The EV fact thread

[Bellow]

Won’t be stopping all day?

I don't - other than ten minutes for lunch (ten minutes between pulling off the road and re-joining it). All other stops are business calls.

What are they selling? And how!

Surely most reps will sleep at night and I expect if they were doing that much driving they could choose an EV with extended range, would make sense too with the potential fuel bill too!

I don't know. Maybe they would. If they could afford the upfront cost. The business case (tax breaks) for EVs isn't there for everyone using a vehicle all day long for business.

 

[Bellow]

Tradesmen don't usually drive hundreds of miles a day.

I should have said 'blue collar'. I was trying to differentiate between that and 'white collar' - can work anywhere with WiFi types.

They wouldn't typically need to recharge while on the job.

But if and when they do, and leave the work site to do so, they are idle in their actual trade.

The only people I can think of that drive non-stops all day long are taxis, couriers, distribution and haulage companies.

Taxis stop. The others who do distance haven't been presented with an EV solution.

Even sales reps need to stop when they get to their customers - potentially they can leave the car on a public charger nearby while meeting with the customer.

Not in my world. Calling in on city offices, yeah. A quarry in the **** end of nowhere - not so much.

 

[Deleted member 55947]

I know Shell does, not sure about the others.

Price wars between motorway services is probably unlikely, typically you have only one operator on a given stretch of road, meaning that motorists are a captive audience. The shops, however, might benefit from the increase in footfall as more people take a break.

It’ll be interesting as ,unlike petrol, we’ll have a benchmark khph cost as in our domestic electricity bill. No more BS about the cost of transportation or refining affecting the price

 

[markjay]

I should have said 'blue collar'. I was trying to differentiate between that and 'white collar' - can work anywhere with WiFi types.

But if and when they do, and leave the work site to do so, they are idle in their actual trade.

Taxis stop. The others who do distance haven't been presented with an EV solution.

Not in my world. Calling in on city offices, yeah. A quarry in the **** end of nowhere - not so much.

You don't have to top-up at every stop... it's enough that one of your stops during the day has a public charger nearby.

As for delivering goods to quarries... not every possible occupation can be easily managed with an EV, granted, but these odd-ones-out can stick to their Diesel cars for a little longer, and I'm certain that in 11 year's time (i.e. by 2035) they'll be a working solution for all scenarios.

 

[markjay]

It’ll be interesting as ,unlike petrol, we’ll have a benchmark khph cost as in our domestic electricity bill. No more BS about the cost of transportation or refining affecting the price

Your domestic electricity bill has a different VAT rate to that or electricity from public chargers. And there's nothing stopping the government from introducing Duty on electricity from public chargers (but not on domestic electricity). So prices of electricity for EVs can become just as opaque as fuel prices.... the domestic energy rate isn't a bar to measure by.

 

[Noitz]

The dedicated EV bay on the other side of the road was free and operational so I am currently charging over there. It's right outside my front window , on the other side of the road. Because it's a dedicated EV charging bay, I'll need to move the car within 12 hours of parking it there. I'll probably move it as soon as my app tells me that charging has been completed.

That's ever so slightly inconvenient don't you think? (Depending what your'e doing at the time of course. )

 

[Deleted member 55947]

What are the forums EV advocates views on the conclusions of TFL's Jacobs report? The report found the adoption of low emissions vehicles inside the M25 (expanded ULEZ) has little to no benefit in terms of lowering overall NOx and particulate emission levels.


View attachment 151613

Never let the facts get in the way of a tax rise

 

[markjay]

That's ever so slightly inconvenient don't you think? (Depending what your'e doing at the time of course. )

Inconvenient compared to what? To having a house and a drive and your own EV charging point? Sure. Unfortunately this is not an option for me because I live in a flat with no off-street parking. The lamppost chargers is as good as it gets for me.

 

[Deleted member 55947]

That's a very good question.

There are two types of lamppost chargers where I live.

The majority are simply next to a parking bay, meaning that the usual parking restrictions apply (Resident Parking Permit holders, or Pay-and-Display). There's a polite notice on the lamppost asking motorists to be considerate and leave these bays to EVs if other bays are available.

The other type are lampposts where the parking bay next to them has been designated as 'Electric Vehicles Only'. On these bays, you must have a Resident Parking Permit to charge there, the EV can only be parked while connected to the charger, and the maximum stay is 12 hours. There's at least one such dedicated parking bay on each stretch of road.

I have to say that at current no one seems to take notice of the polite notice on the lampposts that are not dedicated to EVs, and people simply park their ICE cars wherever they want. Obviously, the rules for the dedicated charging bays are adhered to, presumably for fear of getting a PCN.

This has not been an issue so far though, because as I pointed-out previously at any given point in time the majority of chargers are not being used, and I've yet to run into an issue finding a free charger and bay in the vicinity of my house.

My expectation is that as more and more people get EVs, the Council will probably convert more generic parking bays to EV-only bays.

It would however be foolish to do this too soon, because it will 'rob' ICE cars of parking bays for no obvious reason.

On the same note, my car was down to 50% this morning and so I decided to top it up to 80%. The lamppost with the generic bay in front of my house was taken by a car that wasn't charging. The dedicated EV bay to the right was free but the charger was faulty. The dedicated EV bay on the other side of the road was free and operational so I am currently charging over there. It's right outside my front window , on the other side of the road. Because it's a dedicated EV charging bay, I'll need to move the car within 12 hours of parking it there. I'll probably move it as soon as my app tells me that charging has been completed.

Can you put a towel over the charger ? Asking for a German friend

 

[markjay]

Can you put a towel over the charger ? Asking for a German friend

I don't wake-up early enough...

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

It’ll be interesting as ,unlike petrol, we’ll have a benchmark khph cost as in our domestic electricity bill. No more BS about the cost of transportation or refining affecting the price

Just a whole different set of BS about electricity tariffs: volume, time of day, VAT, yada yada...

Walk down any street and you'll find everyone's paying different rates.

One minor bit of tax progress / benefit in 2023 was that if you have a charger at home "for work," the taxman doesn't treat it as a taxable Benefit in Kind when you pull electricity for personal use in the car.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Inconvenient compared to what? To having a house and a drive and your own EV charging point? Sure. Unfortunately this is not an option for me because I live in a flat with no off-street parking. The lamppost chargers is as good as it gets for me.

Umm, didn't you say that you get free charging at your local ALDI ?

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

The notion that stopping to refuel (of any type) doesn't eat into what can be achieved during a working day is farcical - but promoted nonetheless. How could it be otherwise? A tradesman sat in a van waiting for it to recharge isn't the office worker on the train performing their work tasks while travelling. One is productive, the either idle. Will I have to make clear which is which? Not an unreasonable question given how few have any comprehension of working on the road where the vehicle is required to be mobile for the duration of the day.

I know what you mean. You go into Greggs, or a petrol station, or a service area, at 8am and there are all those guys tucking into coffee and sausage sandwiches. How can that be productive? And all those £5 meal deals at BP/M&S or even wretched Waitrose: how can that make sense for a working guy?

And let's not get onto building trades where the guys rock up at 8am, and then disappear for an hour "to get parts" from the local Greggs.

You make a fair point, when men are driving fifteen hours a day, day in, day out, they can't afford half an hour to charge a vehicle.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

The only people I can think of that drive non-stops all day long are taxis, couriers, distribution and haulage companies.

You wish. If these guys got 100% utilisation, they'd be making decent money.

Full, uninterrupted utilisation only happens in a small number of sectors.

It's January.... there are a lot of bored cab drivers sat looking for work, with not even the prospect of a quick 9 holes to break the boredom between fares.

 

[ToeKnee]

I'm fortunate in that I don't actively ply for hire, instead I have a regular council contract to take special education needs children to school. So I only do a few hours a day but I'm constantly moving (apart from pick up and drop offs).

 

[Will]

I don't - other than ten minutes for lunch (ten minutes between pulling off the road and re-joining it). All other stops are business calls.

I don't know. Maybe they would. If they could afford the upfront cost. The business case (tax breaks) for EVs isn't there for everyone using a vehicle all day long for business.

So how many miles do you drive each day?

200? 300? Could you not charge overnight?

And if not now, that should be possible in future.

I suspect driving all day and only stopping for ten minutes is quite unusual, but there you go - will have to add that to the government’s list of considerations for adopting new strategies along with the 85mph caravan club

Joking aside, your own specific circumstances are probably not representative of the majority. Most could get by charging overnight with a range of 200/300 miles or more - and if they were driving that much everyday they would probably stop for longer than ten minutes I suspect.

I don’t believe anyone said on this thread that each and every single person should drive an EV or that one would suit their circumstances, but it’s clear that the majority probably could do so quite easily

Just to add - regarding the ‘upfront cost’

Most vehicles are sold on finance or leased. All those new EVs and hybrids that you see driving around, Ubers etc - they clearly build it into their operating costs. I mean if you’re doing that many miles you want something that’s reliable and economical. Paying slightly more in monthly costs but saving hundreds in fuel isn’t a bad move IMO.

It adds to the balance of an EV with low cost charging being a smart move, not against it - and that’s without considering the tax implications.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I suppose plugging in in the rain is no biggie really, especially if it hides the splash back

Dark trousers (or shorts in my case) are the solution

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I think everyone’s forgotten that all EVs will eventually catch fire…

They had until you blooming reminded them!

 

[Noitz]

Inconvenient compared to what? To having a house and a drive and your own EV charging point? Sure. Unfortunately this is not an option for me because I live in a flat with no off-street parking. The lamppost chargers is as good as it gets for me.

I wasn't trying to compare it to anything. It's simply an inconvenient and unnecessary compromise in my humble opinion, but that's the choice you've made and I'm sure you're more than happy with that choice.

 

[philnewmerc]

Quick question, will any current EVs become classics in 20 to 40 years time, or will they be like the iPhone 4 compared to the iPhone 15, i.e. practically useless?

I'm thinking anything with 200 miles is adequate so maybe they will if pretty/cool?