CNBC
"Ford F-150 Lightning fire footage highlights a growing EV risk"
Story by Michael Wayland
20 APRIL 2023
* New video footage of a fire that started in a Ford F-150 Lightning earlier this year highlights an emerging concern regarding the adoption of electric vehicles.
* The previously unreleased footage, obtained by CNBC, shows smoke billowing from three tightly packed electric pickups. Moments later, flames shoot several feet above the vehicles, which were unoccupied.
* Fires involving EV batteries can burn hotter and longer and require new techniques to extinguish, posing a growing challenge to first responders.
DEARBORN, Mich. — New video footage of a fire involving a Ford F-150 Lightning this year highlights a growing concern around electric vehicles: volatile fires from the batteries that power them.
The previously unreleased footage, which CNBC obtained through Michigan's Freedom of Information Act from the Dearborn Police Department, shows smoke billowing from three tightly packed electric pickups in a Ford Motor holding lot in Dearborn, Michigan.
Moments later, flames shoot several feet above the vehicles, which were unoccupied.
It wasn't clear based on public documents and police video how long the fires burned.
Experts say EV fires can take hours, rather than minutes, to extinguish.
EV fires have become a growing concern as automakers push to increase sales of electric vehicles and meet tightening emissions standards.
The Biden administration has set a target for half of new vehicles sold in the U.S. by 2030 to be electric.
Automakers are spending billions of dollars to electrify their lineups.
However, there's been little to no discussion about first responder training for when the vehicles catch fire, whether due to a malfunction or, more commonly, a crash.
The Feb. 4 holding lot fire at Ford's Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn prompted the company to quickly halt production of the new pickup for five weeks.
The automaker also recalled 18 of the vehicles, which Ford has likened to the Model T in terms of importance to the company.
Ford identified the root cause as related to battery cell production made by supplier, SK On.
Police officers responding to the blaze described the vehicles as being "engulfed in flames" and can be heard on video worrying that the vehicles could "blow up."
Lithium-ion batteries, commonly used in EVs, can be volatile and extremely difficult to put out once on fire.
"We're not putting this f---er out."
"Look at it," said one responding officer during the February F-150 Lightning fire.
First responders can be heard on video expressing concern about how much water is needed to put out EV fires and whether a special foam would be required.
They also questioned the viability and safety of electric vehicles.
"They have to put like a whole f---ing lake on it to put them out," the same officer said during the Feb. 4 event.
The footage obtained by CNBC totaled about two hours of video, including overlapping footage, from 17 police bodycams and vehicle dashcams between 3:36 p.m. and 4:22 p.m. ET, according to time stamps on the bodycam videos.
Photos obtained from Dearborn Police through a separate Michigan FOIA request show the aftermath of the blaze.
One of the three vehicles is barely recognizable, with its body nearly melted down to the ground.
The two neighboring vehicles were also heavily damaged.
"There was only one [vehicle on fire] when we got here."
"They're catching."
"It's these frickin' batteries," that same responding officer said, according to the footage.
The F-150 Lightning fire occurred while the vehicle was charging in a holding lot during a pre-delivery quality check and was caused by an internal short circuit due to a manufacturing issue when cells in the battery were at a high state of charge, according to public documents associated with the recall.
Ford said engineers determined there was no evidence of a charging fault.
"Together with SK On, we confirmed the root causes and swiftly implemented quality actions," Ford said in a statement to CNBC.
"The Rouge Electric Vehicle Center has been back up and running since March 13 and is back to full production and shipping vehicles to customers."
The fire added to ongoing quality and execution issues that have plagued the automaker as it attempts to restructure its business and position itself better for EVs.
Growing concern
Vehicle fires are not new.
They regularly occur in traditional vehicles with internal combustion engines.
But the fires that can result from EVs such as the F-150 Lightning and their batteries are increasingly worrying for first responders across the country, in part because they involve a chain reaction between battery cells known as thermal runaway.
Such fires also are a growing problem for automakers who could lose the momentum they've built with car buyers and climate-conscious lawmakers if the risk continues shaking public confidence in the technology.
Fires involving EV batteries can burn hotter and longer and require new techniques to extinguish.
A report from the Dearborn Fire Department, which responded to the February Lightning fire, said one of the vehicles was determined to be "un-extinguishable" and firefighters had to contact a colleague with "expertise in EV technology" on what to do.
"This is a big issue globally," said Michael O'Brian, board member of the International Fire Chiefs Association, who leads fire and life safety.
"We need to better understand what the best processes are through testing and evaluation with real firefighters."
Why electric vehicle fires are so challenging
EVs are powered by a series of battery cells inside an airtight pack that's designed to prevent any substances from passing in or out.
The packs also are mainly built into the underbodies or frames of the vehicles, a spot that can be difficult for first responders to reach.
And even if they could easily access the cells, the "fire" is actually a chemical reaction and far more difficult to handle than a traditional gasoline fire.
"You're now dealing with a vehicle that doesn't work like anything else you've been taught," said David Dalrymple, a volunteer firefighter in New Jersey who owns a first response training and consulting business called RoadWay Rescue.
"It's a totally different animal."
"... The primary goal is to cool it down to take away that chemical reaction."
Dalrymple, who also serves on a Society of Automotive Engineers committee focusing on EV fire issues and standards, noted some other countries allow first responders to look up what hazardous materials are in a vehicle based on the license plate.
A similar system could be useful in the U.S., he said.
Experts are still trying to determine EV fire incident rates; the data is difficult to collect from disparate fire departments.
Vehicle fires involving internal combustion engines are far more common than EVs, however experts expect that to continually even out as more electrified vehicles are sold.
Problems with plug-in vehicles that use such batteries have led automakers including Ford, General Motors, Hyundai and Porsche to recall models.
GM from 2020 to 2021 had to recall all of its electric Chevrolet Bolt models built up to that point due to a battery issue that resulted in several reported fires.
As a result, GM expanded an ongoing nationwide program to educate public safety, fire and emergency service providers on how to most effectively handle emergency situations involving electric vehicles.
The state of Virginia has taken it upon itself to train firefighters.
A bill that requires them to complete a training program about the risk of electric vehicle fires passed unanimously this year.
Trial by fire
Firefighters increasingly are facing the challenges created by EV fires.
This is made more complicated by what some experts say is a lack of regulations and standards, which allows automakers to do as they like regarding the design and rollout of EVs.
For more than a century, first responders have quite easily extinguished vehicle engine fires by popping the hood and drowning the area in water.
That playbook doesn't work with EVs.
Each vehicle is unique and may require different techniques to extinguish, which means there are no set standards for putting out an EV fire.
Current best practices for an EV fire, depending on who you speak with, include submerging the vehicles in water, piercing the battery pack and inundating it with water, disabling a vehicle's 12-volt circuit, or simply letting the fire burn until it's out, emitting chemical toxins into the air.
O'Brian, a fire chief in suburban Brighton outside of Detroit, said the bigger the battery, the higher the concern for first responders.
He also noted that new battery plants to produce the cells for the vehicles often cost billions of dollars, highlighting what he saw as comparatively little funding being directed to the training of fire departments.
"I continue to keep advocating that both state and federal government needs to truly invest within the fire service on this topic for training, best practices, lab time," O'Brian said.
"It's as simple as what's the best way to turn up your efforts when exposed to lithium-ion off-gassing" when the vehicles catch fire.
O'Brian said once the thermal runaway starts there's really no putting the fire out unless you stop the chain reaction of lithium-ion cells from overheating.
It's unclear how many, if any, people have died from an electric vehicle spontaneously catching fire.
There have been reports of fatal fires following crashes, but many times EVs have caught fire when charging and unoccupied.
There's also the risk of reignition: Lithium-ion battery fires can re-engage weeks later with little to no warning.
The Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District responded to such an incident last year involving a Tesla that had been in an accident three weeks prior.
Once the F-150 Lightning fire was under control on Feb. 4, Ford had security monitoring the vehicles throughout the night in case they become "involved again," according to the Dearborn Fire Department report.
William Lerner, an independent safety tech inventor and delegate for the International Organization for Standardization, said best practices would call for a three-week monitoring period after a fire, with particular attention during the first 24 hours.
Lerner, who works closely with first responders and their trainers, expressed concern that first responders may not have the appropriate personal protection and safety equipment to handle the fires.
He said the equipment used for a traditional vehicle fire may not suffice.
"The whole way of dealing with this is completely different," he said.
"The only similarities are they have four wheels, and they look like cars."
"It's a completely different product, and that's the problem."
Ford, in its Emergency Response Guide for the 2022 Lightning, broadly details some issues about the potential for reignition in the event of a fire and suggests storing the vehicle outside or at least 50 feet away from other objects.
It does not offer a solution for putting out a battery fire other than "LARGE amounts of water" or using a "Class ABC powder-type extinguisher to contain and smother the flames."
Ford said the company "took part in an information-sharing session on how to handle battery fires in summer 2022 with members of the Dearborn fire department."
"We continue to look at opportunities to help educate on this topic," the automaker said.
Dearborn Police Chief Joseph Murray declined to comment about the Feb. 4 F-150 Lightning fire or any training his department has done for EVs.
Experts say such training for first responders is a start, but it needs to be constantly updated and rolled out.
There are also concerns about the manpower and ability of fire departments to handle EV fires, according to several officials.
Not to mention the dire circumstances they may be dealing with involving vehicle occupants, which are their first priority.
"When you have an EV fire, you don't have the time to stop and look through an emergency response guide or to call, you know, GM, or methodically figure out is it a 2012 Tesla or 2022," Lerner said.
"You've got human beings in there that can die."
"So, you may not have one second to waste in order to get these human beings out."
— CNBC's Lora Kolodny contributed to this report.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/compani ... 1753&ei=27
ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Re: ELECTRIC VEHICLES
1945
"Joe Biden’s Electric Car Dream Is a Nightmare"
Story by Travis Fisher
20 APRIL 2023
President Joe Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency has announced an aggressive new auto tailpipe emissions rule that would ban most new cars and trucks that don’t run on batteries.
In exchange for reductions in CO2 and other tailpipe emissions, the EPA plans to take away Americans’ freedom to choose our cars.
It also touts the benefits of supposedly lower consumer costs stemming from the regulation, which means the federal government — the same entity that saddled us with over $31 trillion in national debt — thinks it knows better than us how to be responsible with money.
The Biden administration is openly pushing that, by 2032, the share of new gasoline vehicles sold versus electric vehicles should be just one in three.
This type of central planning has no place in a free country, and the federal government has no right to intervene in such an aggressive way in our transportation choices.
The White House press release referred to Biden as a “self-proclaimed car guy,” as if that should make us feel any better about the fact that the president is trying to dictate what types of cars we can drive.
Is there anything less American than taking away gasoline-powered cars?
Being on the open road with a full tank of gas provides a very real sense of freedom —
taking that away and replacing it with higher price tags and shorter ranges would be cruel.
Biden and his EPA might as well try to ban baseball and apple pie.
(Note: In case anyone from the Biden administration is reading this, that was rhetorical—please don’t try to ban anything else).
The EPA rule means we can only go where the electric car commissars want us to go.
Charging station networks will have to be planned and subsidized, and it’s easy to imagine subsidies favoring “helpful” cities and states over those that oppose EPA overreach.
We aren’t quite in Sino-Soviet railway territory yet, but we are inching closer to the central planner’s dream of control over the transportation sector.
It doesn’t feel like a stretch to say the old Soviet Union and Communist China would approve of this plan.
The EPA also claims the rule will not harm electric grid reliability, but make sure to read the fine print.
EPA says the increase in electricity demand due to an electric vehicle mandate “is not expected to adversely affect grid reliability.”
EPA goes on to explain there will be no grid reliability issues if the government can dictate what time of day you can charge your electric vehicle (pages 377-379).
Once again, the plan is to have Americans serve our “transitioning” electric grid, when in fact the grid should be serving us.
The tailpipe rule has a dollars-and-cents effect, too.
For most Americans, this EPA rule means a new car will be significantly more expensive, less practical (because of the shorter range of batteries, the lack of charging stations, etc.), or simply out of financial reach.
Even though new car prices are currently going up across the board, the top-selling gasoline-powered vehicles are far more affordable than their all-electric alternatives.
Ford F-series trucks have been bestsellers for years.
A gasoline-powered 2023 model Ford F-150 truck now has a starting price of $35,680, while the electric F-150 Lightning starts at $61,869.
The same is true for bestselling cars — the 2023 Toyota Camry starts at $27,315, while the electric Tesla Model 3 starts at $43,630.
At the Model 3’s price point, you could upgrade to a luxury gasoline vehicle with the 2023 Audi A4 (starting at $41,395).
Or, to match the Camry’s price point, you could opt for the absolute lowest-cost electric vehicle with the 2023 Chevrolet Bolt, which starts at $27,495 but is a mini hatchback.
Most American families simply cannot afford to pay the luxury premium for an electric car or truck and are unwilling to make the tradeoff on size and performance with an EV.
So, what’s the solution?
In the near term, it would be nice to see Congress limit the EPA’s budget.
There’s also the Congressional Review Act where Congress can stop or repeal a federal agency rule.
The act was used to push back on a recent overreach by Biden’s Department of Labor.
Unfortunately, the president vetoed it, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be tried on the EPA.
Looking further ahead, congressional reform of the Clean Air Act may be necessary.
But the most effective tool could be for the public to comment on the proposed rule and tell EPA to stand down.
Although we have seen this trick before, notably when Barack Obama gloated about his plan to make electricity prices “necessarily skyrocket” to try to end America’s use of fossil fuels, Biden’s EPA seems to have even fewer guardrails.
Let’s hope the public pushes back on Biden’s plans to remake the American auto industry and his attempts to take away Americans’ freedom to choose the vehicles we drive.
And let’s ensure that the EPA’s proposal hits some major legal roadblocks in Congress and the courts.
Travis Fisher is a senior research fellow in energy and environment at The Heritage Foundation's Center for Energy, Climate, and Environment. This first appeared in the Daily Signal.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... 1753&ei=41
"Joe Biden’s Electric Car Dream Is a Nightmare"
Story by Travis Fisher
20 APRIL 2023
President Joe Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency has announced an aggressive new auto tailpipe emissions rule that would ban most new cars and trucks that don’t run on batteries.
In exchange for reductions in CO2 and other tailpipe emissions, the EPA plans to take away Americans’ freedom to choose our cars.
It also touts the benefits of supposedly lower consumer costs stemming from the regulation, which means the federal government — the same entity that saddled us with over $31 trillion in national debt — thinks it knows better than us how to be responsible with money.
The Biden administration is openly pushing that, by 2032, the share of new gasoline vehicles sold versus electric vehicles should be just one in three.
This type of central planning has no place in a free country, and the federal government has no right to intervene in such an aggressive way in our transportation choices.
The White House press release referred to Biden as a “self-proclaimed car guy,” as if that should make us feel any better about the fact that the president is trying to dictate what types of cars we can drive.
Is there anything less American than taking away gasoline-powered cars?
Being on the open road with a full tank of gas provides a very real sense of freedom —
taking that away and replacing it with higher price tags and shorter ranges would be cruel.
Biden and his EPA might as well try to ban baseball and apple pie.
(Note: In case anyone from the Biden administration is reading this, that was rhetorical—please don’t try to ban anything else).
The EPA rule means we can only go where the electric car commissars want us to go.
Charging station networks will have to be planned and subsidized, and it’s easy to imagine subsidies favoring “helpful” cities and states over those that oppose EPA overreach.
We aren’t quite in Sino-Soviet railway territory yet, but we are inching closer to the central planner’s dream of control over the transportation sector.
It doesn’t feel like a stretch to say the old Soviet Union and Communist China would approve of this plan.
The EPA also claims the rule will not harm electric grid reliability, but make sure to read the fine print.
EPA says the increase in electricity demand due to an electric vehicle mandate “is not expected to adversely affect grid reliability.”
EPA goes on to explain there will be no grid reliability issues if the government can dictate what time of day you can charge your electric vehicle (pages 377-379).
Once again, the plan is to have Americans serve our “transitioning” electric grid, when in fact the grid should be serving us.
The tailpipe rule has a dollars-and-cents effect, too.
For most Americans, this EPA rule means a new car will be significantly more expensive, less practical (because of the shorter range of batteries, the lack of charging stations, etc.), or simply out of financial reach.
Even though new car prices are currently going up across the board, the top-selling gasoline-powered vehicles are far more affordable than their all-electric alternatives.
Ford F-series trucks have been bestsellers for years.
A gasoline-powered 2023 model Ford F-150 truck now has a starting price of $35,680, while the electric F-150 Lightning starts at $61,869.
The same is true for bestselling cars — the 2023 Toyota Camry starts at $27,315, while the electric Tesla Model 3 starts at $43,630.
At the Model 3’s price point, you could upgrade to a luxury gasoline vehicle with the 2023 Audi A4 (starting at $41,395).
Or, to match the Camry’s price point, you could opt for the absolute lowest-cost electric vehicle with the 2023 Chevrolet Bolt, which starts at $27,495 but is a mini hatchback.
Most American families simply cannot afford to pay the luxury premium for an electric car or truck and are unwilling to make the tradeoff on size and performance with an EV.
So, what’s the solution?
In the near term, it would be nice to see Congress limit the EPA’s budget.
There’s also the Congressional Review Act where Congress can stop or repeal a federal agency rule.
The act was used to push back on a recent overreach by Biden’s Department of Labor.
Unfortunately, the president vetoed it, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be tried on the EPA.
Looking further ahead, congressional reform of the Clean Air Act may be necessary.
But the most effective tool could be for the public to comment on the proposed rule and tell EPA to stand down.
Although we have seen this trick before, notably when Barack Obama gloated about his plan to make electricity prices “necessarily skyrocket” to try to end America’s use of fossil fuels, Biden’s EPA seems to have even fewer guardrails.
Let’s hope the public pushes back on Biden’s plans to remake the American auto industry and his attempts to take away Americans’ freedom to choose the vehicles we drive.
And let’s ensure that the EPA’s proposal hits some major legal roadblocks in Congress and the courts.
Travis Fisher is a senior research fellow in energy and environment at The Heritage Foundation's Center for Energy, Climate, and Environment. This first appeared in the Daily Signal.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... 1753&ei=41
Re: ELECTRIC VEHICLES
The Los Angeles Times
"Commentary: I'm ready to trade in my electric car. Here's why"
Opinion by Mariel Garza
23 APRIL 2023
I love my electric car.
I really do.
I love how I never have to buy gas.
I love how it glides quietly up the street.
I love that it has so much pickup that I can easily blow past gas-powered muscle cars if I want to.
I love having stickers that allow me to drive solo in the HOV lanes.
I love that routine maintenance consists of little more than rotating the tires.
But after three years, I am thinking seriously of trading it in for the gas-powered hybrid plug-in version.
Why?
Because as much as I love my car, I loathe that I can't travel around California, a state has led the electric car revolution, with confidence that I can get a charge when I need one.
Yes, there are significantly more public charging stations than when I first got behind the wheel of my Kia Niro EV in January 2020.
But there are also significantly more electric vehicles vying to use them — and still vast areas of the state without a single fast charger.
Chargers are more reliable now, but still not quite good enough.
In 2020, it felt like half the public chargers I tried to use weren't working.
These days, l find only about a quarter are out.
This jibes with the experience of researchers who checked public fast chargers at 181 charging stations in the Bay Area last year and found that about 23% weren't functional.
Even with more chargers, they still aren't easy to find.
I have an app that helps, but it only gives me a general location.
Public charging stations are often tucked away in remote corners of parking lots or behind buildings with no helpful signage.
They may be accessible only during business hours or, if in a hotel, only for paying guests to use.
It’s not uncommon to locate a charging station and discover that all the chargers are in use or blocked by cars not charging.
Or, most frustratingly, the chargers may be offline or nonfunctional — which you may not discover until you park, plug in and try to start the charger.
And even if the stars align and you find an available charger that works, it may shut off mid-charge with no warning or reason.
When I chose an electrical vehicle, I knew that meant an extra 30 minutes in travel time for each charging stop during a road trip.
But I did not count on the time wasted by having to, for example, backtrack to another station or one out of my way because the charging station on my route was not working.
I did not count on having to wait 60 minutes to charge because the fast charger is not charging very fast today.
Or having to spend the wait time baking in the sun because the charging station on the side of a hot freeway has no shade.
Honestly, who thought that was a good idea?
I didn't count on having to download a half-dozen apps because each charger company has its own.
I could fill up a book recounting the many frustrating and absurd experiences I have had charging my car over the last three years and three months — and I haven't even hit 23,000 miles on the car yet.
Things are improving, but if the pace of change over the last three years is an indication of what's in store for the next three years, the policies to push increasing numbers of EVs by California and the Biden administration are in trouble.
It’s not enough to set sales targets and offer tax credits.
If we want people to embrace fully electric cars, we have to make it easier to charge up away from home.
That means mapping out charging stations in a comprehensive, thoughtful way that ensures a reliable and easy-to-use network — not leaving it to the whims of the commercial sector, which will build stations where it’s most profitable or convenient.
It will require cities to develop plans for how and where to locate public chargers and not just plop them down randomly and call it a day.
As part of the bipartisan infrastructure law, the federal government is spending $7.5 billion to build 500,000 chargers across the nation, which is great.
But authorities must take into account the experiences of early adopters like me as they invest.
Because if it continues to be this much of a hassle to charge up, it's going to be tough to convince motorists to go green.
I don't know if I will trade in my EV, because I really do love it, charging issues aside.
But I'm taking a road trip next month, and if the state of public charging isn't much improved from my last road trip, well, it's going to be hard not to make the switch.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/other/c ... 8213&ei=30
"Commentary: I'm ready to trade in my electric car. Here's why"
Opinion by Mariel Garza
23 APRIL 2023
I love my electric car.
I really do.
I love how I never have to buy gas.
I love how it glides quietly up the street.
I love that it has so much pickup that I can easily blow past gas-powered muscle cars if I want to.
I love having stickers that allow me to drive solo in the HOV lanes.
I love that routine maintenance consists of little more than rotating the tires.
But after three years, I am thinking seriously of trading it in for the gas-powered hybrid plug-in version.
Why?
Because as much as I love my car, I loathe that I can't travel around California, a state has led the electric car revolution, with confidence that I can get a charge when I need one.
Yes, there are significantly more public charging stations than when I first got behind the wheel of my Kia Niro EV in January 2020.
But there are also significantly more electric vehicles vying to use them — and still vast areas of the state without a single fast charger.
Chargers are more reliable now, but still not quite good enough.
In 2020, it felt like half the public chargers I tried to use weren't working.
These days, l find only about a quarter are out.
This jibes with the experience of researchers who checked public fast chargers at 181 charging stations in the Bay Area last year and found that about 23% weren't functional.
Even with more chargers, they still aren't easy to find.
I have an app that helps, but it only gives me a general location.
Public charging stations are often tucked away in remote corners of parking lots or behind buildings with no helpful signage.
They may be accessible only during business hours or, if in a hotel, only for paying guests to use.
It’s not uncommon to locate a charging station and discover that all the chargers are in use or blocked by cars not charging.
Or, most frustratingly, the chargers may be offline or nonfunctional — which you may not discover until you park, plug in and try to start the charger.
And even if the stars align and you find an available charger that works, it may shut off mid-charge with no warning or reason.
When I chose an electrical vehicle, I knew that meant an extra 30 minutes in travel time for each charging stop during a road trip.
But I did not count on the time wasted by having to, for example, backtrack to another station or one out of my way because the charging station on my route was not working.
I did not count on having to wait 60 minutes to charge because the fast charger is not charging very fast today.
Or having to spend the wait time baking in the sun because the charging station on the side of a hot freeway has no shade.
Honestly, who thought that was a good idea?
I didn't count on having to download a half-dozen apps because each charger company has its own.
I could fill up a book recounting the many frustrating and absurd experiences I have had charging my car over the last three years and three months — and I haven't even hit 23,000 miles on the car yet.
Things are improving, but if the pace of change over the last three years is an indication of what's in store for the next three years, the policies to push increasing numbers of EVs by California and the Biden administration are in trouble.
It’s not enough to set sales targets and offer tax credits.
If we want people to embrace fully electric cars, we have to make it easier to charge up away from home.
That means mapping out charging stations in a comprehensive, thoughtful way that ensures a reliable and easy-to-use network — not leaving it to the whims of the commercial sector, which will build stations where it’s most profitable or convenient.
It will require cities to develop plans for how and where to locate public chargers and not just plop them down randomly and call it a day.
As part of the bipartisan infrastructure law, the federal government is spending $7.5 billion to build 500,000 chargers across the nation, which is great.
But authorities must take into account the experiences of early adopters like me as they invest.
Because if it continues to be this much of a hassle to charge up, it's going to be tough to convince motorists to go green.
I don't know if I will trade in my EV, because I really do love it, charging issues aside.
But I'm taking a road trip next month, and if the state of public charging isn't much improved from my last road trip, well, it's going to be hard not to make the switch.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/other/c ... 8213&ei=30
Re: ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Man of Many US
"Electric Vehicle Charging is Not as Cheap as You Think"
Story by Ben McKimm
23 APRIL 2023
Cheaper running costs are something you immediately associate with EV ownership, and while true on paper, I’ve found public charging is a lot more expensive than you might think.
I love electric vehicles, but my EV-curious friends and work colleagues are often shocked at just how expensive it is to charge one on the public network in Australia.
If you ignore the useless AC chargers and focus strictly on DC chargers that provide 50kW or higher and the price of charging becomes a real cost to consider when purchasing your new EV, especially once prices start edging closer to $1.00/kWh.
Is it cheaper than petrol or diesel?
Of course, but the margin isn’t as wide as you’d expect.
In this article, I’ll be talking about my personal experience with the public charging network in Sydney, Australia, across a range of public charging networks such as BP Pulse, ChargeFox, Evie, and Ampol.
I’ll also be sharing a few things to consider before purchasing your new EV if you want to avoid spending too much time and money at a public charger.
How Much Does it Cost to Charge an Electric Vehicle in Australia?
It’s a question that you’ll struggle to find an answer to without really getting into the electric vehicle ownership experience.
In short, the answer is it’ll cost anywhere from $0.40/kWh to $0.70/kWh to charge an electric vehicle in Australia on the fast-charging network.
A charge from 10-80% will cost the average EV owner around $40 for 300-400km of range.
I’ll preface that the cost of electric vehicle charging varies between brands, networks, and the power of the machine itself – but I’m here to speak from personal experience.
And before you even ask “Wouldn’t it be easier if there was a national charging network”?
Well, yes it would.
Instead, my phone is full of different charging apps that allow the various companies to see what I had for breakfast before data capturing my charging habits and then selling them to vehicle manufacturers and the government.
Finding a Charger… that’s not broken
Once you get over the sheer number of apps, you’re faced with the frustrating task of finding a charger.
Unless of course you’re a Tesla driver because they have their own Supercharger network.
If you’ve managed to find a charger, you then check to make sure it’s actually working through the various social charging apps – my favourite is PlugShare.
Most charging brands won’t admit that their chargers are broken, so their apps are relatively useless for actually finding a working charger.
For example, I have two 50kW+ DC chargers within a 20-minute drive of my house from two different brands.
The week I decided to sit down and write this article, I visited the nearest charger (a particularly inconsistent charger in Berowa that happens to be the last DC charger before heading north on the M1 motorway) only to find that it was broken for the second time in 3 days of testing the Kia EV6 GT.
The other local charger, a BP Pulse unit just down the road, was working perfectly.
Why?
Well, nobody knows…
Both are Tritium-branded units even though they come from two different companies.
The more expensive unit works consistently, and the cheaper one does not.
Something I’ve found to be a theme throughout the network, and while I don’t have enough concrete evidence to point at one thing in particular just yet, I suspect it’s because charging itself does not make the companies enough money to bother fixing them.
As far as I’m concerned, charging ‘up times’ should be a prerequisite for any new EV infrastructure projects in Australia.
Including the $39.4 Million project to install 500 new charging bays around NSW announced by the outgoing Liberal Government.
I’ve been awaiting a response from the government offices on this since the project was announced in October last year.
Cost of Charging an Electric Vehicle in Australia
If you’ve managed to find a charger that works, congratulations.
The cost of charging an EV in Australia on the public DC fast-charging network can cost anywhere from $0.40/kWh to $0.70/kWh.
Meaning a charge from 10-80% will cost the average EV owner around $40 for 300-400km of range.
And if the current energy market is anything to go by, expect that price to rise considerably once more chargers are rolled out across the network.
Efficient Diesel (Mild-Hybrid) vs. Average EV Cost Per KM
Efficient Diesel (Mild-Hybrid) costs around $0.086/km.
The average electric vehicle costs around $0.075/km.
Comparing the most fuel-efficient diesel cars to the top electric vehicles paints an interesting story.
Cars like the Audi Q5 35 TDI MHEV can travel up to 1458km on a $120 tank of fuel.
Crunching the numbers and it’s around one cent per km more expensive to run than an EV, without factoring in the ‘time is money’ element.
If your EV isn’t efficient and sucks the life out of the battery, it can cost a whole lot more.
How We Got Here, Efficiency in Electric Vehicles
If we take a step back for a second and look at why you might find yourself spending more money on public charging than you first anticipated, then range and efficiency are the primary factors to consider.
In my experience, the range of an EV is influenced by so many factors (battery size, power, regenerative braking, temperature, and aerodynamic efficiency, to name a few) that it’s borderline impossible to paint a clear and valuable picture for consumers.
Instead, I judge an electric vehicle based on its efficiency and how it goes about achieving the range.
I firmly believe this is THE most important factor to consider when purchasing any new electric vehicle, especially if you’re looking to brave it and solely use the public charging network.
Efficiency is measured in a similar way to a conventional petrol or diesel vehicle, with EVs measuring the kWh/100km as opposed to the litres/100km.
Powerful EVs like the Kia EV6 GT and Porsche Taycan GTS will use north of 21kWh/100 km, meaning if your car has a 77kWh battery, then you’ll be targeting around 360km of range on a good day – without factoring in driving conditions, temperature, and wind.
The fact remains that not all EVs are made with efficiency in mind and the more powerful (and often, more expensive) cars offer less range.
Unless they’re combined with a GIANT battery, like the Hummer EV which uses a battery twice the size of a conventional EV to travel the same range.
And while I’ll concede that the cost of public charging matters none to someone spending north of $100,000 AUD on a new Kia EV6 GT or Porsche Taycan GTS, it’s also a question of time.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/el ... 455f&ei=79
"Electric Vehicle Charging is Not as Cheap as You Think"
Story by Ben McKimm
23 APRIL 2023
Cheaper running costs are something you immediately associate with EV ownership, and while true on paper, I’ve found public charging is a lot more expensive than you might think.
I love electric vehicles, but my EV-curious friends and work colleagues are often shocked at just how expensive it is to charge one on the public network in Australia.
If you ignore the useless AC chargers and focus strictly on DC chargers that provide 50kW or higher and the price of charging becomes a real cost to consider when purchasing your new EV, especially once prices start edging closer to $1.00/kWh.
Is it cheaper than petrol or diesel?
Of course, but the margin isn’t as wide as you’d expect.
In this article, I’ll be talking about my personal experience with the public charging network in Sydney, Australia, across a range of public charging networks such as BP Pulse, ChargeFox, Evie, and Ampol.
I’ll also be sharing a few things to consider before purchasing your new EV if you want to avoid spending too much time and money at a public charger.
How Much Does it Cost to Charge an Electric Vehicle in Australia?
It’s a question that you’ll struggle to find an answer to without really getting into the electric vehicle ownership experience.
In short, the answer is it’ll cost anywhere from $0.40/kWh to $0.70/kWh to charge an electric vehicle in Australia on the fast-charging network.
A charge from 10-80% will cost the average EV owner around $40 for 300-400km of range.
I’ll preface that the cost of electric vehicle charging varies between brands, networks, and the power of the machine itself – but I’m here to speak from personal experience.
And before you even ask “Wouldn’t it be easier if there was a national charging network”?
Well, yes it would.
Instead, my phone is full of different charging apps that allow the various companies to see what I had for breakfast before data capturing my charging habits and then selling them to vehicle manufacturers and the government.
Finding a Charger… that’s not broken
Once you get over the sheer number of apps, you’re faced with the frustrating task of finding a charger.
Unless of course you’re a Tesla driver because they have their own Supercharger network.
If you’ve managed to find a charger, you then check to make sure it’s actually working through the various social charging apps – my favourite is PlugShare.
Most charging brands won’t admit that their chargers are broken, so their apps are relatively useless for actually finding a working charger.
For example, I have two 50kW+ DC chargers within a 20-minute drive of my house from two different brands.
The week I decided to sit down and write this article, I visited the nearest charger (a particularly inconsistent charger in Berowa that happens to be the last DC charger before heading north on the M1 motorway) only to find that it was broken for the second time in 3 days of testing the Kia EV6 GT.
The other local charger, a BP Pulse unit just down the road, was working perfectly.
Why?
Well, nobody knows…
Both are Tritium-branded units even though they come from two different companies.
The more expensive unit works consistently, and the cheaper one does not.
Something I’ve found to be a theme throughout the network, and while I don’t have enough concrete evidence to point at one thing in particular just yet, I suspect it’s because charging itself does not make the companies enough money to bother fixing them.
As far as I’m concerned, charging ‘up times’ should be a prerequisite for any new EV infrastructure projects in Australia.
Including the $39.4 Million project to install 500 new charging bays around NSW announced by the outgoing Liberal Government.
I’ve been awaiting a response from the government offices on this since the project was announced in October last year.
Cost of Charging an Electric Vehicle in Australia
If you’ve managed to find a charger that works, congratulations.
The cost of charging an EV in Australia on the public DC fast-charging network can cost anywhere from $0.40/kWh to $0.70/kWh.
Meaning a charge from 10-80% will cost the average EV owner around $40 for 300-400km of range.
And if the current energy market is anything to go by, expect that price to rise considerably once more chargers are rolled out across the network.
Efficient Diesel (Mild-Hybrid) vs. Average EV Cost Per KM
Efficient Diesel (Mild-Hybrid) costs around $0.086/km.
The average electric vehicle costs around $0.075/km.
Comparing the most fuel-efficient diesel cars to the top electric vehicles paints an interesting story.
Cars like the Audi Q5 35 TDI MHEV can travel up to 1458km on a $120 tank of fuel.
Crunching the numbers and it’s around one cent per km more expensive to run than an EV, without factoring in the ‘time is money’ element.
If your EV isn’t efficient and sucks the life out of the battery, it can cost a whole lot more.
How We Got Here, Efficiency in Electric Vehicles
If we take a step back for a second and look at why you might find yourself spending more money on public charging than you first anticipated, then range and efficiency are the primary factors to consider.
In my experience, the range of an EV is influenced by so many factors (battery size, power, regenerative braking, temperature, and aerodynamic efficiency, to name a few) that it’s borderline impossible to paint a clear and valuable picture for consumers.
Instead, I judge an electric vehicle based on its efficiency and how it goes about achieving the range.
I firmly believe this is THE most important factor to consider when purchasing any new electric vehicle, especially if you’re looking to brave it and solely use the public charging network.
Efficiency is measured in a similar way to a conventional petrol or diesel vehicle, with EVs measuring the kWh/100km as opposed to the litres/100km.
Powerful EVs like the Kia EV6 GT and Porsche Taycan GTS will use north of 21kWh/100 km, meaning if your car has a 77kWh battery, then you’ll be targeting around 360km of range on a good day – without factoring in driving conditions, temperature, and wind.
The fact remains that not all EVs are made with efficiency in mind and the more powerful (and often, more expensive) cars offer less range.
Unless they’re combined with a GIANT battery, like the Hummer EV which uses a battery twice the size of a conventional EV to travel the same range.
And while I’ll concede that the cost of public charging matters none to someone spending north of $100,000 AUD on a new Kia EV6 GT or Porsche Taycan GTS, it’s also a question of time.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/el ... 455f&ei=79
Re: ELECTRIC VEHICLES
MotorBiscuit
"EV Charging So Bad In CA Owner Goes Back to Gas: Here’s Why"
Story by Thom Taylor
23 APRIL 2023
You would expect that the state leading the EV zeitgeist would have the best charging network, and it does.
Unfortunately, the best ends up being far from the best.
At least according to a Los Angeles Times staffer with her multitude of charging station problems.
It is so bad she wants to trade for a hybrid instead.
Which EV did the owner have?
Mariel Garza has had her 2020 Kia Niro EV for three years.
She loves everything about the car itself, aligning with all the good things hyped over the years about electrification.
But when it comes to charging centers, the list of problems the LA Times Deputy Editorial Page Editor has faced is a really bad omen to the future of electric cars.
Here are just some of the issues she and every EV driver in California, face.
And this means it can be far worse beyond the Golden State borders.
What problems are EV charging stations having?
* Many parts of the state don’t have public fast chargers.
* At many charging stations, only a few chargers are operating.
In fact, researchers in the San Francisco Bay area recently put the number of functioning charging stations at 75%.
* Even with helpful apps, many times a charger is hard to find.
This is attributed to a number of problems.
Apps only give general locations.
Many charging stations can be located in odd sections of parking lots, behind buildings, are only open during business hours, or in some instances available to surrounding businesses’ paying customers.
* When chargers are all in use, or cars are parked that aren’t being charged, that means an unknown wait time until one becomes available.
What about EV charging apps?
Sometimes you don’t know you’ve plugged into a charger that doesn’t work until you’ve begun charging.
Once you’ve successfully plugged into a charger, it can arbitrarily shut off before you have gotten the amount of charge you want, or need.
Sometimes fast chargers aren’t very fast, increasing the amount of time you need to charge.
This becomes especially problematic when you’re waiting in the sun next to a freeway because there is no overhead protection.
Because each charging company requires its own app, you must download and shuffle through several when the charging station you are sitting at has no functioning chargers.
What are some of the larger issues around charging?
A larger problem moving forward is that because charging companies want the most profit from the cost to build them, they naturally want to build in popular locations.
The problem is rural areas become a dearth of charging stations.
Some of this is what happens with early adopters of any new technology.
Hiccups and issues with the technology itself, commonality problems, and because private companies own the charging stations, a profit versus public good dilemma.
But consumers want convenience, which should be one of the advantages of EV ownership.
The federal government is ready to unleash 500,000 chargers nationwide.
Let’s hope its planning is a lot better than the hit-and-miss vagaries we have now.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/ev ... 790d&ei=19
"EV Charging So Bad In CA Owner Goes Back to Gas: Here’s Why"
Story by Thom Taylor
23 APRIL 2023
You would expect that the state leading the EV zeitgeist would have the best charging network, and it does.
Unfortunately, the best ends up being far from the best.
At least according to a Los Angeles Times staffer with her multitude of charging station problems.
It is so bad she wants to trade for a hybrid instead.
Which EV did the owner have?
Mariel Garza has had her 2020 Kia Niro EV for three years.
She loves everything about the car itself, aligning with all the good things hyped over the years about electrification.
But when it comes to charging centers, the list of problems the LA Times Deputy Editorial Page Editor has faced is a really bad omen to the future of electric cars.
Here are just some of the issues she and every EV driver in California, face.
And this means it can be far worse beyond the Golden State borders.
What problems are EV charging stations having?
* Many parts of the state don’t have public fast chargers.
* At many charging stations, only a few chargers are operating.
In fact, researchers in the San Francisco Bay area recently put the number of functioning charging stations at 75%.
* Even with helpful apps, many times a charger is hard to find.
This is attributed to a number of problems.
Apps only give general locations.
Many charging stations can be located in odd sections of parking lots, behind buildings, are only open during business hours, or in some instances available to surrounding businesses’ paying customers.
* When chargers are all in use, or cars are parked that aren’t being charged, that means an unknown wait time until one becomes available.
What about EV charging apps?
Sometimes you don’t know you’ve plugged into a charger that doesn’t work until you’ve begun charging.
Once you’ve successfully plugged into a charger, it can arbitrarily shut off before you have gotten the amount of charge you want, or need.
Sometimes fast chargers aren’t very fast, increasing the amount of time you need to charge.
This becomes especially problematic when you’re waiting in the sun next to a freeway because there is no overhead protection.
Because each charging company requires its own app, you must download and shuffle through several when the charging station you are sitting at has no functioning chargers.
What are some of the larger issues around charging?
A larger problem moving forward is that because charging companies want the most profit from the cost to build them, they naturally want to build in popular locations.
The problem is rural areas become a dearth of charging stations.
Some of this is what happens with early adopters of any new technology.
Hiccups and issues with the technology itself, commonality problems, and because private companies own the charging stations, a profit versus public good dilemma.
But consumers want convenience, which should be one of the advantages of EV ownership.
The federal government is ready to unleash 500,000 chargers nationwide.
Let’s hope its planning is a lot better than the hit-and-miss vagaries we have now.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/ev ... 790d&ei=19
Re: ELECTRIC VEHICLES
HotCars
"10 Brutal Truths About Electric Pickups Buyers Aren't Prepared To Hear"
Story by Ben Welham
24 APRIL 2023
The decision to go out and buy a brand-new electric pickup truck for north of $40,000 may seem insane for some, but for others, it's exciting because there's a whole new world of utilitarian vehicles to be discovered.
However, it isn't all rainbows and butterflies because, like with any car purchase, there are lots of things to consider and in this case, the bad may outweigh the good.
Don't think of this as an article hating on electric pickup trucks because they absolutely have their place in the market, but treat this more as a list of considerations before you pull the trigger on a very expensive and complex machine.
By looking at a range of factors, we've listed 10 brutal truths that deserve a mention before anyone thinks about buying one of these swanky pickup trucks.
Electric cars are here to stay whether we like it or not, we're just making sure you make the right decision from the get-go.
Initial Purchase Cost
Like we said in the intro, the starting price for an electric pickup in today's market is around $40,000 with prices rising as high as $70,000 and beyond.
This is a stratospheric amount of cash for most people, especially when you can buy a perfectly decent new pickup for well under the base price.
So, why would you consider one of these?
Well, the answer is simple.
They're new, exciting, and impressive on paper, but the initial cost of purchase is going to be a real turn-off for most potential buyers.
You also need to think that many people who buy a pickup truck traditionally beat them up because they're meant to be workhorses and do anything and go anywhere, but this is going to drastically change if prices stay as high as they are.
Public Perception
A concern that may not even cross a buyer's mind is how other pickup drivers will see them.
The rolling coal culture is huge in certain parts of North America and Canada, and rocking up to a parking lot in a silent, clean, and electric pickup truck may not make for the best impression among peers.
It's going to be exactly the same as when the first umbrella was used.
Those who used one were heckled on the street for years until it became socially acceptable to keep yourself dry in the rain.
Coming to terms with electric vehicles, especially pickups, is going to take a long time, and right now, it's certainly a sore topic for hardcore pickup lovers – like it is for many other gearhead groups.
Charging Costs
Once you've gotten over the initial purchase cost of your new electric pickup truck, the next hurdle you'll face is charging it.
This is something that can either be done at home, which is slower, or at a public charger, which is faster but more expensive.
It's a bit of a balancing act at the moment, while charging companies and energy providers work together to find the best solution.
At the time of writing, it costs the average American citizen approximately 15.47 cents per kWh to charge an electric car, meaning a top-spec Ford F-150 Lightning would set you back around $20 for a full charge.
This is fantastic and far cheaper than fueling up a large diesel pickup truck, but how long will this last?
With an energy crisis knocking on the door and EV charging costs in Europe skyrocketing, it's only a matter of time before prices rise.
Range Anxiety
A big one which is widely discussed in forums and on the news is the topic of 'range anxiety'.
Poor ranges in EVs have significantly dropped in recent years, but they're still not as good as an ICE-powered alternative.
For example, the Rivian R1T electric pickup truck has a claimed range of 314 miles, whereas the RAM 1500 diesel equivalent has a quoted range of 950 miles on a single tank.
This is a huge difference and a gap which isn't shrinking, and that's before you get onto the time it takes to top up both trucks.
Longevity
As we know, the pickup truck is meant to be a hard-wearing brute of a machine, otherwise, why would Ford promote the slogan 'Built Tough' with all its off-road vehicles?
So, surely filling one with an unfathomable amount of tech and complex wiring is only a recipe for disaster?
Traditionally, the pickup has been simple and easy to work on, which is why they are used on farms and ranches.
As soon as you begin to introduce more tech, you create a higher chance that things could go wrong.
Of course, brands are weatherproofing their EVs to make them work wherever, but the second some moisture or a small rodent gets into a wiring loom for the infotainment system that controls the car, you're stuffed.
Weight Problems
Pickups have always been heavy – that's why they can carry so much.
They are built to last, and in order to do that cheaply you need strong, and therefore heavy, steel.
To put this into perspective, a top-of-the-range Ford F-150 Tremor weighs 5,115 lbs, which is already very heavy.
But the all-new GMC Hummer EV weighs an astonishing 9,000 lbs – meaning it's close to double the weight of a standard pickup truck.
This comes with many potential issues, including available range, stopping distances, and general drivability.
Carmakers really aren't making it easy for themselves with this one, but unfortunately, the batteries are really heavy.
So until someone develops a lighter one, we're stuck with these.
Temperature Worries
If you've ever played SnowRunner, then you'll know that truckers can face some seriously arctic weather conditions and therefore need a vehicle that can keep up and not die on them in the middle of nowhere.
Well, unfortunately, that rules out any electric pickup truck.
The reason for this is that the batteries in EVs just can't cope with freezing conditions.
The optimum operating temperature for an EV's battery is around 70 degrees Fahrenheit, so any less, and it begins to suffer.
EV batteries just prefer warmer climates, so if you're trying to drive it in colder temperatures, you're going to face all sorts of issues such as a reduced available range, and you could even damage the battery.
So, it is safer to opt for a gas or diesel-powered pickup if you live in temperamental conditions.
Charging Times
One of the most talked about topics in the world of electric vehicles is charge times because they're still far too long.
To charge a Ford F-150 Lightning at home, you're looking at around eight hours to get it from 5% to 80%, which just won't work if you can't wait all night for it to be ready.
It's not much better at public fast chargers either, with it taking roughly 40 minutes to fully charge an electric pickup.
Considering it takes a matter of minutes to fuel up a diesel or gas pickup rival, it simply doesn't yet make sense to daily drive an electric one, unless you can meticulously plan out your trip to ensure you reach all the correct chargers in time.
YouTuber FunForLouis attempted to drive across America in his Tesla-powered VW Campervan, and well, the videos speak for themselves.
Limited Choices (For Now)
New electric pickup trucks are cropping up all the time, whether that be from start-ups or from large OEMs such as Ford, but there are really only a handful worth considering (or that you can actually buy, thanks Elon).
The main competitors in the US that you can actually buy are the Ford F-150 Lightning, Rivian R1T and Hummer EV.
That's it.
There are more with planned entry into the market soon such as the Chevrolet Silverado EV, GMC Sierra EV and the RAM 1500 REV, but that's not now.
And who knows when Tesla will launch the long-awaited Cybertruck?
That's a whole other story, but it proves that there just aren't all that many choices out there yet.
Charging Infrastructure
The situation is much better in America than it is in Europe, but it's still not 100% and that's regarding electric charging stations.
There is a huge amount of work for governments to do all around the world to ensure everyone is able to charge their electric cars when they need to.
Currently, we're facing broken charge stations, slow outputs and scarcity of availability – so when will this change?
The truth is, we don't know, but you'd hope these issues would be solved quickly – especially if the UK plans to ban the sale of new gas and diesel cars by 2030.
Whether it's more chargers the world needs, or just faster charge times and longer ranges, we're unsure, but it's evident that currently, it's just not viable for so many people to own and daily drive an electric car – especially if they need lots of range in a pickup.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/10 ... 8ce3&ei=47
"10 Brutal Truths About Electric Pickups Buyers Aren't Prepared To Hear"
Story by Ben Welham
24 APRIL 2023
The decision to go out and buy a brand-new electric pickup truck for north of $40,000 may seem insane for some, but for others, it's exciting because there's a whole new world of utilitarian vehicles to be discovered.
However, it isn't all rainbows and butterflies because, like with any car purchase, there are lots of things to consider and in this case, the bad may outweigh the good.
Don't think of this as an article hating on electric pickup trucks because they absolutely have their place in the market, but treat this more as a list of considerations before you pull the trigger on a very expensive and complex machine.
By looking at a range of factors, we've listed 10 brutal truths that deserve a mention before anyone thinks about buying one of these swanky pickup trucks.
Electric cars are here to stay whether we like it or not, we're just making sure you make the right decision from the get-go.
Initial Purchase Cost
Like we said in the intro, the starting price for an electric pickup in today's market is around $40,000 with prices rising as high as $70,000 and beyond.
This is a stratospheric amount of cash for most people, especially when you can buy a perfectly decent new pickup for well under the base price.
So, why would you consider one of these?
Well, the answer is simple.
They're new, exciting, and impressive on paper, but the initial cost of purchase is going to be a real turn-off for most potential buyers.
You also need to think that many people who buy a pickup truck traditionally beat them up because they're meant to be workhorses and do anything and go anywhere, but this is going to drastically change if prices stay as high as they are.
Public Perception
A concern that may not even cross a buyer's mind is how other pickup drivers will see them.
The rolling coal culture is huge in certain parts of North America and Canada, and rocking up to a parking lot in a silent, clean, and electric pickup truck may not make for the best impression among peers.
It's going to be exactly the same as when the first umbrella was used.
Those who used one were heckled on the street for years until it became socially acceptable to keep yourself dry in the rain.
Coming to terms with electric vehicles, especially pickups, is going to take a long time, and right now, it's certainly a sore topic for hardcore pickup lovers – like it is for many other gearhead groups.
Charging Costs
Once you've gotten over the initial purchase cost of your new electric pickup truck, the next hurdle you'll face is charging it.
This is something that can either be done at home, which is slower, or at a public charger, which is faster but more expensive.
It's a bit of a balancing act at the moment, while charging companies and energy providers work together to find the best solution.
At the time of writing, it costs the average American citizen approximately 15.47 cents per kWh to charge an electric car, meaning a top-spec Ford F-150 Lightning would set you back around $20 for a full charge.
This is fantastic and far cheaper than fueling up a large diesel pickup truck, but how long will this last?
With an energy crisis knocking on the door and EV charging costs in Europe skyrocketing, it's only a matter of time before prices rise.
Range Anxiety
A big one which is widely discussed in forums and on the news is the topic of 'range anxiety'.
Poor ranges in EVs have significantly dropped in recent years, but they're still not as good as an ICE-powered alternative.
For example, the Rivian R1T electric pickup truck has a claimed range of 314 miles, whereas the RAM 1500 diesel equivalent has a quoted range of 950 miles on a single tank.
This is a huge difference and a gap which isn't shrinking, and that's before you get onto the time it takes to top up both trucks.
Longevity
As we know, the pickup truck is meant to be a hard-wearing brute of a machine, otherwise, why would Ford promote the slogan 'Built Tough' with all its off-road vehicles?
So, surely filling one with an unfathomable amount of tech and complex wiring is only a recipe for disaster?
Traditionally, the pickup has been simple and easy to work on, which is why they are used on farms and ranches.
As soon as you begin to introduce more tech, you create a higher chance that things could go wrong.
Of course, brands are weatherproofing their EVs to make them work wherever, but the second some moisture or a small rodent gets into a wiring loom for the infotainment system that controls the car, you're stuffed.
Weight Problems
Pickups have always been heavy – that's why they can carry so much.
They are built to last, and in order to do that cheaply you need strong, and therefore heavy, steel.
To put this into perspective, a top-of-the-range Ford F-150 Tremor weighs 5,115 lbs, which is already very heavy.
But the all-new GMC Hummer EV weighs an astonishing 9,000 lbs – meaning it's close to double the weight of a standard pickup truck.
This comes with many potential issues, including available range, stopping distances, and general drivability.
Carmakers really aren't making it easy for themselves with this one, but unfortunately, the batteries are really heavy.
So until someone develops a lighter one, we're stuck with these.
Temperature Worries
If you've ever played SnowRunner, then you'll know that truckers can face some seriously arctic weather conditions and therefore need a vehicle that can keep up and not die on them in the middle of nowhere.
Well, unfortunately, that rules out any electric pickup truck.
The reason for this is that the batteries in EVs just can't cope with freezing conditions.
The optimum operating temperature for an EV's battery is around 70 degrees Fahrenheit, so any less, and it begins to suffer.
EV batteries just prefer warmer climates, so if you're trying to drive it in colder temperatures, you're going to face all sorts of issues such as a reduced available range, and you could even damage the battery.
So, it is safer to opt for a gas or diesel-powered pickup if you live in temperamental conditions.
Charging Times
One of the most talked about topics in the world of electric vehicles is charge times because they're still far too long.
To charge a Ford F-150 Lightning at home, you're looking at around eight hours to get it from 5% to 80%, which just won't work if you can't wait all night for it to be ready.
It's not much better at public fast chargers either, with it taking roughly 40 minutes to fully charge an electric pickup.
Considering it takes a matter of minutes to fuel up a diesel or gas pickup rival, it simply doesn't yet make sense to daily drive an electric one, unless you can meticulously plan out your trip to ensure you reach all the correct chargers in time.
YouTuber FunForLouis attempted to drive across America in his Tesla-powered VW Campervan, and well, the videos speak for themselves.
Limited Choices (For Now)
New electric pickup trucks are cropping up all the time, whether that be from start-ups or from large OEMs such as Ford, but there are really only a handful worth considering (or that you can actually buy, thanks Elon).
The main competitors in the US that you can actually buy are the Ford F-150 Lightning, Rivian R1T and Hummer EV.
That's it.
There are more with planned entry into the market soon such as the Chevrolet Silverado EV, GMC Sierra EV and the RAM 1500 REV, but that's not now.
And who knows when Tesla will launch the long-awaited Cybertruck?
That's a whole other story, but it proves that there just aren't all that many choices out there yet.
Charging Infrastructure
The situation is much better in America than it is in Europe, but it's still not 100% and that's regarding electric charging stations.
There is a huge amount of work for governments to do all around the world to ensure everyone is able to charge their electric cars when they need to.
Currently, we're facing broken charge stations, slow outputs and scarcity of availability – so when will this change?
The truth is, we don't know, but you'd hope these issues would be solved quickly – especially if the UK plans to ban the sale of new gas and diesel cars by 2030.
Whether it's more chargers the world needs, or just faster charge times and longer ranges, we're unsure, but it's evident that currently, it's just not viable for so many people to own and daily drive an electric car – especially if they need lots of range in a pickup.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/10 ... 8ce3&ei=47
Re: ELECTRIC VEHICLES
FOX NEWS
"First responders sound alarm over EV batteries after electric F-150s burst into flames: 'Totally different'"
Story by Taylor Penley
26 APRIL 2023
A shocking video shows a row of electric F-150s bursting into flames after EV batteries overheated and caught on fire.
Those fighting the flames say they are currently unprepared to mitigate the looming crisis that could result from a growing number of EVs hitting the road in the near future.
David Dalrymple, a volunteer firefighter, and Michael O'Brian of the International Fire Chiefs Association say the long-burning blaze starts with the vehicles' lithium batteries and a chemical reaction that fuels itself.
"It's a totally different pathway than most firefighters have to deal with," Dalrymple said Wednesday on Fox News Channel's "Fox & Friends First."
He explained how the overheated batteries inside the vehicles generate a fire that can linger for hours and is next to impossible to extinguish.
"Basically, it's a chemical reaction," he explained.
"It's not a normal fire where fire needs oxygen to burn."
"This is a chemical reaction that makes its own oxygen."
"It's an exothermic reaction."
O'Brian said he is concerned about first responders who currently lack training and resources to fight these long-burning fires and prevent loss of life when seconds count.
According to O'Brian, gasoline-powered vehicles can often be extinguished within five minutes and the site cleanup time is relatively brief.
Electric vehicles, however, can take hours to rein in because of their unique differences.
"We're now dealing with two-plus-hour incidents, and we can't actively extinguish this fire when the battery pack is involved, so fire crews are really forced with two major options – do we actively cool the battery pack, which is trying to stop that propagation within that battery pack, or do we just let it go?" he said.
EV battery fires also increase the need for upticks in fire hydrant installations, particularly in areas near freeways where they are less common, he added.
"There's a lot of change that's going to be happening, and it's not just our electrified vehicles."
"This discussion is happening in our buildings, it's happening in the recycling market, and you'll see, as we build more batteries, as we produce more EVs, that means more products are going to be on the road as we move to get these to assembly plants… and our fire crews are going to be continually challenged every day."
Aside from combustibility, other electric vehicle concerns linger among critics, including cost and worries that charging the vehicles could overwhelm the power grid in some locations.
Fears coincide with an EV push from the Biden administration, including President Biden, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, and the Environmental Protection Agency, who recently proposed aggressive regulations cracking down on gas-powered car emissions, potentially impacting future car models for the years 2027 to 2032.
Fox News' Thomas Catenacci contributed to this report.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/first ... 7144&ei=27
"First responders sound alarm over EV batteries after electric F-150s burst into flames: 'Totally different'"
Story by Taylor Penley
26 APRIL 2023
A shocking video shows a row of electric F-150s bursting into flames after EV batteries overheated and caught on fire.
Those fighting the flames say they are currently unprepared to mitigate the looming crisis that could result from a growing number of EVs hitting the road in the near future.
David Dalrymple, a volunteer firefighter, and Michael O'Brian of the International Fire Chiefs Association say the long-burning blaze starts with the vehicles' lithium batteries and a chemical reaction that fuels itself.
"It's a totally different pathway than most firefighters have to deal with," Dalrymple said Wednesday on Fox News Channel's "Fox & Friends First."
He explained how the overheated batteries inside the vehicles generate a fire that can linger for hours and is next to impossible to extinguish.
"Basically, it's a chemical reaction," he explained.
"It's not a normal fire where fire needs oxygen to burn."
"This is a chemical reaction that makes its own oxygen."
"It's an exothermic reaction."
O'Brian said he is concerned about first responders who currently lack training and resources to fight these long-burning fires and prevent loss of life when seconds count.
According to O'Brian, gasoline-powered vehicles can often be extinguished within five minutes and the site cleanup time is relatively brief.
Electric vehicles, however, can take hours to rein in because of their unique differences.
"We're now dealing with two-plus-hour incidents, and we can't actively extinguish this fire when the battery pack is involved, so fire crews are really forced with two major options – do we actively cool the battery pack, which is trying to stop that propagation within that battery pack, or do we just let it go?" he said.
EV battery fires also increase the need for upticks in fire hydrant installations, particularly in areas near freeways where they are less common, he added.
"There's a lot of change that's going to be happening, and it's not just our electrified vehicles."
"This discussion is happening in our buildings, it's happening in the recycling market, and you'll see, as we build more batteries, as we produce more EVs, that means more products are going to be on the road as we move to get these to assembly plants… and our fire crews are going to be continually challenged every day."
Aside from combustibility, other electric vehicle concerns linger among critics, including cost and worries that charging the vehicles could overwhelm the power grid in some locations.
Fears coincide with an EV push from the Biden administration, including President Biden, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, and the Environmental Protection Agency, who recently proposed aggressive regulations cracking down on gas-powered car emissions, potentially impacting future car models for the years 2027 to 2032.
Fox News' Thomas Catenacci contributed to this report.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/first ... 7144&ei=27
Re: ELECTRIC VEHICLES
HotCars
"The Truth About Electric Cars Being More Prone To Catching On Fire"
Story by Lori Wilson
30 APRIL 2023
Reduced cost of ownership and helping the environment are just a couple of benefits of driving an electric car.
Yet questions about their safety persist, especially when discussing car fires.
So, what's the truth behind the likelihood of an EV catching fire following a crash?
Richard Morgan of the YouTube channel Electric Classic Cars explains the differences between an electric car fire and one in an internal-combustion vehicle.
Gasoline Cars Are Actually More Likely To Combust
Many people understand that a car powered by a gasoline car would be more likely to catch fire than an electric one.
Gasoline has a relatively high energy density, making it extremely combustible on a hot surface or near sparks.
Taking safety precautions, Morgan illustrates this by placing a few drops of gas in a metal bowl.
Using a small blowtorch, he sets it ablaze.
The gas ignites instantly.
Behind this basic demonstration, however, are hard stats.
Morgan says that gas-run cars are 61 times more likely to catch fire than electric vehicles.
He then discusses what's needed to set an electric battery on fire.
An Electric Battery Is Much Harder To Set Ablaze
An EV battery can ignite in one of three ways, according to Morgan.
One way is if a crash punctures the battery.
Another is overcharging, in which too much electricity goes into the battery.
The last way is, as with gasoline, through high temperatures.
In an electric battery containing a number of cells, too much heat creates thermal runaway.
A single battery cell contains an enormous amount of energy.
When it short-circuits, it triggers heat in the other cells and sets the conditions for combustion.
But for a lithium iron phosphate (LiFePo) battery, like those installed in Teslas, temperatures must climb to over 300º F before they catch fire.
This battery will continue to burn until all of its energy is gone.
Morgan proves this by lighting a Tesla battery on fire.
It takes several minutes for it to finally ignite and even more time to burn out.
He also tries to unsuccessfully puncture a battery to see if it would ignite.
Yet Morgen admits that a big pitfall of an electric car fire is that it's difficult to extinguish.
This is a problem that we hope carmakers will resolve soon so firefighters are better prepared to handle such an event.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/th ... 4e66&ei=44
"The Truth About Electric Cars Being More Prone To Catching On Fire"
Story by Lori Wilson
30 APRIL 2023
Reduced cost of ownership and helping the environment are just a couple of benefits of driving an electric car.
Yet questions about their safety persist, especially when discussing car fires.
So, what's the truth behind the likelihood of an EV catching fire following a crash?
Richard Morgan of the YouTube channel Electric Classic Cars explains the differences between an electric car fire and one in an internal-combustion vehicle.
Gasoline Cars Are Actually More Likely To Combust
Many people understand that a car powered by a gasoline car would be more likely to catch fire than an electric one.
Gasoline has a relatively high energy density, making it extremely combustible on a hot surface or near sparks.
Taking safety precautions, Morgan illustrates this by placing a few drops of gas in a metal bowl.
Using a small blowtorch, he sets it ablaze.
The gas ignites instantly.
Behind this basic demonstration, however, are hard stats.
Morgan says that gas-run cars are 61 times more likely to catch fire than electric vehicles.
He then discusses what's needed to set an electric battery on fire.
An Electric Battery Is Much Harder To Set Ablaze
An EV battery can ignite in one of three ways, according to Morgan.
One way is if a crash punctures the battery.
Another is overcharging, in which too much electricity goes into the battery.
The last way is, as with gasoline, through high temperatures.
In an electric battery containing a number of cells, too much heat creates thermal runaway.
A single battery cell contains an enormous amount of energy.
When it short-circuits, it triggers heat in the other cells and sets the conditions for combustion.
But for a lithium iron phosphate (LiFePo) battery, like those installed in Teslas, temperatures must climb to over 300º F before they catch fire.
This battery will continue to burn until all of its energy is gone.
Morgan proves this by lighting a Tesla battery on fire.
It takes several minutes for it to finally ignite and even more time to burn out.
He also tries to unsuccessfully puncture a battery to see if it would ignite.
Yet Morgen admits that a big pitfall of an electric car fire is that it's difficult to extinguish.
This is a problem that we hope carmakers will resolve soon so firefighters are better prepared to handle such an event.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/th ... 4e66&ei=44
Re: ELECTRIC VEHICLES
REUTERS
"U.S. electric-vehicle startups set for another quarter of steep cash burn"
By Akash Sriram
May 5, 2023
May 5 (Reuters) - U.S. electric-vehicle startups are expected to report another quarter of dwindling cash reserves next week, piling pressure on a group of companies that are struggling to ramp up production and have few options for funding in a turbulent economy.
Having gone public with hopes of shaking up the automobile industry, these companies have seen their market valuations evaporate in the past few months as EV demand slows and market leader Tesla Inc cuts prices to stoke orders.
Lucid Group kicks off first-quarter earnings for the group on Monday, with the company expected to report a 36% sequential slide in cash reserves, according to Visible Alpha.
Rivian Automotive, meanwhile, will likely report on Tuesday that its cash balance fell by 6.8% to $10.78 billion from the preceding quarter, per a Visible Alpha estimate.
The Amazon.com Inc-backed firm, whose shares have declined by nearly a quarter this year, is also expected to report a larger loss of $1.75 billion as both deliveries and production fell in the period.
It posted a $1.59 billion loss a year ago.
Fisker Inc and Nikola, both of which report earnings on Tuesday, are expected to see their cash reserves decline by 5% and 15%, respectively, according to Visible Alpha.
"Any company that's losing money with a low valuation is toast and EVs are no exception."
"I think it is just a slow bleed."
"Maybe they'll get lucky and some of their technologies maybe bought by bigger players," said Thomas Hayes, chairman of hedge fund Great Hill Capital.
A drop in valuations of companies has rendered selling equity for precious cash more ineffective and investors are becoming increasingly unhappy with their stake being diluted as several startups are yet to recognize revenue from operations.
British EV startup Arrival SA and Nikola have issued going-concern warnings in the past few months, with the former set to merge with blank-check firm Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp in a bid to raise cash.
Lordstown Motors said this week it could be forced to file for bankruptcy due to uncertainty over a funding deal with major shareholder Foxconn.
Its earnings in an unscheduled release on Thursday showed Lordstown's cash balance fell 11% sequentially.
Some of the companies including Lucid and Rivian have also said they would not provide data on reservation numbers going forward, sparking some concern among investors.
It is a "disturbing development," CFRA Research analyst Garrett Nelson said.
"What we've seen is a trend of less transparency in the reservation count, but overall competition is a big problem," he added.
Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni and Maju Samuel
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos- ... 023-05-05/
"U.S. electric-vehicle startups set for another quarter of steep cash burn"
By Akash Sriram
May 5, 2023
May 5 (Reuters) - U.S. electric-vehicle startups are expected to report another quarter of dwindling cash reserves next week, piling pressure on a group of companies that are struggling to ramp up production and have few options for funding in a turbulent economy.
Having gone public with hopes of shaking up the automobile industry, these companies have seen their market valuations evaporate in the past few months as EV demand slows and market leader Tesla Inc cuts prices to stoke orders.
Lucid Group kicks off first-quarter earnings for the group on Monday, with the company expected to report a 36% sequential slide in cash reserves, according to Visible Alpha.
Rivian Automotive, meanwhile, will likely report on Tuesday that its cash balance fell by 6.8% to $10.78 billion from the preceding quarter, per a Visible Alpha estimate.
The Amazon.com Inc-backed firm, whose shares have declined by nearly a quarter this year, is also expected to report a larger loss of $1.75 billion as both deliveries and production fell in the period.
It posted a $1.59 billion loss a year ago.
Fisker Inc and Nikola, both of which report earnings on Tuesday, are expected to see their cash reserves decline by 5% and 15%, respectively, according to Visible Alpha.
"Any company that's losing money with a low valuation is toast and EVs are no exception."
"I think it is just a slow bleed."
"Maybe they'll get lucky and some of their technologies maybe bought by bigger players," said Thomas Hayes, chairman of hedge fund Great Hill Capital.
A drop in valuations of companies has rendered selling equity for precious cash more ineffective and investors are becoming increasingly unhappy with their stake being diluted as several startups are yet to recognize revenue from operations.
British EV startup Arrival SA and Nikola have issued going-concern warnings in the past few months, with the former set to merge with blank-check firm Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp in a bid to raise cash.
Lordstown Motors said this week it could be forced to file for bankruptcy due to uncertainty over a funding deal with major shareholder Foxconn.
Its earnings in an unscheduled release on Thursday showed Lordstown's cash balance fell 11% sequentially.
Some of the companies including Lucid and Rivian have also said they would not provide data on reservation numbers going forward, sparking some concern among investors.
It is a "disturbing development," CFRA Research analyst Garrett Nelson said.
"What we've seen is a trend of less transparency in the reservation count, but overall competition is a big problem," he added.
Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni and Maju Samuel
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos- ... 023-05-05/
Re: ELECTRIC VEHICLES
USA TODAY
"Are EV sales declining? Electrifying the car market may be getting harder. Here's why"
Story by Medora Lee, USA TODAY
8 MAY 2023
Electrifying the car market may be getting more difficult, with the share of Americans who say they’re “very unlikely” to consider an EV for their next vehicle purchase growing in each of the first three months of the year, according to a new report.
In March, 21% of new-vehicle shoppers said they were “very unlikely” to consider an EV, up from 18.9% in February and 17.8% in January, consumer analytics firm JD Power said in a monthly EV report.
In contrast, the percentage of car shoppers who say they are “very likely” to consider an EV was 26.9% in March, largely flat this year.
Persistent worries about charging infrastructure and vehicle pricing’s dampening enthusiasm, the report said.
EV’s market share of all new-vehicle sales dropped to 7.3% in March, down from a record high of 8.5% in February but up from 2.6% in February 2020.
“Many new vehicle shoppers are becoming more adamant about their decision to not consider an EV for their next purchase,” JD Power said.
Why aren’t people more interested in EVs?
The lack of public charging infrastructure and price have consistently topped the reasons for the past 10 months, JD Power said.
Other reasons people cited for not wanting to buy an EV: range anxiety; time required to charge; power outage and grid concerns; lack of servicers for repairs and maintenance; and inadequate performance in extreme temperatures.
Even high-profile initiatives like “Walmart’s plan to dramatically expand its charging network and Tesla’s announcement it would open some of its supercharger network to non-Tesla vehicles have apparently had little effect on these consumer concerns, at least so far,” JD Power said.
Are EV prices dropping, though?
The high price tag for an EV compared with its fuel-powered counterpart remains a deterrent.
Government subsidies for EVs initially boosted demand, but the IRS and the U.S. Treasury Department’s new guidance in mid-April on specific vehicle requirements that need to be met before EVs can be eligible for these tax credits sowed confusion and will likely raise the price again for EVs, generally.
New guidance included the location where the vehicle was assembled and details on the sourcing of critical minerals in the vehicle batteries.
Batteries and components must originate in the U.S. or come from countries with which there is a free trade agreement for the vehicle to qualify.
“This new hurdle will affect the affordability of several EV models, while also likely introducing more confusion among buyers,” JD Power said.
“Our data suggest that higher prices will negatively affect EV sales “
Shouldn’t people want to buy an EV to help the environment?
While about 4 in 10 U.S. adults think using EVs helps address climate change “a great deal” (12%) or “a fair amount” (27%), roughly 6 in 10 believe it helps “only a little” (35%) or “not at all” (26%), according to a Gallup poll fielded March 1-23.
Although 43% of U.S. adults said they might consider buying an EV in the future, 41% unequivocally say they would not, Gallup said.
Only about 4% of Americans currently own an EV, Gallup said, and 12% are seriously considering purchasing one.
Who’s least likely to want an EV?
Most people born before 1965, whom JD Power describes as Boomers and pre-Boomers, are least likely to consider an EV, but one-third of Gen Zers (born between 1995 and 2004) aren’t either.
Gen Z is seen as “the future of the marketplace,” the analytics firm said.
“It is clear in the data that price and charging infrastructure are significant obstacles for a wide spectrum of potential customers,” it said.
Geography and education also may influence your decision.
Americans living in the Western U.S. and college graduates are more likely than their counterparts to report that they currently own an electric vehicle, are seriously considering the purchase, or might in the future, Gallup said.
Medora Lee is a money, markets, and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at mjlee@usatoday.com and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday morning.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/compani ... af45&ei=29
"Are EV sales declining? Electrifying the car market may be getting harder. Here's why"
Story by Medora Lee, USA TODAY
8 MAY 2023
Electrifying the car market may be getting more difficult, with the share of Americans who say they’re “very unlikely” to consider an EV for their next vehicle purchase growing in each of the first three months of the year, according to a new report.
In March, 21% of new-vehicle shoppers said they were “very unlikely” to consider an EV, up from 18.9% in February and 17.8% in January, consumer analytics firm JD Power said in a monthly EV report.
In contrast, the percentage of car shoppers who say they are “very likely” to consider an EV was 26.9% in March, largely flat this year.
Persistent worries about charging infrastructure and vehicle pricing’s dampening enthusiasm, the report said.
EV’s market share of all new-vehicle sales dropped to 7.3% in March, down from a record high of 8.5% in February but up from 2.6% in February 2020.
“Many new vehicle shoppers are becoming more adamant about their decision to not consider an EV for their next purchase,” JD Power said.
Why aren’t people more interested in EVs?
The lack of public charging infrastructure and price have consistently topped the reasons for the past 10 months, JD Power said.
Other reasons people cited for not wanting to buy an EV: range anxiety; time required to charge; power outage and grid concerns; lack of servicers for repairs and maintenance; and inadequate performance in extreme temperatures.
Even high-profile initiatives like “Walmart’s plan to dramatically expand its charging network and Tesla’s announcement it would open some of its supercharger network to non-Tesla vehicles have apparently had little effect on these consumer concerns, at least so far,” JD Power said.
Are EV prices dropping, though?
The high price tag for an EV compared with its fuel-powered counterpart remains a deterrent.
Government subsidies for EVs initially boosted demand, but the IRS and the U.S. Treasury Department’s new guidance in mid-April on specific vehicle requirements that need to be met before EVs can be eligible for these tax credits sowed confusion and will likely raise the price again for EVs, generally.
New guidance included the location where the vehicle was assembled and details on the sourcing of critical minerals in the vehicle batteries.
Batteries and components must originate in the U.S. or come from countries with which there is a free trade agreement for the vehicle to qualify.
“This new hurdle will affect the affordability of several EV models, while also likely introducing more confusion among buyers,” JD Power said.
“Our data suggest that higher prices will negatively affect EV sales “
Shouldn’t people want to buy an EV to help the environment?
While about 4 in 10 U.S. adults think using EVs helps address climate change “a great deal” (12%) or “a fair amount” (27%), roughly 6 in 10 believe it helps “only a little” (35%) or “not at all” (26%), according to a Gallup poll fielded March 1-23.
Although 43% of U.S. adults said they might consider buying an EV in the future, 41% unequivocally say they would not, Gallup said.
Only about 4% of Americans currently own an EV, Gallup said, and 12% are seriously considering purchasing one.
Who’s least likely to want an EV?
Most people born before 1965, whom JD Power describes as Boomers and pre-Boomers, are least likely to consider an EV, but one-third of Gen Zers (born between 1995 and 2004) aren’t either.
Gen Z is seen as “the future of the marketplace,” the analytics firm said.
“It is clear in the data that price and charging infrastructure are significant obstacles for a wide spectrum of potential customers,” it said.
Geography and education also may influence your decision.
Americans living in the Western U.S. and college graduates are more likely than their counterparts to report that they currently own an electric vehicle, are seriously considering the purchase, or might in the future, Gallup said.
Medora Lee is a money, markets, and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at mjlee@usatoday.com and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday morning.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/compani ... af45&ei=29