Cheaper electric cars are coming but is it still too early to jump on board? It depends who you ask   

March 9 2021
ABC News


If you are in the market for a new car, you may have noticed that there is a lot of talk right now about electric vehicles.

Key points:
Electric vehicles represent less than 1 percent of total sales in Australia
But overseas trends suggest that could change sooner than expected
Motoring groups say governments need to do more to support take-up
Car maker Volvo has joined other manufacturers, including General Motors and Jaguar Land Rover, by putting a deadline on its production of petrol-powered cars.

Volvo says that by 2030, it will only sell electric.

On top of that, it is now not just the left of politics spruiking the electric car dream.

Australia's longest electric highway of chargers has been promised by the WA Liberals, with similar pledges by Labor and the Greens, as part of the state election campaign ahead of this Saturday's poll.

A black electric mini in the foreground, with people at the expo in the background
New models of electric car were on display at a Perth expo on the weekend, where EV drivers were keen to show their wheels.(ABC News: Claire Moodie)
So, with this kind of signalling by industry and politics, should your next car be electric?

That depends on who you ask.


'Change happens fast'
At an electric vehicle expo in suburban Perth on the weekend, early adopters, including Chris Jones, were keen to explain why it was the right time to make the switch to electric now, if you could afford it.

"Not only because they've got significantly lower running costs and they are better for the environment," he said.

"But also because petrol vehicles will basically become more and more scarce over the coming decade.

"Companies will stop making them, businesses will stop selling them and you'll get increasingly fewer opportunities for parts and service.

man standing in front of white car
Chris Jones says he has saved money on fuel and maintenance since buying his EV last May.(ABC News: Claire Moodie )
"That will take a decade or so to run through, but in our experience with new technology, change happens fast.

"It happens really fast."

Mr Jones bought one of the more affordable EVs available in Australia, the Hyundai Ioniq, for $50,000 in May last year, and said the price of the model had since dropped.

Woman with t shirt on saying "fully charged" leaning on the back of car with sign that says "powered by fair dinkum solar energy
Sales of EVs in Australia tripled during 2019 but still make up less than 1 percent of total car sales.
Currently the cheapest pure electric car on the market in Australia costs close to $44,000, but EVs range in price up to an eye-watering $200,000.

Mr Jones said prices would become cheaper if the federal government committed to minimum vehicle emission standards that would "open the floodgates to EVs".

But he stressed the current high upfront costs were partly offset by savings.

"500 kilometres a week in an efficient petrol car would cost me $50 a week in fuel alone," he said.

"The EV costs me nothing. Literally nothing, as the energy is sunshine on the roof. 

"But even at the A1 tariff, it would be $12 worth of electricity a week.

"Service is about $165 a year, and it's mostly to keep the roadside assistance."

In comparison, the RAC recently calculated the servicing cost of a Hyundai Venue SUV at $29.83 a month, which works out to be $358 a year.

EV's are the way of the future.

An obtuse proof of this is, the oil companies on the ASX have great yields and PERs, but noone is buying them.
Despite the compelling reasons to buy, they have no friends. The trend is almost terminal.
They are as popular as pork in a Synagogue.


The miners who mine metals used in batteries ........  they are going gangbusters.
Nickel, copper, lithium and cobalt, are eagerly sought.
No matter the yield or PER, people are buying them.

The customer is always right.
In this arena, they are putting their money on batteries.
You can say they are wrong if you want but the trend is up.

lee wrote on Mar 14^th, 2021 at 12:01pm:





because petrol engines and all their components run forever