Motability are pushing the EVs with their prices. iirc manufacturers for uk market have to produce at least 22% of their cars full EV this year. That’s obviously going to rise in coming years. I predict prices will have to drop. 

Just now, Alex.S said:

Motability are pushing the EVs with their prices. iirc manufacturers for uk market have to produce at least 22% of their cars full EV this year. That’s obviously going to rise in coming years. I predict prices will have to drop. 

Not literally pushing! That’s the owners that’ll need to do that. 

36 minutes ago, Alex.S said:

. iirc manufacturers for uk market have to produce at least 22% of their cars full EV this year. That’s obviously going to rise in coming years. I predict prices will have to drop. 

Yes, it's an interesting one. Do they take a hit on the prices of new EVs to encourage buyers, or pay a £15k penalty on each non-ZEV they sell if they don't meet the quota? Or do they pay, eg, Tesla to buy "credits"? Or just make it difficult to buy an ICE car?

47 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Yes, it's an interesting one. Do they take a hit on the prices of new EVs to encourage buyers, or pay a £15k penalty on each non-ZEV they sell if they don't meet the quota? Or do they pay, eg, Tesla to buy "credits"? Or just make it difficult to buy an ICE car?

I think it’s exactly that, they (government) will make it difficult to buy a brand new ICE car. I’ve not looked into it but I think diesels are getting phased out first with hybrids providing the fuel economy equivalent. The Motability prices reflect this , I’d buy ICE if it was worth it financially it’s just not (for me at least) . It’s all part of the plan. 

The reality is that the car manufacturers have a mandate to sell Electric cars. If it’s not possible to get cost parity with ICE vehicles than another strategy is to make ICE as much or more expensive than the EV that was never economically viable! 
That is the plan that has failed, so far.

Word is still working it’s way out to the masses, people are beginning to see what the limitations of the EV are.

20 hours ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

(.**Because of the switch to fibre and VoIP which doesn't seem to be quite as wonderful as they would have us believe.)

I'm pleased with my full fibre, speed wasn't the issue for me but cost, my new ISP gives my 150Mb/s for £19.99 a month, fixed for 24 months

I did also opt for the VoIP phone at £3 a month with free evening and weekend calls. The VoIP works fine so far, but the issue will obviously be during a power cut. In hindsight, I should not have bothered with the phone, as like many I very rarely use it, preferring the mobile phone.

43 minutes ago, Mark-UK said:

...I should not have bothered with the phone, as like many I very rarely use it, preferring the mobile phone.

Ironic, I've had a landline all my life, for that very thing, in an emergency, you do not need electricity for a landline phone to work. However, with BT switchover to 'DigitalVoice' that is no longer the case. I'm having a real issue with my mum now as she in her late 80s, and her only form of comms is her landline. In a powercut, she'll have nothing. (Mobile is moot anyway as she would get no signal as my phone never works at her house)

Here in NI, because of various lobbying, BT 2 weeks ago agreed to a suspension of their digital roll out to vulnerable customers until they can find a more robust alternative to cope with emergencies. (Their promised 'power pack' gives just 2 hours cover, totally inadequate!)

Sorry to go on, but it's a real issue for me... Great price by the way on your broadband!

Calling 999 you still need a signal/service but the mobile phone will pick up on signal from any providers it can find in the area if need be. In my house WiFi calling is needed, not a problem unless you’re with giffgaff. WhatsApp works too, off the broadband. 

Hertz corporation, one of the largest rental car companies, has announced that they are sending one third of their Tesla rental fleet to the auctions and not replacing them. One third is about 20,000 cars. They cited the high cost of repair and customer resistance as the reason.

1 hour ago, Scottman said:

Hertz corporation, one of the largest rental car companies, has announced that they are sending one third of their Tesla rental fleet to the auctions and not replacing them.

There's a lot of coverage of that on the web. Seems to have impacted on Hertz share prices as well.

Also interesting that what Hertz say about repair costs ties in with what we are hearing from insurers here in the UK.

Still, every cloud has a silver lining for someone, and from what I've seen anyone in the US looking for a cheap used EV should be able to snap up a bargain. Same with new ones by the look of it - there are a lot of stories about dealers being stuck with unsold EV stock, as you've mentioned several times.

1 hour ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

anyone in the US looking for a cheap used EV should be able to snap up a bargain.

Of course that would never work in the UK where car insurance is compulsory. The way things are going, if you are able to insure these time bombs the cost is likely to be more than the EV

3 minutes ago, unofix said:

... if you are able to insure these time bombs the cost is likely to be more than the EV

mmm... just like 'hot hatches' in the 80s. My friend was quoted £9000 to cover a Ford Escort Cosworth, rich daddy paid for it!

The insurance costs are rising and the resale value is dropping. Shops are getting wise to refusing to work on an EV with a damaged undercarriage. 
I would never allow a damaged EV to sit overnight in my shop!

many independent car dealerships are not interested in buying an EV. 
To me, the risk of buying a problematic EV is not worth it, given that the costs are all increasing. 

I previously thought that insurance groups around 35 were for Aston Martins and Bentleys. Not now. 

On 1/11/2024 at 12:51 PM, unofix said:

Of course that would never work in the UK where car insurance is compulsory. The way things are going, if you are able to insure these time bombs the cost is likely to be more than the EV

Car insurance is required to get license plates in most states.

Quite frankly EV’s are very much a scam & a ‘con’ job.Government has a lot to answer for in regards to EV’s.Quite frankly I applaud Toyota & Honda for taking a stand against these EV mandates.There has to be a mix of propulsion methods.It seems we are being ‘railroaded’ into purchasing the damn things.Already, a lot of people are migrating back to ICE.

On 1/12/2024 at 3:06 AM, Eric Bloodaxe said:

There's a lot of coverage of that on the web. Seems to have impacted on Hertz share prices as well.

Also interesting that what Hertz say about repair costs ties in with what we are hearing from insurers here in the UK.

Still, every cloud has a silver lining for someone, and from what I've seen anyone in the US looking for a cheap used EV should be able to snap up a bargain. Same with new ones by the look of it - there are a lot of stories about dealers being stuck with unsold EV stock, as you've mentioned several times.

Inventory stocks are quite high.(US)Ford with its Mach E Mustang has over three months supply of the things sitting on dealers lots, nobody wants them.The trouble also is,Ford keeps delivering the things to all their dealers.Tesla has also huge stock inventory across the US.MB is the same, dealers citing they are way over priced, they just cannot move them.It is a crazy situation.

2 minutes ago, Hackney said:

Inventory stocks are quite high.(US)Ford with its Mach E Mustang has over three months supply of the things sitting on dealers lots, nobody wants them....

I've said right from the start that governments should not be involved in mandating EVs, the market should decide that, and if they're good enough, people will buy them of their own volition.

It appears the market is deciding anyway, and people are voting with their feet, and wallets!

31 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

I've said right from the start that governments should not be involved in mandating EVs, the market should decide that, and if they're good enough, people will buy them of their own volition.

It appears the market is deciding anyway, and people are voting with their feet, and wallets!

What are sales like over in the UK? Are they flattening out @ all?

1 hour ago, Hackney said:

What are sales like over in the UK?

What sales ? 🤣🤣🤣

They were giving away EV's free with the tops off 5 Corn Flake boxes, but that has proved to be too much. Now you can have one with only 3 packet tops 🤣

3 minutes ago, unofix said:

Now you can have one with only 3 packet tops 🤣

Even then, it's only a Tesla... LOL

YTD for our sales.Petrol:40,993 sales(41.6% market share) Diesel 35,214 sales (35.7% market share) Hybrid :9875(10% market share)Electric:6,771 (6.9% market share)PHEV:1,302 sales(1.32% market share).

Ford dealers in America have reached their limits on acceptance of any more MachE or F150. The situation is evolving,  former co worker of mine, who is still working at a large urban dealership, has told me that they are now refusing to accept new MachE for stock inventory. If a customer wants one they will locate it in the three state area and then take a trailer and truck to bring it back to their dealership. He said that they have done this for customers who wanted a particular spec of MachE GT. Those seem to be the most in demand version of that model.

I must say that the numbers of unsold Ford EV’s of every type is shocking, no pun intended.

3 minutes ago, Scottman said:

numbers of unsold Ford EV’s of every type is shocking

The EV market has gone flat. Probably needs a boost to get it jump started 🤣

We could start a whole new thread on just EV puns 👍

18 hours ago, Hackney said:

What are sales like over in the UK?

Bit more than yours, by the look of it, but the overall picture is fleet/company car buyers who can benefit from various tax incentives are going for it, private buyers much less so.

https://www.best-selling-cars.com/britain-uk/2023-full-year-britain-top-selling-electric-car-models-in-the-uk/#:~:text=Although battery-electric car sales increased by 17.8% in,Volkswagen was the top-selling brand in the UK.

Calls continue for incentives for private buyers but personally I'm bu**ered if I can see why the taxpayer should subsidise either private or company buyers. If the product is good enough and a good value proposition people will buy it.