Mort Walker wrote: ↑04 Aug 2023 04:02
Given Toyota's announcement, we're about about 4-5 years away, and many people will wait if they're paying $50K+ for a vehicle.
Toyota has been always 4-5 years with this tech and I will be very surprised if Toyota or any other EV's will can launch a $50k car with over 200 miles of range and with a solid state battery. Toyota has been milking this PR point for half a decade now and I do not see it any different. AT the most, they will come with a Solid State battery by 2030 and that too would supplement its gas cars as a PHEV.
https://qz.com/toyota-solid-state-batte ... 1850605326
https://thedriven.io/2023/07/05/solid-s ... elivering/
Driving habits for those between age 20-54, according to US DoT and auto industry is over 15,000 miles per year. If you live in the US west of the Mississippi River, but east of WA, OR & CA, you'll most likely be driving more than in that age group.
And a relatively small number of people live in that area you are boxing, 20 million may be. While for 90% of population the current ranges absolutely suffice. Also, like how every vehicle is not suitable for everybody(dually in an urban enviornment), not every EV need to satisfy every case study. If there is someone who would love to drive 500 miles in one go and stop for nothing and needs towing capabilities, then an EV is not for them. Catering to these use cases will only delay the progress.
With large national highways now being completed in India, some people object to the car culture, but much like the US, it is something which brings national unity and understanding.
Possible, but it will also bring more road accidents, and pollution.
you can easily travel to states more than 300KM away to see the different geography, culture and temples. It's something where politicians can no longer divide people based on region and language. My family rents an Innova with driver to go where & when they want to go doorstep-to-doorstep.
I'm talking about EV's wrt US, not India. I'm acutely unaware of Indian long distance driving habits, EV availability, and charging infra. So I cannot comment anything about it.
In the US, the standard 120V residential circuit breaker rating is 20A, but older homes will be 15A. If nothing else is on that circuit, you may get between 1.4 KW - 2.4 KW power. The cost of getting the wall connector from Tesla is about $475 and getting a 240V/40A home connection has come down quite a bit with electricians doing it for $400-$800. It's not unreasonable if you're spending $33K-$55K on a car where you can get 40 miles range per hour charged.
This is the ideal scenario and not the only scenario. I charge my EV on a 120v circuit, the same one where I also occasionally plug my phone/speaker. Cost has come down, but that's the overhead in adopting a new tech. There are many tax incentives to get the burden lower. In my state(illinois), there were rebates on equipment and labor for installation and with a federal rebate an EV was a no-brainer.
At this time, the Tesla is a great commuting vehicle.
I agree, and that's a good starting point. Almost all of the families who live in the suburbs and beyond have more than 2 cars and when the time comes for a replacement, if even one of them is replaced by an EV, it would be much better for everyone.