Quote:
Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr
Even though electronics may become obsolete quite quickly, it may not render them useless or harder to use within such timeframe. Unless some software gets no longer supported for their hardware. IIRC some years ago Whatsapp quit providing updates suitable for certain cellphones.
Considering most of the export markets for 2nd-hand cars are third-world places, it does surprise me the early US-spec Nissan Leaf would find its way as a 2nd-hand export.
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I don't know if this is what @rmay635703 is referring to, but the thing about electronics nowadays isn't the electronic side of them, but the battery. Batteries are soldered in, made part of the device, and when they die so does the whole device because you can't afford to stick another one in there.
In my experience replacing a battery in devices such as laptops, tablets and smartphones goes a bit like this.
- 5 years after owning the device the battery doesn't seem to hold enough of a charge. So you go looking for one. The manufacturer almost never provides replacement batteries, so you're stuck with an aftermarket one. Batteries are no longer user replaceable so you have to pay a lot of money to have your device repaired by a shop, or you try to do it yourself and end up wrecking the screen and a bunch of other important parts. Then when it's finally done your new battery feels about as terrible as your old battery did. And 6 months later your battery is completely dead, making you wonder if you should have just stuck it out with the original battery.
The 24kWh Nissan Leaf has a battery good for around 84 miles when new. The battery is considered past it's usable life expectancy at 70% of that, or 58 miles of range, which for some has happened in just a few years time. Then you go to get another one and it's nearly $9,000. Mind you your car is now worth only about $3,000 once it's old enough that the battery has no warranty.
Are people going to go put a $9,000 in a car that's worth only $3,000 just so they can get a few more years out of it?
Tesla and a few others seem more promising than Nissan from a longevity standpoint. But what will happen after 10, 20 or 30 years? Will they need new batteries? Plus, companies like Tesla are working towards integrating the batteries into the frame of the vehicle. So once your batteries need replaced, so does your whole frame. I don't think that's going to be cheap.
Tesla has already been a company that seems to be against right to repair. It's the right to repair that makes old cars feasible to buy and drive. But if you can't repair them, then they become worthless.
This wouldn't be bad if for one, they can be recycled. And two, something is done for those who used to recycle old cars, the poorer communities. Right now, if you sell your 10 year old car some kid just out of highschool or a family that picks beets for $8 an hour is going to want it. They'll pay a couple grand for such a car, more or less, but they'll put it to good use.
But if your car won't start because the EV battery is dead and it's part of the car's frame and unrepairable, your car is worthless. Nobody can use it without heavily modifying it, which may be out of some people's reach.
Here in the USA, that would mean that those people would have to look elsewhere to get transportation. Would cheaper EV's be sold to those people like the cheaper cars are sold in other countries? Would there be more public transportation? Or would these people just have to walk because they can't afford a new car? I guess we'll have to wait and see.