You WILL buy an electric car!

[Mups]

It has seemed to me, that the idea of electric cars has never really taken off like the government hoped it would. 

Now I may be distrustful,  but I reckon their latest idea reeks of determination - or desperation -  to make us all buy electric.

I read today that now, car makers are to get a £2.5 billion  boost to build more electric vehicles and keep people in jobs.

The Business Secretary, Jonathon Reynolds said - "The money will be spent in two ways -  £2 billion to support car factories, battery plants and start-ups by 2030, and a further £500 million for research and development to be spend by 2035."

They also reckon they are going to lay electric cables underneath pavements so that people who haven't got a driveway,  can still plug in their vehicle.

There will also be £8 million for the NHS to pay for more electric ambulances along with 1200 charging points.
I don't there will be any doctors left to see to patients by then,  what with the junior doctors strike starting again in a few more days.

So what I wonder is,  if people still don't want one,  it will be a colossal amount more money down the pan,  which I am sure could be put to better use.
 
It makes me feel like we are being told  ' By hook or by crook, you WILL have one of our new-fangled cars.'   

[Raven]

I bloody well won't be buying one. 

[muddy]

Mr M won't 
A diesel will see us out I supose .

[Michael Rolls]

Power points in pavements? What nutcase came up with idea?

[klondike]

And zig zag ramps running up tower blocks I suppose.

The only economic way to recharge an EV is from your own house charger. Houses with no driveway typically have no guaranteed parking spot either. The street wiring is unlikely to cope with every premises charging cars up.

This is all irrelevant anyway. The high purchase price and eye watering depreciation put EVs beyond the affordability of most of those currently driving cars other than new every few years and probably even those when lease prices catch up with the depreciation those lease companies simply didn't expect and must be costing them billions.

Electric only by 2030 simply isn't going to happen.

[Michael Rolls]

Of course it will! Our politicians say it will and we all know that they are NEVER wrong

[Mups]

I bloody well won't be buying one. 

Me neither, Raven.

The Ambulances being made to do it bothers me a little, though.
I can foresee them getting an emergency call only to find someone forgot to put it on charge!

[GrannyMac]

Power points in pavements? What nutcase came up with idea?

There are two recently installed public power points in the next street from me.  Never seen anyone using them so far. 

Son in law got rid of his all electric motor, now has a hybrid.  

[Michael Rolls]

Makes sense, although to my mind not as much sense as going back to petrol or diesel

[klondike]

Son in law got rid of his all electric motor, now has a hybrid.

My son took the same route. 
After dumping the full EV he initially picked a plug in hybrid. That was faulty from new and was swapped for a plain hybrid. That episode was a  PITA for both of us as it came from Peterborough (an hour away) and when I took him back again to pick it up after repair we only got a mile away when it was obviously still faulty so that was yet another trip. It seems that garages have issues finding and fixing faults in electric vehicles. His electric car had repeat failures on proximity sensors that took ages to fix as there were never spares in stock.

[Ashy]

Our council has replaced lamp posts that were quite new, to replace them with posts with car chargers built in. There is no money for potholes and the road surface generally but they can find it for this, and blocking roads, and one way systems, and councillors' emoluments.

[Alex]

I listened to the driver of an electric car this morning who said he drives a lot with his job and has wasted 39 hours 'over a month ?'  waiting for his car to charge at various places.

[Michael Rolls]

Not surprised. This rush to EVs is the biggest con trick for many years

[JBR]

One of our neighbours has an electric car, although he has a home charging point on his drive which means that he doesn't pay through the nose using public chargers.
Of course, I assume that he knows that its value is plummeting at the pace of all electric cars.  He could have acquired it on some form of rental scheme, though.  I haven't asked, of course.

I would never have one.  There is also the possibility of electricity cuts.  I suppose that there is also the possibility of petrol pumps drying up, but at least we always try to maintain a full tank which would provide for any emergencies.

[klondike]

Sometimes the charging doesn't happen. Not good if you have a long trip the next day. Most are company cars because of the tax breaks.