One thing that's also affecting the market is the fact that more people are working from home and therefore driving less. Before the pandemic, a lot of people where I work (in Omaha, NE) were pushing for work from home. Our Minneapolis office has had that for over a decade. That way they don't have to drive in blizzards or insanely cold weather. Our argument was that we have that here, even if it's not quite as cold as in Minny. The pandemic, for all its awful problems, finally got us the work from home that we wanted.
I think you’re safe buying a hybrid. I can’t imagine a scenario across the country where EV infrastructure is anywhere close to comparable of gas stations for the next 15-20 years.
Ford sucks at pretty much everything they do. They are sustained by fleet sales.
I wouldn’t buy a Tesla, but I just read an article yesterday that they lowered the price of the Model Y to below $35K. That’s a price-point accessible to most middle-class incomes.
China would/will put all US EV manufacturers out of business, maybe even Tesla. Elon has already stated on numerous occasions that the Chinese labor force is willing, able and does put the US labor force to shame. Building cars in the US vs China is just not competitive at all.
I think this is where people go wrong in terms of EVs. The infrastructure really doesn’t need to look like gas stations do today. 80% of EV charging is done at the home and that number will only go up as houses are built with dedicated 240v outlets in the garages and apartment complexes install more charging stations. You really only need the gas station approach for long distance travel. Outside of renters without access to home charging Anyone with a one way commute under 100 miles has no need to stop and charge.
The situation with EV charging states doesn't have to be as manifold as it is now with current gas stations. Right now there are enough EV charging stations to effectively drive across most parts of the country without inconvenience. Plus, the infrastructure will improve, and when you're just driving in your home area you can charge at your home. My brother had no problems driving all the way from San Francisco to northern Texas. He's also driven up to Nebraska from Texas to see me. He had no problems. The maps of all the charging stations are programmed into his navigation system, so he can easily find the next one long before his charge runs out. If I lived in North Dakota, however, I would not buy an EV right now. They still have a ways to go to get enough charging stations in that state.
Those are really good points. The wheelhouse for EVs are driving in the city/short commutes That said, I think the lack of infrastructure is a differentiator for people that want to travel long distances (SF to LA, Dallas to Austin/San Antonio, interstate, et cetera).
Agree completely. Long distance travel with an EV still has a ways to go. Most major metro areas are most of the way there but all the rural areas in between are nightmares for travelers. The other issue I see is with older EVs that don’t have heat pumps for the batteries. These older models do terrible in colder weather and back up charging stations in the winter.
The current generation of EV batteries are better in cold weather but still some basic problems are there. Not mentioned by the EV fanatics of course.
