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That goes both ways. Electric cars work for many people. They do not for a non-trivial number. Hell, I want an electric car (not a Tesla, most likely, I am too

by Fins 8y ago

That goes both ways. Electric cars work for many people. They do not for a non-trivial number. Hell, I want an electric car (not a Tesla, most likely, I am too used to good ergonomics and nice interiors), but first buying a rather expensive car, then having to hitch a ride to/from a charging station every week seems to be suboptimal.

greglindahl 8y ago
It's common that any thread on HN discussing electric cars has at least one person complaining that the huge problem that hinders adoption is that they personally can't charge one conveniently. Sure, it's a problem, but not a big limitation on the overall market when the cars are at < 1% market share. And if you don't want a Tesla, then you should check out the Bolt. Like all long-range electric cars, the styling is going to be a notch down from what the price suggests, because long-range batteries are still expensive.
- Fins 8y ago
  True... electric, especially Tesla threads bring out a lot of... strange opinions. Could not it be that the lack of sufficiently quickly charging solutions and charging infrastructure is not a major problem when the market is that fraction of a percent. It would be interesting to see what needs to happen for electric cars to break above that level. Bolt is pretty nice (and at least Chevrolet has some clue about ergonomics of a car) but still has the same practicality issue for us. We just ended up getting a plug-in for my wife. It can get her to work and back on a charge, and in the car pool lane, if we can find somewhere to charge it for less than the cost of gas, and if we can't, it's not a big deal. It can go almost 600 miles from full. Not to open another can of worms, but at half the price, it's better equipped than a Tesla, too. Would be interesting to see what that 911 plug-in Porsche is promising looks like, although "too expensive for me" is to be expected.
  - greglindahl 8y ago
    It's worth noting that despite the significantly cheaper prices of plug-in hybrids vs. battery-electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids aren't selling well: https://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/ https://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/ in April put battery vs plug-in hybrid sales approximately equal.
    - Fins 8y ago
      Aren't there just more PHEV than BEV models, so each individual model faces more competition? If you start adding up PHEVs, they overtake Tesla pretty quickly (and the rest of the BEVs look more like rounding errors anyway). Then, of course, there is the market distortion of (US at least) tax credits for electric vehicles. Once those disappear sales numbers might look different yet again.

by Fins 8y ago

greglindahl 8y ago

It's common that any thread on HN discussing electric cars has at least one person complaining that the huge problem that hinders adoption is that they personally can't charge one conveniently. Sure, it's a problem, but not a big limitation on the overall market when the cars are at < 1% market share. And if you don't want a Tesla, then you should check out the Bolt. Like all long-range electric cars, the styling is going to be a notch down from what the price suggests, because long-range batteries are still expensive.

Fins 8y ago
True... electric, especially Tesla threads bring out a lot of... strange opinions. Could not it be that the lack of sufficiently quickly charging solutions and charging infrastructure is not a major problem when the market is that fraction of a percent. It would be interesting to see what needs to happen for electric cars to break above that level. Bolt is pretty nice (and at least Chevrolet has some clue about ergonomics of a car) but still has the same practicality issue for us. We just ended up getting a plug-in for my wife. It can get her to work and back on a charge, and in the car pool lane, if we can find somewhere to charge it for less than the cost of gas, and if we can't, it's not a big deal. It can go almost 600 miles from full. Not to open another can of worms, but at half the price, it's better equipped than a Tesla, too. Would be interesting to see what that 911 plug-in Porsche is promising looks like, although "too expensive for me" is to be expected.
- greglindahl 8y ago
  It's worth noting that despite the significantly cheaper prices of plug-in hybrids vs. battery-electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids aren't selling well: https://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/ https://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/ in April put battery vs plug-in hybrid sales approximately equal.
  - Fins 8y ago
    Aren't there just more PHEV than BEV models, so each individual model faces more competition? If you start adding up PHEVs, they overtake Tesla pretty quickly (and the rest of the BEVs look more like rounding errors anyway). Then, of course, there is the market distortion of (US at least) tax credits for electric vehicles. Once those disappear sales numbers might look different yet again.