Buying the Best Electric Vehicle - for your needs

An article regarding EV’s available in Australia.

Wish List not included?

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Best Electric Vehicle to Buy in Oz?

Perhaps not this one.

NT to offer incentives to EV buyers.

Best Electric Vehicle to Buy in Oz?

Or this one.

OT since this is purely a concept car for now, and the report is from CNN, but the possibilities re manufacturing and what VW sees as the future core attraction for their products should interest. Will a production version ever come to our shores? It is probably only a matter of time it comes everywhere, but maybe not quite like the concept.

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Depends what one thinks is cheap. expected $37K (€20,000) + on road costs isn’t cheap in my book for a small car. It may be at the cheap end of EVs. I wish that motoring journalists would think about the cost to the average person rather than comparing prices possibly to the suite of cars they regularly test and compare against (e.g. premium brands).

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A war story from 1970 when I was in Australia for 3 days already and looking for a ‘modest’ car. I wandered onto a Holden lot and saw what to me, a young American, ‘should’ have been about $1,500 to $2,000. The salesman explained the model was just released the previous weeks and was $4,500 base. I innocently replied it would only be $1,500 in Los Angeles. He told me to go to Los Angeles and buy it, and walked off.

It was one of the more educational moments in my life and taught me ‘cheap’ (eg the cost of things) is place and time dependent as well as relative. :wink:

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Polaris EV mini truck coming to Australia.

Perhaps I lack imagination but I don’t see a commercial use for it. With a top speed of 49 kph and a range of 135 km with the biggest battery it might useful for city deliveries but not long distance. Even then it will need to recharge every few hours. A major cost to road transport is the driver so we see many delivery systems using the biggest vehicle they can to maximise the payload per driver - this truck is the other end of the scale. Maybe it will find a niche trundling components around factories where it can be recharging all the time it is not in use, so why register it on the road?

It’s a strange kind of journalism that regurgitates the specs but fails to ask what is the use of it.

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So belated.
Taylor-Dunn have been doing similar for decades. The batteries and electric drive systems have improved over time.

They are not the only manufacturer of similar purposeful battery vehicles. Several even scored supporting roles in Bond movies.

Best to look off the road for other examples, unless it’s an English 1960’s milk float.

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It will possibly suit non-road uses such as in factories, warehouses, parks/sporting fields, nurseries, village communities etc where similar vehicles are currently used (many of which have been electric for decades).

I would be surprised it will get full approval to drive on Australian roads. It may be a restricted approval such which exists with the vehicles mentioned in the previous sentence.

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That was all I could come up with.

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CBDs as delivery and other transport duties. Another area of use could be postal and or parcel delivery routes, more electric powered units are currently being used by Auspost and this may fill many of their requirements.

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Lucid is still a future in our part of the world, but reflects how rapidly improvements are being made. Range anxiety is being addressed.

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If the vote goes to the car most noticed Tesla has a clear lead. This may be partly due to the distinctive front styling and curved body that reminds me of Elon Musk for some weird reason.

There are other options that some might consider affordable. The MG ZS electric and Hyundai Kona Electric are the ones we notice most often, some with ‘Ride Share’ stickers on the widows.

Unfortunately it’s easier to find details of vehicles not available in Australia.

EG

Looking forward 12 months or so Toyota will be entering the market, but no clear indication of an Aussie release date yet. Optimism is Japan where the Toyota will be released first is a RHD market. There are only small differences required for compliance of a Japanese model in the Aussie market. :crossed_fingers:

The best BEVs are still to come.

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The great Aussie week-end ‘post Covid’ is back on the list of things to look forward to. At least for those who still work only 9-5 Monday to Fridays. It’s possible it may even include an electric powered vehicle.

Those holding out on replacing their ageing petrol and diesel powered vehicles might need to wait a little longer.

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They had better not hold their breath.

I bought my first car in 2018, at which time electric vehicles already easily met my driving needs. Way too expensive at the time at the time though. Sadly it looks like my next car may STILL not be electric because it will simply be out of my price range.

Building new chargers is nice, but there is already one close to both my work and house. It’s the lack of subsidy or tax reduction that’s stopping me buying in.

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We share a similar observation. Over a longer time the running costs are substantially lower than an ICE. To justify the premium initial purchase price one needs to do a significant number of kilometres annually. I do know some who were on a daily commute of more than 100km each way. IE 50,000km pa. I used to clock up 30-40,000km a year consistently.

If my previous vehicle had been an BEV it would have been parked at home over night for around 10 hours and daily at work for at least 8 hours. Even with a miserly 10amp 230V AC power outlet that’s enough time to fully recharge after each leg of the journey. Perhaps the strategy for charging BEVs as they become more common needs a re think. Rather than high powered chargers at selected locations, most needs might be met by a simple mains weather proof power outlet. One at every parking spot.

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There is a history of consumer needs changing. A century ago who have have forecast the capacity required in a home as well as the number of power points to connect everything? I doubt that will reduce although characteristics might change. A few decades into the future it is possible every new house will be required to have solar w/backup, be 100% electric, and have at least one high capacity charge point. The catch up for older ones could be challenging, especially heritage listed properties.

The real estate adds may look like 3 beds, 1 study, 2 baths, 2 carparks, 1 HC charge point, FTTP NBN - as routine.

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Almost, :joy:.

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