[tonyw]

May be I am missing something here but if the trend is for more electric cars where is the electricity to charge them coming from? Power stations! So power stations will have to produce more electricity by burning more fuel,. which means more pollution so what are we saving?

[Ruperts Trooper]

Those advocating EVs just assume those changes in infrastructure will occur automatically - to get cleaner cities they want more power stations out in the countryside - they totally ignore the needs of those travelling longer distances into more rural or remote areas.

Interesting statistic - calculate your car's EU NEDC range - it's just the Combined Fuel Consumption figure in mpg multiplied by the tank size in gallons - my car's over 960 miles as it has a large tank but 700 is more typical - after 700 miles it can be refulled for another 700 in about 3 minutes - most EVs need several hours recharge after 150-200 miles.

And how impractical are EVs for those who tow trailer, caravans or just carry heavy loads.

[dartman]

Pressure groups have always ignored the middle stages, it's always the end result, most vehicles contain derivatives of oil, iron ore and bauxite in their construction plus a small amount of heavy metals in the electrics. EV contain a large quantity of heavy metals in their power source, these cause considerable amounts of pollution in their manufacture and scrappage, sometime in the future there will be battery mountains sitting there fizzing away and occasionally bursting into flames heavily polluting the surrounding area and population, but that's OK, they are clean over their comparative short life having their power source far removed from the vehicle

[Jon]

Hyundai's Ioniq, Tesla models and some other EVs are fast charge capable, typically 80% in 30-60 mins. You'll only access those charge rates at commercial plug in points, not your domestic 7kw  pod point.
So a range boosting coffee stop at the motorway services makes a long journey possible.
Not as convenient as PHEVs or Range Extender EVs, but you can get about without too many range problems.
There's also 48v mild hybrids in development, replacing the starter motor and alternator with a more powerful motor (supplementing the combustion engine) that will boost performance and economy..

But you still need a power supply to the charge point and to mine the lithium for the batteries.

Fuel cell Ix35 anyone?

[Ruperts Trooper]

Hyundai's Ioniq, Tesla models and some other EVs are fast charge capable, typically 80% in 30-60 mins. You'll only access those charge rates at commercial plug in points, not your domestic 7kw  pod point.
So a range boosting coffee stop at the motorway services makes a long journey possible.
Not as convenient as PHEVs or Range Extender EVs, but you can get about without too many range problems.
There's also 48v mild hybrids in development, replacing the starter motor and alternator with a more powerful motor (supplementing the combustion engine) that will boost performance and economy..

But you still need a power supply to the charge point and to mine the lithium for the batteries.

Fuel cell Ix35 anyone?

Problem with Tesla superchargers is that you have to stick to main routes - work out your Hyundai's NEDC range (Combined mpg multiplied by tank size in gallons) with a "recharge" in under 5 minutes - compared to Tesla's 300 miles and an hour recharge (or 240 miles and a 45 minute recharge.

The future's visible but it's not here yet!

[Piskoty]

Speaking of the future, and driver-less cars, how will they detect traffic-lights and when waiting at a junction, the gap in the traffic to pull out?
Are electric (and driverless) cars what we really want?