is viable for the private companies. > > The city already has a number of “bus gates”, which prohibit most other vehicles, and more traffic filters will be introduced by the end of 2024 to push people towards public transport or active travel where possible. > > Oxford has already implemented several low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), which have been the focus of heated protests by campaigners and conspiracy theorists.
- www.bbc.co.uk BT Group to turn old street cabinets into electric vehicle charging points
Up to 60,000 could be converted to tackle a shortfall in electric car charging points, the group says.
Further more nuanced details here, but I didn't want to lead with a site people might not be familiar with: https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2024/01/bt-start-uk-trial-to-convert-broadband-street-cabinets-into-ev-chargers.html
- www.theguardian.com Electric car sales in UK flatline, prompting calls for VAT cut
Stalled growth in electric vehicles comes despite government goal to phase out petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles by 2035
cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/6354036
> The number of new cars registered in the UK has jumped by nearly 18% but electric vehicle demand is flatlining, prompting the industry to call for a VAT cut to stimulate sales. > > Annual figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) on Friday show 1.9m new cars were registered last year, well up on the previous year’s figure of 1.6m and the highest level since the 2.3m registrations of 2019. > > The increase is a boost for the automotive industry after the pandemic led to supply chain problems and a shortage of vital computer chips that slowed production. > > Across the year, 315,000 new battery electric vehicles were sold. That was 50,000 more than 2022, but the number being bought as a share of total registrations failed to grow as expected. They represented just 16.5% of the total, slightly down on last year’s 16.6%.
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Cars that won't spy on you?
I was considering buying a Chevy Bolt lately to use as my daily commuter but found out it collects a lot of data and phones it back. It's hard to do research on what kind of EV I could buy that doesn't collect your location data so I'm hoping someone here might have some good suggestions.
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Zap Map now mapping some charging points outside the UK/Ireland
www.zap-map.com - ZapmapZapmap: UK's No.1 EV charging points app 2023. Zapmap helps EV drivers search for EV chargers, plan longer journeys and pay for charging.
> We're very pleased to announce that Zapmap has taken its first step outside of the UK and the Republic of Ireland – and has started mapping charge points in mainland Europe.
> From our survey, we know that around 18% of Zapmap users drive abroad – typically to France, as well as Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany – with the past year seeing a 28% increase in the number of people travelling to mainland Europe in their electric car.
> Now, EV drivers travelling to the continent can use the app and desktop map to search and filter for certain charge points in France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
- www.bedfordtoday.co.uk Number of electric car charging points in Bedford has risen by more than a tenth in past year
Figures show there are 131 publicly available EV charging devices
cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/4828515
> Figures show there are 131 publicly available EV charging devices
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Should Charging Stations Display Prices Like Fuel Stations?
I think that charging stations should display their prices like fuel stations.
I don't mean the ones on pavements or hotel car parks, but locations with 6 or more outlets.
Anyone else agree with me?
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EV chargers cables reportedly stolen from Newark – with Nottinghamshire Police said to be investigating
www.newarkadvertiser.co.uk Investigation into stolen EV charger cablesElectrical vehicle chargers have been reportedly stolen from several locations.
> EV chargers cables owned by BP Pulse and Osprey Charging reportedly stolen from The Maltings Retail Park, Waitrose, Appletongate and Albert Street in Newark – with Nottinghamshire Police said to be investigating
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EG Group buying Tesla's supercharger network
www.standard.co.uk Asda owner EG Group to acquire Tesla’s ultra-fast chargersEG said the chargers will be branded evpoint and will be available to all electric vehicle drivers.
Wow! Didn't expect this. Although the article is a bit confusing as to whether it's the network or just Tesla hardware. When I heard it on the radio this morning they specifically mentioned the supercharger network.
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Leighton Buzzard site originally planned for 27 flats could become EV charging hub instead
www.bedfordshirelive.co.uk Site originally planned for flats could become EV charging hub insteadThe project would involve changing the use of the half an acre site, installing 18 electric vehicle charging points, with landscaping, resurfacing and other external works
cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/4062479
> The project would involve changing the use of the half an acre site, installing 18 electric vehicle charging points, with landscaping, resurfacing and other external works
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Toyota to offer manual gearbox in next-generation electric cars
www.autocar.co.uk Toyota to offer manual gearbox in next-generation electric cars | AutocarNew system is intended to offer greater involvement in EV sports cars – we drive it
I don't really see the point of this. It's just adding complexity for the sake of it. As far as I can tell when you change gear it just changes some software parameters, there are no physical gears. Yet there's a clutch and the ability to stall?
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Shell Recharge charging price changes
shellrecharge.com Understanding EV charging tariffs | Shell RechargeA simple guide to public charging tariffs, specifically what the Shell charging tariffs are and how costs are determined.
> The rates for charging when using a Shell Recharge card on the Shell Recharge network are reducing. For fast (7-22kW) charging you will now pay £0.62/kWh, whilst rapid (25-150kW) and ultra-rapid (150kW+) charging network will cost £0.81/kWh. Paying with contactless payment methods will remain the same.
> As of November 1st a £0.35 transaction fee, with a maximum of £7.00 per month, is charged for all charging sessions.
- www.bedfordtoday.co.uk Have your say on future of electric vehicle charging points across Bedford
Survey will help gauge development and placement of public charge-points
cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/3415093
> Survey will help gauge development and placement of public charge-points
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Confused about home chargers and their apps
About to get my first plug-in car, and have some questions.
I work in the software industry so I know that all apps eventually get discontinued or abandoned, so what happens to my home EV charger when the app it needs is no longer available?
Are there generic home EV charger apps that work with other brands chargers?
Can I just not install the app? I'm not saying I'd avoid installing it, but knowing how the charger would behave in this scenario is important information.
- www.bedfordtoday.co.uk Luton Airport: EV not believed to be cause of massive car park blaze, says fire chief
Early signs suggest the fire was started accidentally
cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/3229618
> Early signs suggest the fire was started accidentally
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EV Point on Octopus Electroverse
EV Point (EuroGarages' network) appear to have been added to Electroverse!
Some of their points used to show up as ChargePoint and compatible, but I don't think they ever worked.
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UK Power Networks study uncovers huge grid-powering potential of airport car parks
www.zap-map.com UK Power Networks study uncovers huge grid-powering potential of airport car parks - ZapmapThe first results of UK Power Networks’ Park and Flex Study have revealed the enormous potential of using long-stay car parks, such as those at airports, to help power the grid. Early research in the study has found that more than 1.3 million homes could be powered by filling up electric vehicle’s b...
This article is a couple of weeks old, but interesting stuff.
> The first results of UK Power Networks’ Park and Flex Study have revealed the enormous potential of using long-stay car parks, such as those at airports, to help power the grid.
> Early research in the study has found that more than 1.3 million homes could be powered by filling up electric vehicle’s batteries in long-stay car parks when energy is cheap and demand is low - and returning that power back to the system during peak times.
> The study used advanced modelling alongside both UK Power Networks’ and energy specialist Baringa’s forecasts for the number of electric vehicles on Britain’s roads in the coming years.
> With airport parking, details of a customer’s flight dates can dictate the exact length of a vehicle's stay which gives the network operators greater insight into spare power or capacity.
- www.bbc.co.uk 'I was kidnapped by my runaway electric car'
Brian Morrison's MG ZS EV had a malfunction near Glasgow and had to crash into a police van to stop.
I'm very surprised that there isn't legislation requiring a way to stop the car if it does run away. (Although it's quite possible that's what the police used once they got in the car, and the user missed it in the panic)
Kinda like how you should know how to stall engine runaway on a diesel.
- www.bbc.com Nissan to go all-electric by 2030 despite petrol ban delay
The carmaker moves ahead with its plan despite delays to the UK's ban on new petrol and diesel cars.
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/5965151
> Nissan to go all-electric by 2030 despite petrol ban delay::The carmaker moves ahead with its plan despite delays to the UK's ban on new petrol and diesel cars.
- www.theguardian.com Nissan vows to go all-electric by 2030 despite Sunak delay on petrol ban
Carmaker says it will ‘press ahead’ with plans to achieve 100% EV in Europe and all new models will be entirely electric
cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/2698651
> Nissan have clearly set their trajectory, and aren't changing.
- www.bbc.co.uk Electric cars: Firms still forced to sell more despite petrol ban delay
Car makers will still have to ensure over a fifth of cars sold are electric from 2024, industry sources say.
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Rishi Sunak pushes back the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 to 2035
www.bbc.co.uk Net zero: Rishi Sunak pushes back ban on new petrol and diesel cars to 2035 - BBC NewsThe prime minister says he remains committed to net zero, but wants to be "pragmatic".
- www.gbnews.com Petrol and diesel cars to remain on UK roads 'until 2128' despite imminent sales ban
Some older petrol and diesel car models could go extinct later this year
100 years? Really?
How many 100 year old cars so we see on the roads today? A handful - most are in museums or only rolled out for vintage car festivals.
You could argue that there were less cars back then. Fair enough, but how many even fifty year old cars are on the roads? Even pre-2000 cars are rare, and easily identifiable due to the older format registration plate.
I think in 100 years nobody (or very few people - less than ten) is going to be regularly driving a Ford Zetec to the shops. They'll be in museums or driven on special occasions or to vintage car rallies.
- www.thedrive.com Germany Will Force 80% of Gas Stations to Install EV Charging, Too
The country will need to increase its charging footprint by more than ten-fold if it hopes to reach its end-of-decade target.
- www.theguardian.com UK’s largest electric vehicle charging hub opens in Birmingham
Up to 180 vehicles can be charged at any one time in as little as 15 minutes at the just-opened Gigahub