Chinese car manufacturer BYD has shown off a new electric car at the Shanghai motor show.
Its about the size of a Fiat Panda and costs just £7800 !
Only being offered for the Chinese market at the moment but there is huge World wide interest.
I was going to add…Or is this just Chinese media propaganda?
Would probably be North of 10 grand in the UK anyway I should imagine ? But still cheap in the EC World.
Noticeable too is the fact that it runs on sodium ion batteries and not the environmentally disastrous lithium version.
Even if the EVs were free due to the environmental damage they cause in their build, we would still not have an EV. Rather wait until they have perfected the technology to use hydrogen for propulsion.
I agree. The infrastructure isn't there. Unless range improves they are not practical to tow a caravan. There are charging points in rural Shropshire, but few and far between! Only in bigger towns.
Hydrogen makes more sense, they could use off peak electricity to produce it and then store it. Like lpg! Plus quick to fill and doesn't need miles of cable and charge points putting in.
I expect battery technology will improve. EVs are heavy,expensive and need materials such as lithium and nickel.
Post last edited on 26/07/2023 10:05:14
------------- DS-There's more to life than football!!!
If I needed a new car and EVs are being given away free I'm not going to sit and wait to pay for a hydrogen car. An EV is still better than a conventional engine over its life, and improved tech will mean the power to run them will be greener over the years, and the replacement batteries will be, too.
We are all armchair experts obviously. It'll be jet packs anyway by the time the Focus has shuffled up its wheels :-)
Although good for a new car, that price is still way outside our price range, which is why we intend to keep our diesel X Trail for as long as possible. If properly looked after there is no reason why it shouldn't last another 10 years, which would probably see out my driving days. If I last that long.
Petrol and diesel cars built in 2029 should last beyond 2050 too if they are looked after. Keeping the cars we have got for longer is probably better for the environment anyway, rather than constantly churning out new ones, whether electric or fossil fuelled. It has never made sense to me building cars that will potentially last 30 years, then expecting people to buy a new one after 3.
Quote: Originally posted by Mitchamitri on 26/7/2023
If I needed a new car and EVs are being given away free I'm not going to sit and wait to pay for a hydrogen car. An EV is still better than a conventional engine over its life, and improved tech will mean the power to run them will be greener over the years, and the replacement batteries will be, too.
We are all armchair experts obviously. It'll be jet packs anyway by the time the Focus has shuffled up its wheels :-)
It does seem some people do not realise that in other countries the landscape is being dug up probably using child labour to get the necessary minerals for the batteries. Those minerals are probably transported thousands of miles and then after manufacture the completed units are transported another couple of thousand miles to a destination which may be one of several?
On top of this extra electric has to be generated to sustain EVs and a lot of it comes via cables to the UK from foreign countries and then the landscape has to be dug up to accommodate these cables. Again landscape has to be dug up for cables from the distribution area to the supply point. Although EVs are a start personally I don't think they are the solution.
Taking the above into account I think that hydrogen is a safer bet even if we have to wait a few years for the technology to be perfected.
There was a program about EVs last night on BbC2 which highlighted the issues about the infrastructure. They also showed a hydrogen car by Hyundai. The spokesperson for hydrogen fuels said its the best option for hgvs and buses.
We have an immaculate low mileage diesel towcar, it will do us for a while longer, at 71 I may not want to tow by 2030! If we do we will probably get a smaller lighter van and have a hybrid to pull it.
MG do cheaper evs also another Chinese company called Ora have smaller cheaper models available.
Post last edited on 26/07/2023 10:03:49
Post last edited on 26/07/2023 10:06:56
------------- DS-There's more to life than football!!!
Child labour or "cruel" labour is used everywhere, not just for extracting minerals for batteries. Someone did a study once - I vaguely remember the brand but wont say, just in case I am wrong which one it is - and found failures in this area in the supply chain for basically every material in the car ranging from the rubber, the glass, to the copper cabling.
You can guarantee if your car is ICE, EV, or Hydrogen, or even a jet pack, it will have failings in these areas, unless the whole global supply chain is fixed. At the moment, especially, "conflict minerals" are pretty much everywhere.
Quote: Originally posted by iank01 on 26/7/2023
Even if the EVs were free due to the environmental damage they cause in their build, we would still not have an EV. Rather wait until they have perfected the technology to use hydrogen for propulsion.
I suspect the vast majority of posters on here will be long gone before that happens!
saxo1
Quote: Originally posted by iank01 on 26/7/2023
Even if the EVs were free due to the environmental damage they cause in their build, we would still not have an EV. Rather wait until they have perfected the technology to use hydrogen for propulsion.
I suspect the vast majority of posters on here will be long gone before that happens!
saxo1
There are already hydrogen powered cars on UK roads.
Quote: Originally posted by iank01 on 26/7/2023
Even if the EVs were free due to the environmental damage they cause in their build, we would still not have an EV. Rather wait until they have perfected the technology to use hydrogen for propulsion.
I suspect the vast majority of posters on here will be long gone before that happens!
saxo1
There are already hydrogen powered cars on UK roads.
Quote: Originally posted by Mitchamitri on 26/7/2023
If I needed a new car and EVs are being given away free I'm not going to sit and wait to pay for a hydrogen car. An EV is still better than a conventional engine over its life, and improved tech will mean the power to run them will be greener over the years, and the replacement batteries will be, too.
It does seem some people do not realise that in other countries the landscape is being dug up probably using child labour to get the necessary minerals for the batteries. Those minerals are probably transported thousands of miles and then after manufacture the completed units are transported another couple of thousand miles to a destination which may be one of several?
On top of this extra electric has to be generated to sustain EVs and a lot of it comes via cables to the UK from foreign countries and then the landscape has to be dug up to accommodate these cables. Again landscape has to be dug up for cables from the distribution area to the supply point. Although EVs are a start personally I don't think they are the solution.
Taking the above into account I think that hydrogen is a safer bet even if we have to wait a few years for the technology to be perfected.
Iank01 the oil industy has been digging these minerals out of the ground for decades to refine petrol and Diesel, so please this isn't new news & what about gas and oil billions of tonnes have been extracted out of the earth is that ok ?
The largest percent of Cobalt used is in consumer electronics. The Congo is where workers are allegedly exploited and is mostly used by the media headlines about BEVs but they ignore the amount used in batteries for all the rest of electronic consumables.
New battery technology is already being developed which doesn't use Cobalt.
saxo1
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Cheap EV’s possibly on there way ?
via mobile 26/7/2023 at 9:20am
