The Associated Press is out with a poll today showing that EV adoption might continue to be slow given that, at most, 4-in-10 Americans would at least be somewhat likely to buy an electric car. You know what people seem to be open to? Plug-in hybrids.
Is this disappointing news or good news? The AP piece accompanying the poll seems to indicate it’s bad news. I’m less convinced. If people are hesitant to buy an electric car it’s not entirely a surprise given how slow every company that’s not Tesla has been to roll out chargers.
And then, of course, there are stories of automakers like Fisker. A recent deep dive into the company seems to indicate things looked even worse from the inside than they did from the outside.
If there’s good news today it’s that Volvo has issued a passport for its car batteries using blockchain technology, which is a hell of a sentence.
How Many EV Buyers Were You Expecting?
The big polling news of the day isn’t over the presidential election, or the upcoming UK election, but over electric cars. It comes via the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, which is a name so long you’d think it was a Land Rover product.
You can read the AP piece about it here, which gives off very ‘Biden is too far ahead of the population’ vibes:
The poll results, which echo an AP-NORC poll from last year, show that President Joe Biden’s election-year plan to dramatically raise EV sales is running into resistance from American drivers. Only 13% of U.S. adults say they or someone in their household owns or leases a gas-hybrid car, and just 9% own or lease an electric vehicle.
Caleb Jud of Cincinnati said he’s considering an EV, but may end up with a plug-in hybrid — if he goes electric. While Cincinnati winters aren’t extremely cold, “the thought of getting stuck in the driveway with an EV that won’t run is worrisome, and I know it wouldn’t be an issue with a plug-in hybrid,″ he said. Freezing temperatures can slow chemical reactions in EV batteries, depleting power and reducing driving range.
The article is very much the classic AP formula for covering anything (find a diverse mix of voices that don’t proportionally represent the AP‘s own polling data) and includes fun characters such as: Guy from Texas who doesn’t believe in global warming but has three EVs to save money and Florida lady who suddenly cares about the mining of precious metals and child labor but only in the context of electric cars for some reason that isn’t explored.
Let’s look at the actual numbers, though, because I think there’s some important context here. Right up top, 78% of respondents believe climate change is happening, which is the highest since the AP started doing this poll, with more than half of respondents saying climate change was caused entirely or mostly by human activities.
That’s pretty good considering the last eight years of a pandemic, cable news, and Facebook turned everyone’s minds into mush.
It’s the first year that this poll has asked if people have a gas-hybrid vehicle and it seems 13% of people do, followed by 6% who own a plug-in hybrid (slightly down from 2023, but within the sampling error), and 9% with an electric vehicle.
Here’s the big question, though:
Again, we’re in the margin of error here, with more people saying they’re extremely/very likely to purchase an EV compared to 2023, but slightly down for “somewhat likely.”
More interesting is the reason why people wouldn’t consider an EV, which is that 59% percent think cost is a major issue (they’re not wrong). Another 47% list range as a major concern, and 38% of people say they don’t know of any charging stations nearby.
Perhaps the most interesting question is about Chinese EVs. The AP asked the following question:
Suppose you were planning on purchasing an electric vehicle and you had the choice between buying a vehicle made in China and one made in the United States. The U.S. made vehicle costs $__ more than the Chinese-made vehicle, but they are otherwise similar in performance and appearance. Would you purchase the less expensive vehicle made in China or the more expensive vehicle made in the U.S.?
The biggest surprise is that 22% of respondents would buy a Chinese car if they saved even $500. The scale slides until you reach 37% of Americans saying they’d buy a Chinese car over an American one if they could save $5,000. Even with double the tariffs, a Chinese automaker might be able to sell a car that saves that much money, though I think the sweet spot is $1,000.
So what’s the takeaway here? If you’re the AP it seems to be that people aren’t embracing EVs in spite of all the rhetoric. I have the exact opposite take. People still feel roughly the same as they do about EVs in spite of all the bad news, the anti-EV rhetoric, and the lack of great EV choices. If cost is the biggest factor, as the AP suggests, then this is a problem that’s eventually solvable. (It’ll be interesting to see how well the Chevy Equinox EV does.)
Still, if 40% of people actually did buy an EV for their next vehicle that would be an enormous win for the industry which, at this point, probably can’t even make that many electric cars (at least ones that will qualify for an EV tax credit).
The Federal Government Has Committed Billions For Chargers And… Eight Stations Are Now Open
Federal, state, and local governments in the United States are bad about encouraging the building of things that are not planes or bombs and, even then, they’re not that great at planes either. Some look at this as a problem of government itself, even though most other modern countries seem to build infrastructure without as many issues.
The building of an electric charging network is one of those projects that goes to show just how complex this all is, with a total of eight chargers built out of hoped-for network of 500,000 by 2030 (encompassing both public and private chargers, currently there are 174,000 plugs online).
Some of this is the expected typical process of having to go through rounds of approvals, get power, clear regulations, et cetera. Wyoming has few EVs, and estimates show that the most popular charging station would probably charge fewer than six cars a day, so the state government isn’t in a hurry. Some reasons, according to this thorough report from Automotive News, are more unique:
“It just doesn’t really translate to EV charging,” she said.
Other issues include delayed proposal timelines and a lack of coordination between the state and the power company, she said.
ChargePoint shares those concerns and has been wary of states that cap charging operators’ earning potential. Minnesota, Iowa, Kentucky and North Carolina say the annual return on investment cannot exceed 15 to 25 percent, depending on the state.
To make things even more fun, Tesla walking back its Supercharger program after being approved for government funds is probably going to cause some delays. If there’s a silver lining it’s that, as a subsidy, the cost offset of federal funds is likely to make sites that do get built profitable on a much faster timeline.
Fisker Reportedly Took Parts Off Henrik Fisker’s Car, Had Suppliers Fly Parts In Luggage
The great Sean O’Kane over at TechCrunch put out a whopper of a story on what happened at Fisker, and it seems to underline the idea that Fisker was not a well-run business.
The road to Fisker’s ultimate ruin may start and end with its flawed Ocean SUV, which has been riddled with mechanical and software problems. But it was paved with hubris, power struggles, and the repeated failure to set up basic processes that are foundational for any automaker.
“The lack of processes and procedures was kind of mind-blowing,” Sean O’Grady, a former regional sales manager at Fisker, told TechCrunch. “The same excuse that I kept hearing all the time was, well, if you’ve never worked for a startup before, this is what it’s like, it’s chaotic.”
The article is full of cringe-worthy anecdotes, but the one that stuck out to me was that the company allegedly didn’t stockpile extra parts because, as Henrik Fisker’s wife/CFO/COO Geeta Gupta-Fisker reportedly put it, the build quality at Magna was “superior” so the Ocean was unlikely to run into many problems and need extra parts.
There were so few parts that Magna engineers allegedly flew parts to the U.S. in luggage and pinched parts from the production line, which was not sufficient:
So the company started cannibalizing cars that had been returned, or ones that the company had on hand for marketing purposes, according to multiple employees. This included the Ocean SUV that Henrik Fisker used. Employees removed his car’s steering wheel, some interior panels, and even his driver’s seat cushion for use in customer cars.
Employees also salvaged parts from the Ocean that former Chief Accounting Officer John Finnucan used, weeks before he left the company.
Matt DeBord, a guy who worked briefly with some of us at Jalopnik, is now the VP of Comms there and he said, on behalf of the company, that these claims are false.
Volvo Is Giving Its Batteries Passports
Cars are complex and made of parts from all over the world. This has always been an issue and the sourcing of parts comes up for various reasons, often either logistical or political, on occasion. Now that governments are looking into battery sourcing before handing out incentives or tariffs, the sourcing of car parts has never been important.
How do you prove where a battery comes from? Volvo’s idea is a passport (though, a passport for stuff is usually called a carnet) for its batteries. The EX90 SUV, built in South Carolina, will be the first vehicle to get such a passport. The passport was developed by UK-based company Circulor.
Circulor’s system traces battery materials from the mine to individual cars, piggybacking on suppliers’ production systems to track materials throughout the supply chain and checking suppliers’ monthly energy bills – and how much of their energy comes from renewable sources in order to calculate a total carbon footprint.
That’s cool. I like this. Also, the passport will include data on the battery’s health.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
It’s the second most important song called “Creep” from the ’90s, but it’s been in my mind since church this weekend when the gospel lesson was from the third chapter of the book of Mark. In this story, Jesus goes into a synagogue and sees a guy with a messed-up hand. The Pharisees wait to see if Jesus will heal the dude on the sabbath, which he does, and they get mad about it and tell on him. I’m a fan of this lesson, but I was immediately distracted by my wife, in her best Scott Weiland voice, leaning over and whispering in my ear “Take time with a wounded hand ‘Cause it likes to heal.” I stifled a laugh, but now the song has been stuck in my head for a few days.
The Big Question
Has your view of EVs changed in the last year?
Personally, I’m not considering one now or in the foreseeable future. I drive maybe 6k miles a year and a good chunk of those are trips to rural areas to visit family, where charging would be very inconvenient. My Sportwagen TDI averages 40+ on the highway and around 37mpg combined, and it does everything I need it to (plus I really, really enjoy driving a manual). I only have nine months of payments left on it and I’m excited to not have a car payment again. Hell, it’s a 2014 and only has 62k miles on it. It might get to join my 1972 Super Beetle as a “forever car.” Not that I’m opposed to having an EV one day, but right now, I have a practical, efficient car that’s exactly what I wanted (body style, engine, transmission, interior/exterior colors). So I’m going to enjoy that as long as I can.
But my fiancee is open to an EV/PHEV for his next car. He commutes to work so he drives over twice the miles yearly that I do. However, his Mazda3 hasn’t left a 50 mile radius around the city in the three years he’s owned it, so a BEV would be no problem for him. We have a garage and installing a charger wouldn’t be an issue. Long trips are always handled by the Sportwagen due to superior fuel economy (and the security of a full size spare tire), so we wouldn’t have to deal with charging on a road trip if we didn’t want to. Still, that’s years down the road. He loves his Mazda and will likely put 150k+ miles on it before moving on.
Goddamnit my poor boys at GM doing the right thing a decade too early and cancelling the program before it takes off AGAIN. I really do think they could release the Gen 2 volt into a modernized body now and it would still be competitive.
The range, and off battery fuel economy are still better than 99% of current offerings.
Though one of the issues with the voltec platform is the weird T-shaped battery back. The center spine isnt too bad, it kind of simulates a transmission tunnel but the rear sort of relegates that shape to traditional sedans or hatchbacks. Couldn’t really build a flat floored CUV with that.
Not sure why a Hatchback and CUV/SUV format would be any different. One’s just higher off the ground than the other. And the Volt was already a hatchback.
The floor tends to be pretty flat in the rear of a CUV/SUV. The seats and luggage compartment in a Volt are raised to accommodate the battery pack. By quite a significant degree.
For me, The RAM 1500 Ramcharger is exactly what I want and I hope to be in the market for it unless it ends up being either a gigantic piece of junk or it’s too expensive. Ford’s Powerboost is another one that is almost there but reliability and cost were issues to me ever buying it.
Great song from Scott Weiland. While not the best example of a human being, the man could sing in so many styles and voices. Really impressive stuff. Even his solo album was enjoyable.
Got a new Autopian tee yesterday – they are very soft and my son digs the design. “Dad, it’s a Lego car, so cool!”.
My next car will be a hybrid. I live in North Carolina. Where I am, winter can get cold but we do not regularly experience snow.
Fisker and his partner, based on the read and photos, yeah. Another insufferable “power duo”.
EV – Yes.
I was an early-ish adopter of the Chevy Volt (2012). I hated that car. It caused me to keep a 2nd car to have fun – the Volt did everything really too well for me .. so I just couldn’t get rid of it. Haul sod and mulch and gravel? Yep – trailer hitch, up to 2k pounds. Bike rack for adventures. Back seat bottoms removed gave me a flat load floor for the doggo, hauling tools to work on projects .. it fit 12′ trex boards for a patio project INSIDE(!) the car (hatch open). I did gig work hauling Lime scooters and then delivering for Amazon.
12 years, 107000 absolutely trouble free miles, lifetime 161.7 avg mpg
I’ve owned 40+ cars in my driving life of 40+ years. Keeping one car KILLS me (if only on the inside). So I really needed a change.
This week I picked up a 2020 Bolt from the GM buyback. Loaded Premium, 5k miles one-owner Cali car, and most importantly – it actually got a new battery and comes with all of the warranties updated to match. Basically a sub-new yet 4yr old car that will handle daily for me as I downsize the fleet in my retirement (yay me).
I got it for $16,200. So HELL YES, give me $16,200 and I’ll be buying nearly new, under warranty, reliable and nice EVs all day long….
I’m pretty much unchanged in my stance on BEVs. I will eventually get one for a DD but it won’t be for a while – 7-10 years, maybe.
The main reason is my current DD is fine and I see no reason to drop big money on another car – buying new cars when I don’t actually need one is a terrible financial decision.
To a lesser degree, I’m just not confident about the current tech and the long term durability and reparability. Between things like the Leaf’s poor design and the very high cost to repair a battery pack I’m going to happily sit on the sidelines for the time being and let things shake out with the aftermarket hopefully stepping in.
And we all know polls are always 100% accurate and never skewed by the fact that people with the most extreme viewpoints are the ones most likely to respond. /s
I’ve seriously shopped EVs in the past. My Prius was supposed to be a starter electrified vehicle that I would replace in a few years with a full EV. The more I think about it the less I think I will own a full EV in the next ten years or so. I know I’m repeating myself, but around here it’s actually better for the environment to drive a PHEV and get 100+ MPG than to drive a full EV, thanks to the makeup of our electrical grid. A PHEV will let me drive a lot of my miles on electric-only, but when I want to go longer distances I can stop at one of the ubiquitous gas stations already in existence that almost always work (and if they don’t there’s another one a block away) instead of hunting for a few-and-far-between EV charger that you could probably place prop bets in Vegas on whether it will work or not.
Honestly, I consider BEVs much less of an inevitability than I used to. If we get to a point where PHEVs allow us to eliminate, as a hypothetical, 90% of our current gas usage for personal transportation, that might be enough. At that point there are much more important targets for greenification than cars, and chasing that last 10% is going to take 90% of the effort (as anyone who has ever worked on a large project knows). I’m not going so far as to say full BEVs will never happen – a battery tech breakthrough could happen tomorrow that completely changes things – but I’m less and less certain we should be chasing BEVs as the endgame in their current state.
Converting 95% of the car fleet to PHEVs that eliminate 80% of tailpipe emissions would be a much bigger win than converting 50% of the fleet to full EVs (and I think that’s an optimistic number anytime soon) that completely eliminate tailpipe emissions. And the PHEV option is a much easier pill for society to swallow, so it’s more likely to actually happen.
The Big Question:
Yes.
I went from “My next vehicle is electric” to…
Oh, I actually tow a LOT now, so let me put $100 down on the RamCharger, a PHEV Hybrid.
Regarding the “big question” relating to that poll of people considering BEVs… when I look at the poll numbers, I look at it as good news.
Why?
You have 40% open to buying a BEVs for the 2024 poll. And that’s up from 2023 which was about 39%.
Plus, the percentage of people open to BEVs is much much bigger than the current market share of BEVs… and the number of people open to BEVs has grown year over year.
Thus, this is actually a good news story. It doesn’t matter that the vast majority want to buy BEVs right now since there wouldn’t be enough production capacity to satisfy demand like that anyway.
What’s important is more and more people are coming around to the idea… and the percentage of people that want to buy BEVs now was completely unthinkable a decade ago and is probably giving old-school car guys like Bob Lutz as well as a lot of execs at Toyota, Honda, Mazda and others NOT heavily invested in BEV tech some sleepless nights.
“Henrik Fisker’s wife/CFO/COO Geeta Gupta-Fisker reportedly put it, the build quality at Magna was “superior” so the Ocean was unlikely to run into many problems and need extra parts.”
Well that tells me that she wasn’t qualified to be a COO, that’s for sure.
“Has your view of EVs changed in the last year?”
Nope. BEVs are the future for automotive. It’s not a question of ‘if’, but ‘how fast’.
And how fast also depends on battery cell production increases and the supply chain to support that.
There is one minor change in my view… I went from “my next vehicle might be a BEV” to “my next vehicle will DEFINITELY be a BEV” due to the drop in used BEV prices.
There’s some goalpost shifting when you look at surveys like this since EV may or may not include plug-ins depending on what you want the survey result to mean.
A PHEV for all intents and purposes is an electric car, so a “I won’t buy an EV because I’m going to buy a PHEV” is kind of a confused answer.
My opinion was fairly solid a little over a year ago, but the 1,600 mile EV road trip we did mid-June last year cemented it. I’m all in on EVs and we became an all EV household in July 2023. I’ve only bought gas twice for yard equipment since then.
I did it for total cost of ownership, reliability and simplicity. Anyone who has easy access to home or work charging should look at their vehicle use case and consider an EV when it’s time to replace a car. I had to work through my own FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) before buying a Model 3 in February 2023.
I’m not buying an EV until I am forced to. I park outside. That means people walking by at night can unplug my car because they think it’s funny if my car is dead. I hope plug-in hybrids still exist by the time I need one.
NACS like CCS2 has a lock in the car that does not allow the charger to be removed.
Some nutjob will find a way anyway. Probably with an axe.
My car has the option of setting the alarm if somebody unplugs it when the doors are locked. Though kids might just find that funnier…
In my PHEV, if the car’s doors are locked, the charging connector can’t be removed. I think most cars with a plug are this way.
My view hasn’t: If people want EV’s, they should be able to get them.
I know I want one. I’m not into the whole “adventuring” and “vacationing” things 99% of the population are into. If I ever travel, anything over like 50 miles one way has been in the summer. But I don’t think I could really consider having an EV right now. The biggest hurdle? Public parking has no infrastructure. Neither does work.
Well, on the other hand, Americans buy like 15 million new cars and light trucks per year, 46% of that is still an extremely lucrative market
Large but not necessarily profitable.
My views on EVs hasn’t really changed. I think they’re neat.
I am one of those outliers who doesn’t have a home charging area at all, live in an apartment block in the inner city (as much as it can be where I live) and have a 5 mile commute to work, round trip. The charging infrastructure here is limited to a single Electrify America fast charging station and a bunch of level 2 stations randomly scattered around. This doesn’t include the Tesla network.
Yet I bought an EV.
I did it for selfish reasons. There’s a lot of buzz about carbon footprint or saving the environment or being green. Altruistic, yes. But the reality of my decision was to stop spending enormous amounts of money at gas stations, not have a vehicle that was leaking every known fluid, not have to deal with emissions inspection costs, and have something sporty and fun to drive.
Getting a charge once every 5 or so weeks isn’t bad even if it takes 40 minutes in a random parking lot. It gives me time to play on my phone.
I’ve come to accept that it’s possible to make EV’s that can fit the average person’s daily needs, but with their viability almost directly tied to the housing market as people need a garage to charge at night, my confidence in their market performance is low for the foreseeable future. As for me, I won’t be ditching the third pedal for a while, though I’d recommend EV’s to other people depending on their use cases.
My view towards EVs hasn’t changed. I think they’re great, but you still need to think twice before going all in on whether your use case is going to work for an EV like if you need to tow a lot, take road trips, etc. If you’re buying as an around town or commuting vehicle then it’s more clear cut but you still need to take into account local charging infrastructure, at home charging, etc.
These are all things you just don’t have to think about when buying an ICE or PHEV.
That said an EV just doesn’t make sense for my family. My car is paid off and I don’t drive enough to recoup the cost of replacing my car with an EV. And nobody offers an EV van, but that being our road trip vehicle that wouldn’t matter. Replacing it with a PHEV van might be something to consider but is a no go until Honda or Toyota offers one.
Not really. I’ve been ready to make the switch for some time, but I just keep delaying because my PHEV works, it just doesn’t make me happy. When I find the right deal on the right EV, I’ll go for it, and I might be there right now.
I’m with you on this for a couple reasons: EV sales are still growing, but growth has slowed. This is to be expected for a number of reasons, including market saturation (the market for EVs at the price points offered is fairly limited), the lack of affordable options (and the last gasp of the Bolt may have inflated last year’s demand), and the normal slowing of adoption that happens with new tech. What has largely happened is the projections were too optimistic. So a (probably temporary) plateau in sentiment really shouldn’t surprise anyone.
And I think you are right that the sentiment offered here is pretty good, given the amount of news claiming that the slowed growth is the end of EVs, that EVs are difficult to live with, that EV batteries will fail fast, or that EVs are prohibitively expensive to repair. It’s made worse by the split of articles: a lot more pro-EV articles are featured in tech magazines or EV-focused blogs than on general interest news sites, so they tend to hit people who were more likely to consider an EV in the first place.
Adoption of EVs was always going to be slow; people have been using gassers for a long time, and they have expectations based on them. Further, a resistance to change is generally worsened if people fear they won’t have an option. If they were already hesitant, they’re going to really dig in their heels if they think someone’s going to make them change. Where we really struggle is convincing people to want EVs. Climate change looms large for some people, but that’s not going to convince people who suspect they can’t have any effect (either because they are only one person or because they don’t believe it’s caused by humans).
As far as convincing people an EV will work for them, price and convenience are always going to be the big ones. Things like the Equinox and the return of the Bolt give me hope on the former. As to the latter, people can point out all day every day that you’ll save time by not stopping for gas during your normal day-to-day, but people don’t consider the total time savings. They consider the added time on long drives, the time spent charging instead of driving or enjoying on road trips, and the inconvenience of needing to look for charging stations when gas stations are everywhere.
It should be easy enough to solve availability, since anywhere with electricity could add charging stations. Time spent charging is a more difficult question, which companies are largely trying to avoid by competing on range. Putting charging at places people want to spend time can also help. If you have something to do while you charge (that isn’t a convenience store), it’s going to be a lot easier to spend the time. If you can give someone a half hour (or however long) activity that they want to do, then they’ll charge and not feel so much like the time is lost.
Every hotel and motel should have plenty of L2 charging, as should theme parks and other places people will spend several hours. Restaurants near the highway with L3 would be great, so people can sit and eat while their car charges. But there should also be some charging at national park visitor centers, museums, etc. If people can go do/enjoy things and let their cars fill up while they’re kept busy, EVs might look at least as convenient as gassers.
You probably won’t convince some people any time soon. You drive 400 miles without stopping to get out to a cabin with no electricity? It’s not going to do what you want. You tow long distances? EVs aren’t great for that, and may never be. But we could do a lot better at ensuring that EVs seem convenient for the majority of people. Because people don’t want to feel like they have to give anything up. Not even if it helps the environment.
The ultimate dad move of the PHEV/REX future is stopping at every charging station on the trip so you don’t burn any gas while the kids go crazy from impatience.
That REALLY depends on the rates. Electrify America typically charges $0.48/kWh which in many PHEVs is equivalent to paying $6-$7/gallon for gas. No dad is going to pay that…unless gas is $7+/gallon at which point the kids will be pushing the car.
This is the correct take.
Except it’s not really a red v. blue issue. It’s an education issue. By education, I’m referring to a general comprehension of science and electricity, math, and basic analytics. If the majority of the buying public aren’t intelligent enough to grasp all the factors (they are not, btw), then they won’t be able to make an informed decision, and the whole idea of a purchase goes poof.
At its core, this is the challenge for EVs. They are too complicated for a world where commuting needs to be as simple as possible. Millage rates and free needle exchanges be damned.
I’m only interested in an EV for my “commuter car” purposes. That job is currently filled by a Prius. When the Bolt was for sale, I thought that was a pretty good option. There is no option like that at the moment. So if the Prius blows up today, I guess I am either checking out a used Bolt or likely seeing about a new hybrid. Would love a PHEV like the RAV4 Prime if I could use the tax credit lease trick to get one cheaper.
But I need to buy another car first, that will not be an EV because we drive it out into the middle of nowhere and need to be able to refuel in the middle of nowhere. So if Toyota will let me buy one, it will probably be a hybrid. Again, would consider a PHEV, but the math needs to work. The Toyota and Lexus PHEVs are pretty pricey over a regular hybrid.
RIP Scott Weiland. He was a great front man when his demons allowed him to be. While I like STP, I would have liked to have seen him stay clean and continue with Velvet Revolver.
On the flip side. We’re up to 46% which if we sell 17 million cars a year is …. a lot of buyers.
Not an STP fan in general, but I think Tiny Music is super-duper underrated. Granted that album is about as divorced from the rest of their catalog as it could possibly be, so maybe that’s why. I think they’re better when tapping into their pop sensibilities than doing the faux-grunge thing.
I feel about the same about EVs as I did a year ago. Not much has changed about the reality of EV use in upstate NY. The charging network is still awful. The weather here is still cold (though suspiciously it hasn’t really been all that cold in like…6 years). Automakers still don’t make affordable EVs that are appealing or interesting, or in a form factor I actually want (van, wagon, hatchback-non-hideous edition). I’ll remain on the sidelines until the products improve and the math makes more sense.
I’ll add that this survey to me seems perfectly positive for EV adoption? That even 40% of the country would consider one considering the prices and the lack of product is pretty incredible, really. Especially since most people seem to know absolutely nothing about what it’s like to purchase and use an EV as a daily.
I’m a huge STP fan and I’ve been steadfastly behind this album since the day it was released. It’s so different, and it feels like they’re having fun branching out stylistically
You get the impression that after pumping out the hits for two album cycles that they got the longer leash to do whatever they wanted. Similar to Pearl Jam with Vitalogy.
I love Vitalogy and it’s easily my favorite PJ album, but I think their real underdog is No Code
I’m fortunate enough to work for a company that has provided free Level 2 chargers on-site. I have numerous co-workers that have purchased EVs because we get to charge for free at work (myself included). I wish more companies were able to do the same because I think it is the easiest way to encourage EV adoption. I don’t have data, but I suspect the amount of money spent charging employees cars is a drop in the bucket compared to the total power bill.
This is what semi-sealed the deal for me two years ago. I’m the technical director for a small industrial manufacturer. I commute ~90 miles roundtrip to our facility at least 9 days out of 10. Was driving a Prius previously as it was the most financially efficient commuting appliance I could buy (fuel cost/tires/oil changes/etc). Ran some numbers and talked to the owner. We’re a big power consumer for our processes relative to our overall size (~$6k/month electric bill year round). At our rates and estimated efficiency of the EV6 it was under $1.50/day to charge for my daily use. For a basic rounding error to them, I get effectively free commuting. Got the green light.
Nothing was in place, so I supplied the materials and our mechanic installed a 50amp RV style outlet on the side of the building where there was a sub-panel for the office AC units. I just use a portable 32amp charger that is locked to the outlet housing and I store in a rubbermade style outdoor/deck box. I have an electrician buddy who installed the same outlet for me on the side of my garage at home for convenience.
The EV6 has 59k miles since May of 2022. With the free Electrify America (which I hate and tell everyone who will listen, even being free to me) charging package that came with the car and work charging (depart every Friday afternoon at 100%, obviously ;-)). I’d guess I’ve spent less than $100 charging at home. Replaced the OEM tires at 51k. Couple sets of wiper blades. Lots of washer fluid. Windshield has a big crack that I need to see about replacing but I’m a little scared to see what that’ll run. Trouble free otherwise. I’d REALLY rather not talk about the depreciation though, thank you very much. Hint: It’s staggering and probably totally shot my total cost of ownership calculation…..
looking to replace 2 cars in the next 6-9 months. Both will be some form of EV. One will be BEV and another will be PHEV. or maybe BEV and Hybrid. or PHEV and Hybrid.
In the subdivision I live there are almost 100 homes, of which I was the only one with electric cars. Today we are:
1 Nissan Ariya EV owned by a 80 years old veteran
1 Kia EV6 owned by someone that works in DTE (Electric/Gas company)
1 Ford Mach E, he works at Ford
Me with a Polestar 2, Chevy Bolt EUV and Blazer EV
There is a mix of hybrids that were not around before. Around 50% own a truck or some sort of gigantic SUV.
Its a slow transition but its getting there. At my job we are double the users with PHEV and EVs compare to 3 years ago.