Was wanting to get your views on PHEVs and whether they may just become a way of getting round restrictions? I have discussed with some people who have PHEVs and they say that they rarely plug them in and just use them as normal petrol vehicles. So with the insufficient charging infrastructure, are PHEVs a way forward to effectively cheat the system, whilst still emitting the same amount of emissions, or more, than a non-electric vehicle?

Phevs (plug in Hybrid electric Vehicles) are a crutch for people unsure about electric. and they too are part of the ban that is coming in 2030, and 2035 for Hybrids.

They are not as clean as people like to think, you are carrying around an engine, a battery and electric motor, all adding weight and complexity. and data shows people rarely plug them in, as they have small batteries and small electric range.

Pure EV' sales are now taking over, as more and more people experience electric and the infrastructure grows. Phev's are a phase, that is already showing signs of peaking. EV sales however are growing, and growing very rapidly.

Thanks. If you were to pick a topic within the electric vehicle field to do a paper on and to present, what topic would it currently be? What's hot? What is worth doing a bit of research on that people will find interesting?

Wow Zak that is a hell of a question. There is so much happening and things are changing so quickly. To try to pick out a single topic is asking a lot.

I know one of the topics that always gets a lot of attention, is battery development. There is literally billions being poured into new tech, and is a discussion all it's own.

If you want a good overall view of the changes taking place. Check out a guy called Tony Seba, he is an analyst who has been making predictions concerning not just EV's, but the whole shift away from fossil fuels.

He has a few youtube videos, that explain the shift taking place, and how and why, that shift is going to be a very rapid one.

Anyone thinking ICE cars have a future, really have no idea what is going on. Although to be fair, more and more people are coming to realise, the EV future is now inevitable.

I've seen numerous studies of people buying PHEVs then not using the PEV part of it. Why though? It's obviously going to be cheaper and you'll have to visit a petrol station less often. Plus you spent a whole lot of extra money (or let's be honest, company car money) to get the PHEV. So why not use it?

It's like when I see people driving a convertible with the roof up on a warm, sunny day... or buying 4x4s for use in the city...

Ah yeah... maybe people are just idiots.

PHEV's simply have small batteries and therefore small electric range. People are basically buying more expensive, and more complicated ICE cars.

Like I said they are a crutch, But the good news is EV sales are really taking off. This whole discussion will be irrelevant in a few years.

I know, but pretty much all of them go at least 20 miles on a charge, which is still longer than the average car journey. You could even make a round-trip of the average UK car journey on pure EV with just 20 miles of range.

Got to drive my first EV last week, very nice experience

What EV did you drive TBag?

Kia Niro

Rented a couple of different PHEVs for work and they said they rarely charge them. These kind of things annoy me. Strikes me of being seen to be doing something. I dislike people with that approach.

comment by TBag. (U11806)
posted 10 hours, 24 minutes ago

Kia Niro
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Are you tempted?

Pick up my first electric vehicle next week.

What you getting Tamwolf? I know one thing you won't look back.

Ioniq 5.

Went to test drive it last year and that was it. Traded in my current car and ordered it. Hoping I'll save loads of money as I have a 60 mile round trip to work on the three days I'm in the office.

Had my pod point charger installed a few weeks ago, so I'm all set.

Ioniq 5. Nice, very nice you are going to find the long drives so much more relaxing. enjoy.

How adaptable are electric cars going to be to the rapid change in battery technology? A Nissan Leaf with a 70 mile range is going to be completely redundant pretty soon, but if the battery could just be replaced by a modern one with greater range, then the car could last for much longer than petrol/diesel cars.

Surely future-proofing a car so it lasts for much longer is more sustainable than continuously bringing out new ones with higher range, every couple of years? Own the car but lease the battery and every couple of years you get an upgrade?

Or will they just go down the mobile phone route where your 2 year old phone just gets thrown away and you get a new one, instead of your perfectly good phone continuing to work, or replacing the battery?

While it is true battery tech is improving all the time. There are many compelling reasons to own an EV. and once you drive one you don't go back.

The reality is anybody buying a new ICE car at this point, are buying the past not the future. and the speed things are changing, ICE sales are set to plummet. not a wise investment IMO.

I am meaning more from a bigger picture perspective. If the driving force (pun) behind the shift to electric vehicles is to reduce emissions and to be more sustainable, surely there also needs to be a shift away from the culture of getting a new car every couple of years.

The technology is there to make these cars last decades (with battery upgrades etc.), so in the name of sustainability, policy should be in place to help push this.

As usual, rich people making more money will be the priority.

The move to electric is now inevitable. and they are an important part of the move to a cleaner more sustainable future.

Do not simply focus on the cars. what they are doing is much bigger and important than simple transport.

They are a catalyst bringing together technology across the energy sector, and bringing about a step change in how we create, store and use energy.

comment by Amigawolf no longer MIA (U18508)
posted 6 hours, 19 minutes ago
comment by TBag. (U11806)
posted 10 hours, 24 minutes ago

Kia Niro
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Are you tempted?
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I don't drive enough for any vehicle to be worthwhile when they have car sharing apps around (which is where they've started introducing EVs and I was luckily enough to stumble across one), but if I was I'd be very tempted to go down the EV route if I could afford it.

Yes. I know what you are saying. I test drove a Tesla. Would love to buy one. But hard to justify, especially with the miles I do.

And off course having to live off cabbage soup for about 5 years

Yeah I literally drive 15-20 mins daily Mon-Friday and then everything around my neighbourhood is walkable. Those 15 mins cost me about $50 a week without having to worry about, parking, fuel, insurance, maintenance etc, so having a car just isn't practical, which is a shame cos I do enjoy driving.

It's sad because at the moment I am the exact wrong type of driver for electric cars. The only times I drive are for 400 mile round trips to camp and climb mountains in the middle of nowhere, at weekends. Don't need a car in the city