WATT IS THE POINT?
I’m an electric car expert – there is NO point buying a sub-100 mile range EV… here’s why they could cause issues
AN EV expert has said there’s no point in buying a car with a sub-100 mile range as there could be issues.
The YouTube star known as ‘Electric Vehicle Man’ (EVM) took to his page to explain to his 75,000 followers just what the issues were.
2
In the footage, EVM is seen standing in front of a Renault Zoe.
He claims that in the real world it has a range of about 85 miles on average.
EVM says it was one of the earliest electric cars and came out about 10 years ago.
He asks: “Who is buying a car that only does 80-90 miles?... What’s the point of it?”
Read More on EVs
EVM then answers his own question: “It might not suit you, that’s fine. I’m not saying it will suit everybody.
“In fact it probably won’t suit more people that it would.”
He adds though that what you will need for it to make sense is to be able to charge at home.
EVM said: “That’s the key bit. In fact, if I couldn’t charge at home, I wouldn’t even have a Tesla.”
Most read in Motors
He says that’s because the infrastructure network “isn’t quite there yet”.
EVM says the other caveat you need for something like the car to work for your is to have it as a second car.
He said: “Clearly, this won’t replace your car as your main vehicle, unless you live in London or somewhere like that.
“It’s clearly going to be a partner car and to put that into some context roughly 35 per cent of UK households have more than one car in them so it's not as rare as you think.”
The footage then cuts again to EVM behind the wheel as he goes off to work.
He says that in the past three weeks he has done around 1,000 miles in it.
EVM says the point of having a sub-100 mile car is two fold.
Firstly he says, it’s there to keep the miles of something else.
EVM says a neighbour near by has a BMW M3 which is his “pride and joy” and he told him he does around 15,000 miles a year and its costing him a fortune in fuel.
He said: “So he’s piling the miles on when he doesn’t really want to and he’s spending a fortune in maintenance and the tyres are expensive.
“As a car it’s expensive to own.”
EVM added he thought he had bought an old Fiesta, adding: “That’s where this sort of car makes sense.”
He added the smaller car can be used for popping to the takeaway or “community stuff” and use the bigger car for longer journeys.
The other reason he says is that it is more economical to run.
EVM said that the energy plan he was on charged him seven-and-a-half pence a kilowatt hour at night and 30p during the day.
With that plan he said it cost him £20 to run the EV Renault per 1,000 miles.
He said with the current price of fuel the equivalent mileage in a petrol car would cost £170 pounds.
EVM said: “So you could be saving a fortune.”
“That’s about £150 saved in fuel alone per 1,000 miles. That’s the saving.”
“That’s where it makes sense. You’re saving an absolute fortune.”
He said maintenance on the car as just about zero as “there was nothing to maintain, other than suspension components and tyres.”
EVM also addressed the issue of battery and the cost of replacing it.
He said that while the manufacturer may give you a seven or eight year warranty on a battery that doesn’t mean the battery won’t last longer than that.
He said: “Warranty is not an indicator of life span.
“Electric batteries do not just stop working. They will degrade. It will be a gradual process.”
EVM also added that technology was improving all the time and things were getting better with longer longevity and cheaper batteries.
Elsewhere, a Tesla owner claims they took the car on a road trip only to find there’s a major problem with it.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
It comes after an expert mechanic revealed how to spot the difference between a good garage and a bad one.
Meanwhile, a major EV brand went bust despite enjoying the backing of a giant tech company.
2
Topics