Quote:
Originally Posted by Isaac Zackary
I sure do hope so. Right now most of the world can either buy a Leaf, a Bolt or a Tesla. And that's about it for most folks. For those that want to save money their best bet is a used Leaf. We need more than that. And most importantly, EV's need to build up a good reputation of reliability. And all that takes time. And so far, it hasn't been all good for the EV. Like I say, many Leafs have already needed a new battery with very little mileage compared to an ICE. We're still in that "wait and see" period of what will happen in the future.
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Agreed. The lease on my Spark EV will end in September. I will not buy it because the car is not supported by the aftermarket or GM. If they will extend the lease at $100 a month I might look into that.
Leaf: Cheap but boring. I was a buyer with a $5500 battery but not now that it is $8000.
Bolt: Still too expensive in the used market
Tesla: Way too expensive and horrible interior
A 2017 Volt or newer is still under consideration but I've never been very interested in them due to the cramped rear seat
I agree that fear over battery replacement continues to hurt EV sales. Nissan isn't helping matters by putting out crappy batteries that have high failure rates. A possible solution would be a mandate to warranty EV batteries for the same 10 years / 150K miles as hybrid batteries. That is longer than most people keep a car.
The other thing that hurts EV sales is that the typical buyer doesn't even consider total cost of ownership. For most buyers it is all about the monthly payment. Fuel savings or reduced maintenance don't even factor into that calculation.