Why aren't battery power vehicles cheaper?

Quote: missedhervee

see: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/26/lucid-to-deliver-up-to-100000-evs-to-saudi-arabia-government.html

Oh, Lucid has plans for other countries, in fact they're being bankrolled by Saudi Arabia and will build another plant there, to bookend its Arizona facility.

Have you checked their performance, i.e. speed and battery life?

Very impressive.

Hopefully Tesla, Ford et al can make necessary adjustments but it looks like Lucid will provide stiff competition.

I just think it is way too early to think that they will compete with Tesla. I believe they have only sold and delivered 300 cars in total.

Quote: DRich

I just think it is way too early to think that they will compete with Tesla. I believe they have only sold and delivered 300 cars in total.

Of course, they're a new venture, but they seem to have the tech and the money to do good things, esp. with higher end EV's.

Tesla makes higher end EV's and til now they've had no serious competition.

As they say: "Time will tell."

Lowest EV ownership per capita end of 2020
Mississippi
North Dakota
West Virginia
Louisiana
Arkansas
South Dakota
Wyoming
Alabama

Highest EV ownership per capita end of 2020
California
Hawaii
Washington
Oregon
Colorado
Arizona

I don't think that list is very shocking to anyone. The Democratic states in the West are the biggest fans of EVs, while the Republican States in the middle of the country (especially the ones with a lot of rural territory) are least likely to buy an EV.

But from an energy standpoint, Alabama should have a much easier time to convert to EVs than Hawaii.
Hawaii electricity is far more expensive than Alabama. Residential rates are 3 times as high.
Hawaii electricity generation is much dirtier since it relies on oil. It produces twice as much carbon dioxide per kWh than Alabama.
Alabama generates 4 times as much electricity per capita than Hawaii.

The 1LT version of the 2023 Bolt EV starts at $26,595 (plus a $995 destination fee). That's $5,900 less than the 2022 starting price. The range is 259 miles which compares to 189 miles from Huntsville to Montgomery.

With skyrocketing gas prices, we seem to be slowly edging out of the era when EVs are mostly elitist vehicles and may be reasonable middle class transportation.

I would like to know the urban versus rural population comparisons of those states. Owning an electric car is much easier when you don’t have to travel far very often. Plus, well, the wealth of each area.

My brother is conservative and lives in South Florida. He has had a hybrid car for a long time. He is also wealthy and lives in a urban area. His longest trips are less than 100 miles. I can see him going EV…he may have already…

Quote: Pacomartin

Highest EV ownership per capita end of 2020
California
Hawaii
Washington
Oregon
Colorado
Arizona

Arizona will be interesting. The heat there just kills batteries. Your Die Hard will be bad in about 2 years. When these EV fans have to replace their batteries way sooner than planned we will see how they respond.

Can somebody tell me where all the needed electricity will come from?

I can sort of understand wanting to trade gas for electricity, but if the electricity is made by natural gas, coal-fired or nuclear methods then there is a nasty residue, same as with gasoline.

Time for cold fusion to be discovered, then "To Infinity and Beyond..."

Quote: AZDuffman

Arizona will be interesting. The heat there just kills batteries. Your Die Hard will be bad in about 2 years. When these EV fans have to replace their batteries way sooner than planned we will see how they respond.

The UV here eats tires unbelievably also. On my F 250 I went through 4 complete sets of 10 ply radials in 75k miles, with two catastrophic blowouts. On my wifes Toyota Tacoma the smallest one they made we just changed out her 4th set in almost 70k miles. I finally wised up and put tire covers on my pick up, but they still weather check so fast it's hard to believe. Wipers last maybe a year with almost 4 inches of rain per year. Mostly in two months during Monsoon. Anything on a vehicle made of rubber or plastic does not last. I just had all the belts and hoses changed, just cuz. Yeah batteries have short lives. Funny, I had to change one on my 95 f 150 in Ak., about 5 years ago, it was the factory original battery, it made it almost 15 years, and every winter would hit 40 below for some period of time. I have a pretty good mechanic friend that pointed to a used car lot across the street and said, every car on that lot is about 8 years old. That's how long plastic parts under the hood last. The motor block is fine, but everything that makes it run is cracking and leaking.

Quote: missedhervee

Can somebody tell me where all the needed electricity will come from?

Well, EV supporters think it comes from the outlet in your wall.

Quote: AZDuffman

Arizona will be interesting. The heat there just kills batteries. Your Die Hard will be bad in about 2 years. When these EV fans have to replace their batteries way sooner than planned we will see how they respond.

Tesla battery standard warranty is currently 8 years, or 100,000.

I see quite a few in Florida. Not exactly cool here.