Has the electric car bubble burst?

[mab01uk]

"Eighteen-month waits after order your new car and seemingly unending queues to power it up due to a dearth of new charging stations being built. This seems to be the experience for many UK motorists when buying and owning an electric car.
And this may be why a recent recovery in the new car market - after registrations fell to an 40-year low last year - is being partly fuelled most significantly by a surge in petrol car sales and less-so by electric cars like Teslas.
New statistics released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed new car registrations saw a significant boost this January compared to the same time last year.
Britons may be becoming switched off to the idea of battery-powered electric cars due to a lack of public charging stations, which can leave drivers queueing for hours waiting for a point to free up.
Electric car infrastructure in the UK was considered at 'crisis point' after it was revealed last month that just 806 new chargers were being installed per month, This is Money reported.
This rate which needs to nearly quadruple to 3,130 installations a month to meet the Government's target of having 300,000 devices nationwide by 2030 - when the UK will ban new petrol and diesel cars. There are only 37,055 charging points in the UK as of January this year.
And new SMMT data shows that the rollout of charging infrastructure is still 'failing to keep pace', which is 'challenging consumer confidence'.
In the final quarter of last year, just one public chargepoint was installed per 62 plug-in cars, a fall from 1:42 compared to the same quarter in 2021.
Overall in 2022, just one standard public charger was built for every 53 new plug-ins registered, the weakest ratio since 2020.
According to the latest figures, there is only around one public electric charging point per 30 plug-in vehicles. This includes the 680,994 battery electric vehicles and 458,875 plug-in hybrids."
https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/car ... icles.html

[Costafortune]

Add to that the number of charging points having the copper cables chopped off and weighed in for scrap.

[Rolandino]

What bubble ???
The politicians and do-gooders who decided that electric cars was the way to go forwards are just deluded. It costs more to produce one, More to tun one and the batteries dont last more that 10 years so cars will be scrapped.
What about buses ? Trains, lorries, Ferries and Cruise ships? are they going electric ???

NO !

Hydrogen cars seem to be a better choice, so I for one will never buy electric cars, not as long as I dont grow a third nipple.
Petrol cars (used) will be on the road well after 2030.

[Polarsilver]

The "British" Motor Society always get things wrong ..just one example remember that back in the day "everyone" ( except poor me & you ) wanted their new car registration letter on their number plate, therefore New Years Day was the on demand New Car Delivery Day .. but this was too much work for the Car Dealers & upset the Manufacture who wanted steady car production throughout the year .. so they scrapped when a new car got a ABCD Registration Letter date aligned to that calendar year & just like Electric Cars also Brexit plus the loss of the GB Plate ..no one ever admits they Got it Wrong
ps sorry to mention the B Word

[Andrew1967]

People beginning to wake up to the electric car farce ... about bloody time too.

Some of the stories I've heard from people unfortunate enough to work on these would put anyone off.

Will be the biggest scandal in motoring history.

[johnv]

People beginning to wake up to the electric car farce ... about bloody time too.

Some of the stories I've heard from people unfortunate enough to work on these would put anyone off.

Will be the biggest scandal in motoring history.

My feelings exactly

[111Robin]

I see things changing once sustainable fuels are available at a reasonable price using the existing delivery and supply network. EVs are here to stay but the choice of EV or ICE should be available to everyone, to suit individual needs. The novelty factor will soon wear off anyway. EVs are just like the latest I phone, everyone just NEEDS to have one, whether they do or not.

[Richspec]

I think the bubble has burst yes, but only the bubble (or capacity) that expands as far the charging network will allow. Yes there was a rush by some to adopt the new tech, the I phone affect as above, but thats slowed down, the next to get them were those who recognize the small mileage offered was able to be matched by their usage and ability to charge.
Now you're left with the bulk of the driving public, cant afford the rediculous pricing and cant charge conveniently, or just do too many miles for the tech available.
Sales will still occur just at a much slower rate, as the vehicle tech and charging network bumps along.
But i just cant see it happening to meet any timescale set by the green lobby within government.

As for commercial use thats way off usable as yet.

[wantafaster1]

I have a theory it was all a promotion to get countries away from an oil based economy.

[andy1071]

I work with vehicle design, mostly with chassis/suspension.
2 of the biggest emissions from cars are brake dust and tyre dust/particles (see below for CO2 emissions, and check-out "green ncap").
Brake dust can be less for electric cars due to re-generative braking.
BUT, tyre dust is worse, due to increased weight! (We're seeing electric cars weighing 2.5-3.0 tonnes and more..!!)
The tyre- dust/particles are a much bigger health danger/concern than CO2....

People are also waking-up to the fact that the CO2 emissions of electric cars are very often worse than ICE cars:
1) more CO2 to produce the car;
2) if it's an SUV type electric car it produces more CO2 through it's life (there are lots of arguments about how much CO2 from the electric generating source, but anyway, we don't have enough wind or solar if all cars are electric... )
3) more CO2 to re-cycle at the end-of-life.

Plus, who controls most of the lithium, rare-earth metals, and other materials essential for electric cars....?

The most environmentally-friendly car is the one that you already own....