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I've been looking at buying an electric car recently and was surprised that the list of electic SUVs is really small. There's basically the Model X and not all

I've been looking at buying an electric car recently and was surprised that the list of electic SUVs is really small. There's basically the Model X and not all that much more. The Rav4 got discontinued. It seems to me that this is a huge market opportunity. The technology is right on the cusp of being very practical in terms of range. Soccer moms who commute to the grocery store and occasionally go on a trip to the mountains want a car with room and 4WD. If such a car existed, they would be shouting "take my money!" Not quite sure why the car manufacturers aren't building these things.

UnoriginalGuy 9y ago
> Not quite sure why the car manufacturers aren't building these things. Because consumers aren't buying these things. The only people who seem to be buying full electric vehicles are electric vehicle enthusiasts, meaning it is a niche. Most enthusiasts will just buy a Tesla if there is a Tesla at the price bracket they're looking at, since Tesla is the most exciting brand in electric by far. For everyone else, full electric vehicles don't make cost effective sense. Oil is too cheap and electricity too expensive. Many vehicle subsidies have also vanished. So people who are cost sensitive are looking at hybrids, or even plug in hybrids, since it is completely future proof to oil or electric price fluctuations. People aren't buying electric for completely normal rational reasons you can quantify using an Excel spreadsheet. For that to change, either oil has to go up, electricity has to come down, subsidies have to return, or electric vehicles need to offer some other quantifiable value not found on a hybrid.
- aliston 9y ago
  I would have assumed the same even a couple months ago. The idea of buying an electric car never even crossed my mind. Now, at least in my case, after running the numbers its a no-brainer. A car like the Fiat 500e, Chevy Bolt, Nissan Leaf etc. can be leased for $100-$200/mo. These cars all effectively get 100+ mpg. So, any difference in the lease cost is made up for in 1 or 2 tanks of gas. There are still tons of incentives as well. In a couple years, there will be little functional difference between electric and gas cars for 99.9% of use cases. I think in 10 years, new sales of electric cars will exceed gas cars.
- s0rce 9y ago
  If you commute in the Bay Area an electric car can save you a lot of time and possible a lot of money on tolls, $3.5/day * 5 days/wk * 4 wks/month = $70/month saved, big chunk you can put towards the lease payment.

UnoriginalGuy 9y ago

> Not quite sure why the car manufacturers aren't building these things. Because consumers aren't buying these things. The only people who seem to be buying full electric vehicles are electric vehicle enthusiasts, meaning it is a niche. Most enthusiasts will just buy a Tesla if there is a Tesla at the price bracket they're looking at, since Tesla is the most exciting brand in electric by far. For everyone else, full electric vehicles don't make cost effective sense. Oil is too cheap and electricity too expensive. Many vehicle subsidies have also vanished. So people who are cost sensitive are looking at hybrids, or even plug in hybrids, since it is completely future proof to oil or electric price fluctuations. People aren't buying electric for completely normal rational reasons you can quantify using an Excel spreadsheet. For that to change, either oil has to go up, electricity has to come down, subsidies have to return, or electric vehicles need to offer some other quantifiable value not found on a hybrid.

aliston 9y ago
I would have assumed the same even a couple months ago. The idea of buying an electric car never even crossed my mind. Now, at least in my case, after running the numbers its a no-brainer. A car like the Fiat 500e, Chevy Bolt, Nissan Leaf etc. can be leased for $100-$200/mo. These cars all effectively get 100+ mpg. So, any difference in the lease cost is made up for in 1 or 2 tanks of gas. There are still tons of incentives as well. In a couple years, there will be little functional difference between electric and gas cars for 99.9% of use cases. I think in 10 years, new sales of electric cars will exceed gas cars.
s0rce 9y ago
If you commute in the Bay Area an electric car can save you a lot of time and possible a lot of money on tolls, $3.5/day * 5 days/wk * 4 wks/month = $70/month saved, big chunk you can put towards the lease payment.