4 ms·

Right now a Vauxhall Corsa starts at £17k the exact same car but powered by batteries costs £26k. So will the batteries become cheap enough that the battery pow

by aranw 5y ago

Right now a Vauxhall Corsa starts at £17k the exact same car but powered by batteries costs £26k. So will the batteries become cheap enough that the battery powered cars match the same as combustion engine car?

sokoloff 5y ago
If you tax the ICE car enough, it could happen today.
_ph_ 5y ago
Short answer: yes Long answer: on the one side, the price for combustion engined cars is going to raise, emission limits are harder to hit. Electric cars are going to get cheaper on several levels. First, batteries are getting cheaper all the time. Then, the production of electric cars is in the process of ramping up, with volume comes cost savings. Even just optimizing how batteries are being built has lots of cost saving potential. Then, the Corsa is an interesting example. It is a platform both for electric and combustion engined cars. That is not as efficient as a pure electric platform, so more cost savings here. Finally, most car manufacturers are in the process of transitioning to electric, which costs a whole lot of money. They are trying to get these costs back by pricing them into the price of the electric cars. This is going to go down over time too.
nickik 5y ago
Calculate the Lifetime difference in energy cost and compare the required cost of maintenance. Its much closer already then you think. Not to mention the EV version will give you a much better driving experience and not be unhealthy to people, specially in cities. We are just at the start of the S curve adoption, and most cars sold are not sold for £17k but rather £30-40k. For that cost EV are already better.
- anthonygd 5y ago
  Routine maintenance on EVs does tend to be less, but non-routine damage tends to be much more expensive. That leads to insurance being 40% higher than comparably priced ICE cars. Essentially the median cost is a little lower but the mean cost is much higher. Here's a interesting Tesla specific take: https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/insurance/tesla-insurance https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/insurance/tesla-insurance Personally I prefer predictable slightly high costs vs random potential for exorbitantly high costs.
  - nickik 5y ago
    Because ICE is being faces out your care is gone lose value so much faster. I don't think the insurance will normalize.
pjc50 5y ago
Maybe. But how much is a Vauxhall Corsa powered by hydrogen? Can you even buy one at all? For all comparisons you should probably price in an estimate for the first three years of running costs, too.

by aranw 5y ago

sokoloff 5y ago

If you tax the ICE car enough, it could happen today.

_ph_ 5y ago

Short answer: yes Long answer: on the one side, the price for combustion engined cars is going to raise, emission limits are harder to hit. Electric cars are going to get cheaper on several levels. First, batteries are getting cheaper all the time. Then, the production of electric cars is in the process of ramping up, with volume comes cost savings. Even just optimizing how batteries are being built has lots of cost saving potential. Then, the Corsa is an interesting example. It is a platform both for electric and combustion engined cars. That is not as efficient as a pure electric platform, so more cost savings here. Finally, most car manufacturers are in the process of transitioning to electric, which costs a whole lot of money. They are trying to get these costs back by pricing them into the price of the electric cars. This is going to go down over time too.

nickik 5y ago

Calculate the Lifetime difference in energy cost and compare the required cost of maintenance. Its much closer already then you think. Not to mention the EV version will give you a much better driving experience and not be unhealthy to people, specially in cities. We are just at the start of the S curve adoption, and most cars sold are not sold for £17k but rather £30-40k. For that cost EV are already better.

anthonygd 5y ago
Routine maintenance on EVs does tend to be less, but non-routine damage tends to be much more expensive. That leads to insurance being 40% higher than comparably priced ICE cars. Essentially the median cost is a little lower but the mean cost is much higher. Here's a interesting Tesla specific take: https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/insurance/tesla-insurance https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/insurance/tesla-insurance Personally I prefer predictable slightly high costs vs random potential for exorbitantly high costs.
- nickik 5y ago
  Because ICE is being faces out your care is gone lose value so much faster. I don't think the insurance will normalize.

pjc50 5y ago

Maybe. But how much is a Vauxhall Corsa powered by hydrogen? Can you even buy one at all? For all comparisons you should probably price in an estimate for the first three years of running costs, too.