Electric Car UK government Boost

[320touring]

According to our Government,

Up to £5000 off an electric car.. Making a Leaf circa £18000

Reckon It'll work?

BBC News - Nine electric cars will be eligible for subsidies

[robchalmers]

Makes it tempting..... especially when renault's ZOE will be about 12k after allowance making it similar in price to a decent spec clio.

[Old Tele man]

...how much is the co$t of British "electrons" per kW-hour?

[Ryland]

Isn't the UK version of the "volt" (Opal?) going to cost around £45,000?
Along with electrical cost, what is your current cost for gasoline?

[robchalmers]

*12-14pence per KW, so 8/9cents?
*I don't think the Ampera qualifies as its not a solely electric vehicle.... maybe wrong though
*119-124.9Pence per litre - $7gallon
(diesel 122.9-126.9 so 7.36/gal)

when the average annual salary is 23-26,000 = 45,000 is a big pill to swallow!

and compared to a run-of-the-mill focus diesel (not even the econetic) its going to have to be a fair few years of electric only driving and home charging before it re-coups the 28-30k difference. I know its not an electric car, but at the end of the day if people are going to buy a new car in a recession their wallet is going to have a pretty loud voice!

[320touring]

Originally Posted by robchalmers

*12-14pence per KW, so 8/9cents?
*I don't think the Ampera qualifies as its not a solely electric vehicle.... maybe wrong though
*119-124.9Pence per litre - $7gallon
(diesel 122.9-126.9 so 7.36/gal)

when the average annual salary is 23-26,000 = 45,000 is a big pill to swallow!

and compared to a run-of-the-mill focus diesel (not even the econetic) its going to have to be a fair few years of electric only driving and home charging before it re-coups the 28-30k difference. I know its not an electric car, but at the end of the day if people are going to buy a new car in a recession their wallet is going to have a pretty loud voice!

See,

My reckoning is this..

We're in a recession, so

1. More people will hold on to their Existing Cars, even after they have paid off the finanace etc- as rates for borrowing on new ones is so high.

2. Anyone buying a new car will be looking for maximum benefit from their money- for most of the car buying public that means Optional extras at no cost (e.g. Air con/alloys etc)

3. Diesels will continue to have an increasing market share- they indicate some higher level of efficiency than petrols, regardless of how driven.

4. Current increase in Household energy prices will make electricity more expensive than current (pardon the pun!)

5. There is a limited market in the UK for vehicles with short ranges- e.g. I like a 50 mile round trip from my work- a full tank does me 10 days commuting. in an EV that'd be at leat 5 charge cycles- vs 5mins to fill my tank.


I dont see it...

[Arragonis]

320 - nail -> head I think.

Think G-Wizz and all those kinds of cars. Bought only by people living in large cities, well - ok - London only really, and who probably have another car they can rely on for regular trips.

[320touring]

Originally Posted by Arragonis

320 - nail -> head I think.

Think G-Wizz and all those kinds of cars. Bought only by people living in large cities, well - ok - London only really, and who probably have another car they can rely on for regular trips.

Yeah, its going to be similar to the Pious (Prius)

Lots of people with more money than concern for the environment buying them to be "on trend"

I wonder what will happen to the trade ins?

[Arragonis]

Given that Mr Chris 'we are all doomed' Huhne is about to make us all live in the dark due to power shortages caused by relying on frozen windmills instead of power stations, maybe the idea of thousands of people charging their cars might not be something uk.gov is in favour of at the moment.

But how the hell did the Leaf win Car of The Year, and why ?

...and the Car of The Year prize goes to.... a car that won't get you home in a snowstorm

...If one wants to run around town, then a scooter's a better bet - and if someone would make a sensible three wheeler, that took two people side by side and had space for the shopping, that would be a perfect town vehicle....

...Mostly, 40 miles is about as far as you can go before it starts to wheeze and you are looking for hills to glide down.

...And what happens when it snows? Well, so long as you keep moving, it's no different to the rain and manufacturers say that cold or hot, wet or dry, the batteries keep giving out the required power.

At least until they don't have any power left.

And being stopped in a freezing cold car in the dark, the last thing anyone is going to want to have to do is turn off the heater, turn off the demister and turn off the lights and windscreen wipers - especially if the snow is coming down so hard that turning them off means they will be snowbound when a chance to move comes along.

And so, as the UK's airports fail to get runways cleared and aircraft de-iced, where does that leave a car that won't go because the battery has run out?

Answer: don't buy a white one - you'll need it to be seen when its lights pack up. Bright yellow? A yellow stain on the snow? At least ribald humour might mean it gets seen from the air.

Then there's another issue : the place that makes the most fuss about being "green" is California which is a huge laugh as it's one of the most profligate automotive societies in the world.

It also frequently runs out of electricity....

...Nissan USA admit that driving 15 miles in traffic would mean that the car only goes for four hours.

This last bit got me laughing the most though:

Another interesting thing: you need to use a dedicated charging dock: you can't just plug into an ordinary socket in your office car park.

I thought we had just got all of those gadget companies to agree a common standard for power bricks ?

[robchalmers]

China's going to make a mint selling Leaf-home adapters!