Electric Cars - a ridiculous product

The subsidies ended last year. Sales were down on a relative basis in January, and have collapsed since.
The subsidies ended Jan 1st, that month saw 2,829 new EVs versus 2,531 in 2023. Even with your suggested collapse, the share of EV sales in Q1 was in line with 2022. Some collapse.
 

I’m wrong, the Head of Hyundai Europe is wrong, the Head of EV Charging Infrastructure at Bloomberg is wrong, and Leo is right…
Hmm, so the vested interests that are currently milking high margins on EVs release sound bites and predictions of doom in order to keep the gravy train rolling?
 
@arbitron, overestimating demand = EVs not selling

Overestimating supply requirements could be due to unforeseeable decrease in demand or poor planning or both.

The article mentions the word sales twice, one of which is "sales network".

We know from other sources that sales have slowed but this piece is about logistics and poor planning, not about demand.
 
The subsidies ended Jan 1st, that month saw 2,829 new EVs versus 2,531 in 2023. Even with your suggested collapse, the share of EV sales in Q1 was in line with 2022. Some collapse.

Leo, if the overall market increases but sales of a particular product stagnate, that’s a relative decline. Nevermind the fact that one month is less relevant statistically than three months.
 
Car sales for Ireland Jan-Mar (Q1) 2023 vs 2024 by engine type:

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EV market share went from 16% to 12.7%.

Looking back at 2021 it was 5.9%, 2022 was 12.5%.

So while it's true to say EV market share has reduced to 2022 levels, we don't know if this is a blip or a real trend when we are just looking at a single quarter's results.
 
OK, my 10 cents. Who'd rather buy my main marque 3 ltr 2012 diesel , imported in 2016 with inexpensive road tax and very good fuel economy for its class, fully loaded, stop-start etc superb build and style or my mates 2014 Nissan leaf ? Pioneers get arrows in the back , settlers get land

Which would be cheaper to service.
 
Which would be cheaper to service.
I learned to drive almost 40 years ago. I've owned 8 cars in that time. I never bought a car based on how much it cost to service. We choose the cars we buy for a multitude of reasons. Very few of those reasons are sound and we employ cognitive dissonance to help explain our reasons to ourselves and others....me included. I've never had a new car, or one on finance , so I've experienced the true cost of motoring for me. I suppose my point was that my car still performs as well as it did post-factory and ,although ,newer models have some additional bells and whistles and a few less buttons, the improvements are marginal. The 2014 Leaf had a range of approx 100km in optimal conditions. Early adopters can explain that away, I'm sure.
 
I learned to drive almost 40 years ago. I've owned 8 cars in that time. I never bought a car based on how much it cost to service. We choose the cars we buy for a multitude of reasons. Very few of those reasons are sound and we employ cognitive dissonance to help explain our reasons to ourselves and others....me included. I've never had a new car, or one on finance , so I've experienced the true cost of motoring for me. I suppose my point was that my car still performs as well as it did post-factory and ,although ,newer models have some additional bells and whistles and a few less buttons, the improvements are marginal. The 2014 Leaf had a range of approx 100km in optimal conditions. Early adopters can explain that away, I'm sure.

That you chose not to answer the question..answers that question.

Very different cars. An early leaf has a very narrow use case. I wouldn't choose a 3L diesel estate as a car that only does short journey city journeys in heavy traffic.

The leaf is a 1st generation product. I wouldn't have bought one even new. Would I buy a 2nd generation EV over an old diesel for driving around the city. Absolutely.

If long distance driving was a high % percentage of my driving would I pick the diesel over an EV. Absolutely.

Simply a matter of the best tool for the job. Just because a diesel suits you doesn't mean it suits me. I had a petrol and a diesel. I replaced the diesel with an EV and kept the petrol. For others the diesel would be the one to keep. Or have two diesels. If you have two cars Vs one car changes that decision again.

There's also the question of driving aids like Automatic Cruise Control. Also safety rating of a 2012 car Vs a newer car. Lots of reasons to change cars other than range.
 
That you chose not to answer the question..answers that question.

Very different cars. An early leaf has a very narrow use case. I wouldn't choose a 3L diesel estate as a car that only does short journey city journeys in heavy traffic.

The leaf is a 1st generation product. I wouldn't have bought one even new. Would I buy a 2nd generation EV over an old diesel for driving around the city. Absolutely.

If long distance driving was a high % percentage of my driving would I pick the diesel over an EV. Absolutely.

Simply a matter of the best tool for the job. Just because a diesel suits you doesn't mean it suits me. I had a petrol and a diesel. I replaced the diesel with an EV and kept the petrol. For others the diesel would be the one to keep. Or have two diesels. If you have two cars Vs one car changes that decision again.

There's also the question of driving aids like Automatic Cruise Control. Also safety rating of a 2012 car Vs a newer car. Lots of reasons to change cars other than range.
I don't have an estate car. Service 3 weeks ago €240. Best car for the job is the one that contemplates overall versatility. Off to the shops and stuck in Paris traffic on road trip with 3 passengers and a/c on high ( 35⁰ outside) . I suppose if you selected the best car for EACH job that'd be ideal situation but you're gonna need a bigger driveway
 
I don't have an estate car. Service 3 weeks ago €240. Best car for the job is the one that contemplates overall versatility. Off to the shops and stuck in Paris traffic on road trip with 3 passengers and a/c on high ( 35⁰ outside) . I suppose if you selected the best car for EACH job that'd be ideal situation but you're gonna need a bigger driveway
I made that point about having one car vs two. Would I buy two 7 seaters. If we have two drivers going in different directions no matter how versatile, one car will not solve that problem.

I don't get the AC issue stuck in traffic. If I can drive around all day with AC on and still have lots of range, why would I care about AC.
 
Are people waiting for new models and pricing changes

Reno Scenic
Kia EV5
Ford Explorer
to name a very few

I am very interested in the top 2.
 
Cogent arguments all. Agree to disagree, so.

Suffice to say I won't be buying a battery powered car anytime soon, (at least not for driving*) or any new first gen innovations, hydrogen etc. As long as you're willing to climb the ladder and jump outta the trench, I'll be tying my shoelaces.
* if I was an electrical engineer I might put high output solar panels on my roof, buy a second hand leaf, panels charge the battery and battery powers the house ??? Might just be possible, with the added benefit of option to short-hop, so zero range-anxiety.
 
* if I was an electrical engineer I might put high output solar panels on my roof, buy a second hand leaf, panels charge the battery and battery powers the house ??? Might just be possible, with the added benefit of option to short-hop, so zero range-anxiety.

Well you need a bidirectional charger to do that, but fear not, that technology is not far away. In fact the lowly Nissan Leaf is one of the few with that technology. It might move the needle for more people if the electric car can transform the time of consumption of electricity.

 
Well you need a bidirectional charger to do that, but fear not, that technology is not far away. In fact the lowly Nissan Leaf is one of the few with that technology. It might move the needle for more people if the electric car can transform the time of consumption of electricity.

Well thanks for that. My late father liked to tell me that I was "full of good ideas, if only I could think of them " it seems that, once again, I've 'invented' something that already exists..
 
Quite a few on the EV forums on other sites have installed solar and a battery and use it to charge their EV and give the excess back to the grid and get paid for it. The use the battery for other household uses.

You don't need to be an engineer there are companies that will do that for you. That's not tomorrow that's today.
 
Electric car batteries can store a large amount of power which could be used as back up for national grid as part of managing demand/supply.
 
Looking at the data on new car purchases, I feel there is still a 'post covid' effect reflected in those figures. The change in working practices will have had an effect on car usage/need. Also with holidays/travel curtailed some people had increased wealth which resulted in a splurge in car sales when things eased.
 
surely its better that the subsidies are directed at cars that emit zero in their local environment than ones that emit harmful cancerous emissions?
ICE cars gets no subsidy. I was comparing a EV car versus a bus that can carries passengers of multiple cars. For major cities, public transport is better environmental friendly than individual driving cars - no matter which..
 
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