Look no taxes !! Will electric cars really be tax free?

[MikeInWimbledon]

Fascinating announcement by the Government regarding electric cars by 2040.

The Government currently takes £30 million in fuel taxes from our cars. Will electric car usage really continue to be tax-free? It seems curious generosity.

 

[Lennox]

If they start to tax carbon and NOX emissions heavier the £30m would be a drop n the Ocean.

In fact are you sure it's just £30m?? I think it's £27.6 billion!!


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[Headhurts]

I cannot see this happening.

At the moment there are queues at most fuel stations and cars fill up quite quickly and run a fair way on a tank full (well most do).

Just imagine all these cars waiting for recharge points even allowing for a massive increase in availability.

The biggest problem for the world is the human population but no one seems brave enough to tackle this.

Still I'm retired now so cannot see me investing in something like a Nissan Leaf and the sort of electric car that may appeal to me is out of my price range.

Robin


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[Larkone]

Think of the new business opportunities. Bigger filling stations to accommodate all the cars recharging because it takes longer. Then all of the services and food they can sell to you whilst you wait a couple of hours to recharge.

 

[Dippo]

Invest in vehicle recovery services for all the people who run out of power - you can't carry a spare jerrycan of electricity.

 

[John N]

Government announce electric cars by 2040:

Odds on that they haven't even thought of the follow on infrastructure required in order to back this up! :fail

 

[CowleyStJames]

I'm still thinking BMW got it right all those years ago with hydrogen power. No waiting for batteries to charge and fill up quickly as you would petrol.
Readily available from water too

 

[Doodle]

As an EV user, that's where I see the future if we can master cost-effective and efficient Hydrogen generation.

The current battery-led system is comparatively archaic and requires too much of a step-change in usage habits compared to the ICE, and humans do not like change.

 

[grober]

While charging infrastructure is a problem its not insurmountable. What's more problematic in the long term is the nations total generation capacity particularly at periods of peak demand. The phenomenon is as mundane as the oft quoted surge in demand that used to occur during the Coronation Street commercial break when millions of households put on their electric kettles for a brew! We are talking megawatts!

p.s. And I'm not having a dig at Hydrogen here but the main means of hydrogen production is---electrolysis!

 

[CowleyStJames]

Major downfall with battery charging is time to charge. Two hours + sitting around, waiting until you can carry on.
Hydrogen cracking is done in a plant and delivered by tanker much as it is with petrol/diesel.

 

[Steveml63]

Hi,
I used to work in the automotive industry and remember clearly the revolutionary design of a bus that was suggested for the Sydney olympics in 2000 - so this must have been around 1998.
The bus was electric powered - but charging was not required on the bus.
Instead, a large tank of electrolyte was charged at the depot and when the bus was running low on power it simply arrived at the depot and the electrolyte was exchanged - at a fuel pump just like diesel or petrol.
The pump nozzle was more complex - as the electrolyte was corrosive.
I am surprised this system never made production for buses or even cars!
Cheers
Steve

 

[trapperjohn]

Give someone a nudge Steve, that sounds a cracking idea to be brought forward once more.

 

[Lennox]

Major downfall with battery charging is time to charge. Two hours + sitting around, waiting until you can carry on.
Hydrogen cracking is done in a plant and delivered by tanker much as it is with petrol/diesel.

https://youtu.be/yFPnT-DCBVs



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[trapperjohn]

Oh and is this not called the "Silly Season" for Government and News Stories. HMG has floated this idea (methinks) just to get the feedback and see how to change the policy in the future to "sort of" make it work.

 

[Doodle]

The pump nozzle was more complex - as the electrolyte was corrosive.
I am surprised this system never made production for buses or even cars!

The general populous struggle enough with a standard petrol pump, despite being the status quo for several decades now.

Letting them loose with corrosive battery acid should liven things up a little

 

[markjay]

The general populous struggle enough with a standard petrol pump, despite being the status quo for several decades now.

Letting them loose with corrosive battery acid should liven things up a little

What would happen if you misfuel an electric car with petrol?

 

[grober]

We tend to forget the electric car has the ability to be a game changer in other ways. They often use new body materials [ no rust] , they have no transmission as such- [reverse is a polarity switch] they can use regenerative braking--- potentially meaning a much simpler vehicle to maintain. Some aspects of this is touched on in this Forbes video. https://www.forbes.com/video/3958851958001/
Though how long it will take for "enthusiasts" to start fitting bigger electric motors and battery packs is anyone's guess?

 

[markjay]

We tend to forget the electric car has the ability to be a game changer in other ways. They often use new body materials [ no rust] , they have no transmission as such- [reverse is a polarity switch] they can use regenerative braking--- potentially meaning a much simpler vehicle to maintain. Some aspects of this is touched on in this Forbes video. https://www.forbes.com/video/3958851958001/
Though how long it will take for "enthusiasts" to start fitting bigger electric motors and battery packs is anyone's guess?

Are you calling us Luddites...?

 

[Steveml63]

The general populous struggle enough with a standard petrol pump, despite being the status quo for several decades now.

Letting them loose with corrosive battery acid should liven things up a little

The nozzle was robotic and untouched by human hands!!

 

[GeeJayW]

Other significant issues are the fundamental change from an oil based global economy to whatever replaces it, together with changes to the availability and costs associated with raw materials that are currently derived from crude oil.

For example where do we expect to get lubricants from? Before the oil industry, we got lubricants from whales.

Plastics, dyes, pharmaceuticals, bitumen, fertilisers, etc etc all derived from an oil processing plant that is scaled to deal with thousands of tonnes per day, in part to satisfy the demand of transport fuels. It won't be possible to simply throttle back to meet the diminished demand. New plant will need to be designed and built. There also needs to be a channel for the 'waste' that is currently used as fuel seeing as how these materials will be seen as unwanted by-products.

As for the zero taxation... Yeah, initially EVs will be tax exempt. When they are the main squeeze, the taxman will turn his gaze in their direction as sure as the sun rises each day. Plus they still make particulates as the tyres wear down. By the way, with the oil derived carbon black, tyres will no longer be black and UV stable.

It's a right pickle sure enough.