More electric vehicles (EVs) are on Australian roads than ever before.
Concerns about range, chargers and driveability are being allayed by
developments in technology and infrastructure. Because so many new models are
about to hit the Australian market, charging availability is better than ever.
In the past couple of years, EVs have become much more mainstream. People are
seeing that their favourite car brand has an EV coming and seeing more on the
road. What do you think LiveTribers? Is 2022 the year to switch to an electric
car?
Posted by on 02 Jun 2022
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Minh-Hai Henry
It would be something I'd consider for my next car as petrol prices are getting
ridiculous
I think it's going to take a long time before the average person can afford to
buy an electric car. They are way overpriced at the moment. In time they will
drop in price like solar systems did. I remember when we got a solar system
early on it cost us a lot of money and a few years later people were able to get
much larger systems for less than what we paid, so we'll be holding off for a
while instead of jumping in early.
Year 2022 is not the year for EV,s. Who can afford a $40,000 - $50,000 car?
With the price of mortgage repayments, bills, groceries and everything else
going up. there is too much uncertainty at the moment. I would love to by an
electric vehicle now, but i guess i would have to wait a few years until the
price comes down.
Years ago I finally learnt to avoid being an early tech adopter. Tech always
gets better and cheaper over time. EVs are another marketing triumph much like
bottled water!!! Caveat Emptor applies!
Electric vehicles are a waste of resources & an environmental hazard. The amount
of resources needed to build the non-recyclable batteries required to run these
overpriced useless vehicles is ridiculous. I cannot understand why more
environmentalist groups aren't jumping up & down about the wasted resources used
in producing them. Petrol prices have increased dramatically & energy prices are
set to double, how are these economically sustainable? Why do people think they
are environmentally friendly when they are powered by coal-fired power plants?
Charging stations are few & far between, who wants to run out power in the
outback where we regularly travel? I certainly don't want to be stuck on the
road in the middle of nowhere with sketchy phone reception waiting for a road
train to come along & run us over. They might be the choice of some city
dwellers who rarely venture outside of their own suburb, but for the average
Australian who likes to hook up their caravan & take the family on a weekend
away or longer, they're just rubbish.
While I don't drive anymore the electric care debate is still an interesting one
to follow. Ford in the USA announced yesterday a rollout off electric vehicle
manufacturing in two off it's US factories Tennessee and one other it is also
dong similar in Europe.
The batteries are 97% recyclable but that industry isn't even starting up in
Australia and we are currently dealing with recycling problems in other areas so
will industries take it up, probably given the money to be made from recycling
the lithium, but sometime or other there will be a need to think off other modes
off transport to move people as roads become more congested.
So while electric cars are okay now in the future maybe more public transport
using off course electric/solar driven public transport.
EV'S are out of our price range. We also do a lot of remote driving in the
outback for camping trips. Where do i recharge out the back of nowhere? I have
also looked into what is needed for these EV's and we still need our mining
companies so we can make the battery parts. Will it be like wind farms where
blades have an expiry date but cant be recycled?
Nobody is discussing long term impacts. Always the brand new ideas sound great &
everyone jumps on the bandwagon without getting the full facts. Also those
driving them need to be more vigilant in regards to reversing their vehicle and
whether there are people behind the vehicle as you cant even hear the engine.
Shopping centre car parks are the worst for this.
I'm not seeing an extraordinary number of EV cars in Perth. The majority of our
cars are petrol and diesel as we don't have the infrastructure for the cars. I
don't think the number will be higher here for 5 more years even though WA has a
number of lithium mines for batteries. Personally they are still unaffordable.
just think, electric cars are the future! most parts are made from petro
chemicals, the batteries are made from deadly , non recyclable chemicals which
are dug out of the ground by cheap labour in africa ! these people [men women
and children] are dying from exposure to these chemicals ! so one question , why
are the greenies not tryng to stop these so called cars of the future being
built?
Massive mine site that dig out all the chemicals needed to make a battery. 200
tonnes of earth dug up just to make one battery. One of the chemicals needed has
about 70% being dug up in a country using child labour and no polution control
so the kids are dying. Recharging takes many hours and comes from a massive coal
power station. The electric car comes from a factory just like a regular car.
Statistically it's worse for the earth than regular cars and I also hear the
government was loosing money on fuel tax because of electric cars and is looking
into kilometer driven rego tax instead of fuel tax. So this nor any other year
will not be my year to get an electric car.
Beetee
Not for me. Cost is not an incentive, recharging outlets not plentiful enough
and 5 years from now newer versions will have a more reliable and an updated
battery. In the meantime I can still pick up a nice ride for half the price and
economy and at my age who needs more?
Not yet. There are huge delays in getting cars here. Waiting lists of 3 - 5
years depending on what people want. The technology should keep improving too.
By the time there are plenty of cars here, the infrastructure should be ready.
EV's are Urban commuters. I need more information for when travelling. How
long is the down time for recharging. What is the impact on distance travelled
when driving at night with headlights and driving lights on, A/C or heater,
windscreen wipers and lights, GPS, Radio or WiFi connection for music. These
things use power. If I'm off road then running a fridge, lights, 30 or 40 amp
tyre inflator. What are the practical impact of these things on useful distance
travelled. Also towing is an issue. Sure EV's have plenty of power but when
you are towing you are forcing the use of that power. If you're draining the
battery quickly then just importantly is what will the down time be in
re-charging and are such facilities readily available or do I have to time when
queue up and wait like they do in Europe; when in Europe they only travel short
distances. To cover a just down the road run of 3 or 4 hours can mean an extra
hour or so to re-charge. And that is if you leave home with a fully charged
battery. At this point in time it doesn't appeal to me, but I look forward to
the time when it is possible to enjoy a road trip and not have to sit in a
charging station. Hydrogen vehicles are worth a look.
Not quite yet, not enough infrastructure, unless you have solar cells to charge
then you are still using coal powered electricity. But if you can afford it,
then get one or a hybrid, it will make the air cleaner.
Not for me or my family. We regularly drive on long trips, 400-500km for work
purposes in a day and haven't got time to stop to recharge - that's assuming
that there's even somewhere that we can recharge- our car. Another issue is with
the looming energy crisis we'll be lucky to have enough electricity to run our
current homes and businesses in the next couple of years. Where is this secret
source of electricity going to magically come from? 'Green' power isn't
sufficient .
