Why are electric cars so much more expensive?

[UKSBD]

Looking at the new Corsa

Ultimate in Petrol = £25,335

Ultimate in Electric = £38,235

Same bodywork, same styling

Vauxhall | Vauxhall New Corsa offers | Vauxhall

Find out what trims are available with Vauxhall New Corsa and choose the one that suits you.

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Vauxhall | Vauxhall New Corsa Electric offers | Vauxhall

Find out what trims are available with Vauxhall New Corsa Electric and choose the one that suits you.

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Is it really £13k more just because it's electric, or does it have extra features too?

 

[IanSuth]

mainly because you are paying for that great big battery and they are not cheap because lithium etc is not cheap.

Theoretically you make it back on cheaper running costs (in terms of lifetime servicing needs and costs) because there is less to break down on an EV

 

[Mark T Jones]

My take is that EVs are essentially a tech product rather than an automotive product - and the price curve will Ultimately follow that of tech.

 

[Mark T Jones]

mainly because you are paying for that great big battery and they are not cheap because lithium etc is not cheap.

Theoretically you make it back on cheaper running costs (in terms of lifetime servicing needs and costs) because there is less to break down on an EV

There are (as ever) a lot of variables in the price comparison

In simplistic terms minimal BIK tax makes them cost effective as company vehicles.

Residuals are variable at best. Running costs are unclear (the major one revolves around battery life) and insurance appears to be significantly higher that that of ICE equivalents.

All of these will stabilise over time

 

[IanSuth]

insurance appears to be significantly higher that that of ICE equivalents.

That is because with the battery being a large part of the floorpan it does not take much of a shunt for it to sustain some damage which means a new battery and that quickly becomes "uneconomic repair" due to those residual values and the cost of a battery

 

[fisicx]

And if there is a shunt and a subsequent fire you can’t put it out. So insurers are also wary of collateral damage.

Lurton airport….

 

[Mr D]

And if there is a shunt and a subsequent fire you can’t put it out. So insurers are also wary of collateral damage.

Lurton airport….

Have never come across a petrol car which has caught fire and not had significant damage. Can put it out - can put any fire out. Just not so easy and by the time the fire engines arrive often vehicle engulfed in flames.

 

[fisicx]

I was talking about electric cars. You can’t extinguish a lithium fire. All you can do is limit the spread.

 

[Mr D]

I was talking about electric cars. You can’t extinguish a lithium fire. All you can do is limit the spread.

What to use on Lithium-ion battery fires

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How To Put Out a Lithium-ion Battery Fire | TVF (UK) Limited

Learn how to put a fire caused by a lithium-ion battery in our article. Did you know 48% of waste fires are caused by lithium-ion batteries every year?

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Why conventional extinguishers aren’t effective on Lithium-ion battery fires

With the increasing number of fires involving Lithium-ion (Li-on) batteries and the losses that often result, naturally enough, people want to be able to put them out quickly.In theory, this should be straightforward if you consider them a simple Class A (combustible solids) fire with some...

www.firedepot.co.uk

 

[fisicx]

Did you actually read those articles @Mr D?

Now go talk to the fire brigade and ask them what they do.

Yes you can put out a small fire if your phone catches fire. But you can’t if the car is an inferno on the side of the motorway.

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

It takes ages to charge an electric Corsa on normal mains charging it is a nightmare

 

[Fagin2021]

EVs are a con. Just like so many other so-called environmentally-friendly products or practices. Just cos you've got an EV and taken your empties down the bottle-bank, doesn't mean you've saved the planet.

 

[fisicx]

It’s been argued the electric cars are doing more damage then IC vehicles.

 

[MikeJ]

It's also been argued that the earth is flat, and run by shape shifting lizards.

 

[Mark T Jones]

It’s been argued the electric cars are doing more damage then IC vehicles.

The problem, as with so many things, is a mix of binary/polarised debate, and the sense that EV's have arrived.

On the latter, I'd say far from 'being there' the change of vehicle culture is actually just beginning. Not just the 'fuel' used, but the whole essence of how we own/use vehicles.

In my view, EVs will definitely form part of the ultimate mix/solution, but they probably won't define it. There will be many twists and turns and - at a guess I'd say hydrogen for larger vehicles and a sanitised version of ICE will remain.

Unless I'm wrong, of course

 

[fisicx]

As you say it will be a mix of vehicle types. EV as a single solution just isn’t practical. In fact it’s not even clear if there is sufficient mining capacity to make the batteries.

 

[alan1302]

EVs are a con. Just like so many other so-called environmentally-friendly products or practices. Just cos you've got an EV and taken your empties down the bottle-bank, doesn't mean you've saved the planet.

EV's won't save the planet - they are not meant to - they are however better than running a diesel or petrol vehicle and a small way to keep personal transport but put less strain on the planet.

 

[alan1302]

As you say it will be a mix of vehicle types. EV as a single solution just isn’t practical. In fact it’s not even clear if there is sufficient mining capacity to make the batteries.

Depends what batteries you mean - the solid state batteries which are the next stage in batteries don't require as many resources and safer with a longer range.

 

[IanSuth]

EV's won't save the planet - they are not meant to - they are however better than running a diesel or petrol vehicle and a small way to keep personal transport but put less strain on the planet.

That is true if you compare running an ICE with running an EV

But what about scrapping an ICE that could have run for years more and replacing with a newly built EV - i an still to be convinced that scrapping a perfectly good diesel that does 60mpg and could keep doing so for another 80k miles and replacing it with a newly built EV is actually doing anything towards saving the planet.

I tend to keep vehicles for ages - my youngest daughter just started riding a 125cc motorcycle my wife bought as a student in 1992, it does over 100mpg and to put it back on the road required battery, brake pads, fork seal, air filter and fluids - it actually started almost first time before we did that work. Total cost c£100 + our labour.

Should she instead of got an Ami ? Economically that would make no sense (£8k not £100 plus far more for insurance), it wouldn't go as fast (28mph vs 65mph) or as far (50 vs 150miles) and it needed to be built rather than dragged out of the back of the garage.

What is the environmentally suitable solution for a 17 yo wanting a runabout ?

 

[alan1302]

That's a different issue.

I agree, using an older, already existing vehicle is much better than buying a new EV. It's only when people are buying new than an EV should be considered.

 

[fisicx]

It's only when people are buying new than an EV should be considered.

Most of our journeys are local for which an EV would be suitable. But we also have elderly parents who live 96 and 145 miles away. The EV that has this sort of range (to get there and back again) would have to be somewhat bigger than the car we currently have and a lot more expensive.

So the car we brought this year still burns dead dinosaurs. Maybe in 10 years when it’s knackered an EV will be a better deal but right now it’s not.

Round here status appears to be measured by the size of the vehicle. If it’s not a huge SUV the school run would be embarrassing for many mothers. Maybe make it uneconomical to drive these large vehicles and people will reconsider buying a Range Rover just to drop the rugrats off a school.

 

[scstock]

EVs are a con. Just like so many other so-called environmentally-friendly products or practices. Just cos you've got an EV and taken your empties down the bottle-bank, doesn't mean you've saved the planet.

I'm tempted by one (or rather, trying to persuade my wife to switch) not for environmental reasons but for convenience and cost.

We live in a village that's 4 miles from the nearest filling station and so often have to make a special trip just to fill up, whereas we could charge from home. Using an overnight tariff you can fully charge a car for under £5, giving ~200 miles range. And I love the idea of being able to pre-heat/pre-cool a car from an app.

 

[Ozzy]

We live in a village that's 4 miles from the nearest filling station and so often have to make a special trip just to fill up, whereas we could charge from home. Using an overnight tariff you can fully charge a car for under £5, giving ~200 miles range.

This is what sold me on it, as I knew I didn't know whether it was really and truly environmentally better. What I did know though, was it was more tax efficient and refuelling at home whilst I slept was the clincher for me.

 

[Karimbo]

4 miles really isn't that long of a distance. Even in London, the nearest supermarket petrol is around 2 miles away and that can be 15 minutes of driving to do that 2 mile drive.

But I never ever put myself in a position where I'm running low on petrol where I have to drive to a petrol station just to get petrol. I just keep mytank more than a quarter tank full. If I dip below that I just fill up when I'm passing by a petrol station.

EVs were attractive when energy was dirt cheap and it costs about 2-3p a mile to run an electric car. Where as an ICE was 15p+ so you saved money. But the savings really arent that great anymore with higher energy prices the savings have been slashed.

I still like to own an EV one day though. I think it's cool. But you really need to have your own drive. otherwise you have so much anxiety of not getting access to a charger and whatnot. You can live in a flat and rely on street parking but you'd really need a 2nd ICE vehicle just to have access to a vehicle when you need to go someone unexpectedly.

 

[MikeJ]

Having your own charger is key. If you can charge at home, it costs around half the cost of a public charger (30p/kwh vs around 60p/kwh).

If you can get an off peak tariff, then you can reduce that significantly. I'm currently paying 10p/kwh.

I've a flat in Edinburgh, and can't charge there (we're looking in to the possibility of putting chargers in the car park, but it's not easy...). I can just get to Edinburgh and back on one charge in the car, but generally give it a bit of a boost before making the return journey. I do make sure I don't put any more charge on that I need to though - I aim to get back to the house with around 15% capacity so that I'm not suffering from range anxiety.