We’re looking to the likes of Hyundai, Honda, Kia, VW, and similar to get us to the tipping point for mainstream consumers to move to electric vehicles. The prices are edging towards the right level and the ranges are now getting reasonable. But a pity that Honda is actually slightly less than VW at around the same price. VW is betting their future on electric and this is showing in terms of what they are offering.
Prices need to match or go below that of ICE vehicles. ICE vehicle prices have steadily been going up as more and more base features are included (power steering, aircons, airbags, etc) but EVs may not be able to go very much lower unless higher-end features are dropped or battery storage prices have their own breakthrough. What may well help tilt the decks is increasing carbon taxes on ICE vehicles, and supply starting to drop as manufacturers switch to EV.
What is sure though is that the writing is on the wall and it is just a matter of when it happens where. It’s going to mostly be good news for consumers if the purchase costs come down a bit but it’s going to mean disruption for the motor servicing and parts industry, and the expansive distribution network for crude oil and gasoline/petrol.
But it’s not all doom and gloom as we’ve seen with all disruptive technology changes over the last 100 to 200 years that where some jobs were lost we ended up gaining far more newer jobs. So let’s embrace the change and get ready for it.
See https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/10/20858725/honda-e-price-launch-date-battery-range
#EV #environment
#^Honda prices its adorable electric e for summer launch
Another sub-30K EV is coming to Europe.