Electric Vehicles: General topics

[Apple fanboy]

So my BMW i3 still isn’t here.
July is the latest estimate.
However I’m now finding out the standard 10” display they’ve been shipping with since 2017 has been replaced with a 6.5” one. Surround sound speakers are also likely to be MIA. So all in all I’m thinking of going approved used and buy an extended warranty with the money I save.
Thoughts?

 

[Clix Pix]

That sounds like a good idea, AFB; at least check around, see what's available and re-evaluate the options you had earlier chosen for the new i3 so that if some are not available on the used car you'll know what you can live without, as opposed to the ones you MUST have. Such a disappointment, though, for you, especially after all this time of waiting..... Good thing you've learned about these new changes now in the waning days of the i3 manufacturing so that you've got time to assess and maybe wait a little for just the right gently-used one to become available. And, yes, buying an extended warranty on a used/slightly older i3 would be a very wise decision.

 

[DT]

This is super fun, and pretty big news!

Volkswagen Group to launch all-electric pick-up and rugged SUV in the United States

Volkswagen Group will launch an all-electric pick-up and rugged SUV in the United States. The decision of the Board of Management was confirmed today by the Supervisory Board of the Volkswagen Group.

www.volkswagen-newsroom.com

• Volkswagen Group plans to electrify iconic U.S.-brand Scout
• Independent company to be founded to design, engineer, and manufacture pick-up and rugged SUV (R-SUV) for the U.S. market
• Start of production planned for 2026
• Herbert Diess, CEO: “Electrification provides a historic opportunity to now enter the highly attractive pick-up and R-SUV segment as a Group, underscoring our ambition to become a relevant player in the U.S. market.”

We had a Scout in the 70s, icon red with white top, it had manually locking front hubs, so if you didn't do it in advance, you were out in the mud

I didn't even realize that VW owned the brand/name of Scout, but here's the history:

In September 2021, a report by Motor Trend reveled that Volkswagen Group may look to revive the Scout nameplate as a potential competitor to the Jeep Wrangler, Toyota 4Runner, and the revived Ford Bronco. VW Group had acquired the Scout trademarks earlier in the year when its commercial truck business Traton acquired Navistar. As VW Group is unlikely to acquire the International Harvester trademarks from Case IH even for a licensing deal, a revived Scout would either be sold under the Volkswagen nameplate as a sub-brand similar to the aforementioned Bronco or as a standalone off-road themed brand similar to Jeep; both options would use VW's existing dealership network in the United States.[11]

Several weeks ago, we were at Universal, and I was walking back from the __secret__chargers__ and I saw this one on a trailer, it was fully restored, looked showroom mint:

 

[Apple fanboy]

So update on my BMW i3. Dealer still hasn't confirmed that I'm getting a delivery and what equipment it will have. Its very unlikely to have the standard 10" screen (no cars have since March), very likely to be missing the rear speakers and possibly even Apple CarPlay.

So I have been searching for a gently used model. Think I've found a good one. Off to view it in the morning. Around a £7,000 saving on what it would have been new. Mrs AFB (and probably me) prefer the colour TBH which is another added bonus.

 

[Herdfan]

So all in all I’m thinking of going approved used and buy an extended warranty with the money I save.
Thoughts?

Is that your version of a CPO (Certified Pre-Owned)? If so, then yes.

The last 4 European cars we have bought (2 Land Rovers, 1 Volvo and 1 Mercedes) were all CPO's. And in 3/4 cases, I upgraded from the extra year to 3 extra years on the warranty. The Volvo already had the 7/100 because it was 3 years old when we got it.

On the Rovers and Volvo, it goes out to 7/100 and the MB was 7/Unlimited. Better than factory. Three had mileage in the 20's when we bought them and one had less than 5K (it was a dealer demo and couldn't be sold as new).

Now I am not sure I would buy an Asian or American CPO, but European for sure.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Is that your version of a CPO (Certified Pre-Owned)? If so, then yes.

The last 4 European cars we have bought (2 Land Rovers, 1 Volvo and 1 Mercedes) were all CPO's. And in 3/4 cases, I upgraded from the extra year to 3 extra years on the warranty. The Volvo already had the 7/100 because it was 3 years old when we got it.

On the Rovers and Volvo, it goes out to 7/100 and the MB was 7/Unlimited. Better than factory. Three had mileage in the 20's when we bought them and one had less than 5K (it was a dealer demo and couldn't be sold as new).

Now I am not sure I would buy an Asian or American CPO, but European for sure.

Yes it’s the same thing by the sounds of it. The car I’m looking at this morning has 18 months warranty left and I will be looking at extending that for sure. The battery will have 6.5 years warranty left and that will probably be longer than I own the car for.

 

[DT]

Yikes.

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1524830380649353216/

 

[quagmire]

And anyone that pays it just proves you don’t need to be smart to earn enough money to afford it.

 

[DT]

Experian sales numbers YTD in the US:

1. Tesla Model Y: 52,051
2. Tesla Model 3: 47,682
3. Tesla Model S: 9,250
4. Ford Mustang Mach-E: 6,957
5. Hyundai Ioniq 5: 6,265
6. Kia EV6: 4,901
7. Tesla Model X: 4,899
8. Nissan Leaf: 4,401
9. Kia Niro Electric: 3,549
10. Volkswagen ID.4: 2,926

The top two aren't even close, the S is a bit surprising, that's a different market segment vs. everything else on the list.

To be clear, this is what manufacturers are getting out the door, not orders/demand/etc., so it makes a notable point: manufacturers need to step up manufacturing.

 

[quagmire]

The think the S is simply due it being new so everyone is upgrading, etc. It will probably settle back down to the 4,000 range like the X is once everyone who wants one, gets one. It outselling the Mach E is the surprising part.

 

[SuperMatt]

Experian sales numbers YTD in the US:

1. Tesla Model Y: 52,051
2. Tesla Model 3: 47,682
3. Tesla Model S: 9,250
4. Ford Mustang Mach-E: 6,957
5. Hyundai Ioniq 5: 6,265
6. Kia EV6: 4,901
7. Tesla Model X: 4,899
8. Nissan Leaf: 4,401
9. Kia Niro Electric: 3,549
10. Volkswagen ID.4: 2,926

The top two aren't even close, the S is a bit surprising, that's a different market segment vs. everything else on the list.

To be clear, this is what manufacturers are getting out the door, not orders/demand/etc., so it makes a notable point: manufacturers need to step up manufacturing.

Tesla is the only company that has taken the EV market seriously. Everybody else is playing catch-up, and most of them are clearly reluctant to do anything other than sell gas-guzzling SUVs, which they see as cash cows. All it takes to beat the auto industry is a tiny bit of forward thinking. They are dinosaurs.

 

[quagmire]

I think the manufactures like GM is realizing the potential of EV's to their bottom line.

Developing a vehicle is expensive. How many platforms does GM have? They have been spending the whole past decade to shrink as many platforms and engine families they have.

An EV? They only really need two to three platforms..... One for cars, one for SUV's and trucks, and maybe another for the Corvette. Then they can just modulate the platforms to fit each car and SUV/truck needs. That saves them a TON of money. Increases their margins, etc. Look at Tesla. Their profit margin is now a staggering 30% or so..... They could lower their prices if they wanted to( hence why I always called their inflation reasoning BS). But why would they? Despite the Model Y increasing in price by $12,000 from last year, they still sell every one they can make and the line keeps on getting longer.

 

[Apple fanboy]

In the U.K. Tesla has opened up its charging network this week to non Tesla’s owners. It’s a phased process, but a step in the right direction.

 

[DT]

In the U.K. Tesla has opened up its charging network this week to non Tesla’s owners. It’s a phased process, but a step in the right direction.

Yeah, I've been following the progress, I'm real curious about the charging/billing experience (with a Tesla it's totally transparent, you pull up, plug in, that's it).

On the flip side, Tesla has an official CCS adapter now, not released in the US yet (a few people have imported them from overseas), but that will allow for using a non-Tesla DCFC like Electrify America (you can do this now, with a CHAdeMO, but that's a dead spec, and a good bit slower). I think the projected retail is like $250, so I'll almost definitely score one.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Yeah, I've been following the progress, I'm real curious about the charging/billing experience (with a Tesla it's totally transparent, you pull up, plug in, that's it).

On the flip side, Tesla has an official CCS adapter now, not released in the US yet (a few people have imported them from overseas), but that will allow for using a non-Tesla DCFC like Electrify America (you can do this now, with a CHAdeMO, but that's a dead spec, and a good bit slower). I think the projected retail is like $250, so I'll almost definitely score one.

You have to create a Tesla account. And your billed directly through it.
Personally I prefer contactless payment without an account etc. but I understand a few different ones require that here.

 

[Cmaier]

You have to create a Tesla account. And your billed directly through it.
Personally I prefer contactless payment without an account etc. but I understand a few different ones require that here.

I don’t have to pay for supercharging

 

[Apple fanboy]

I don’t have to pay for supercharging

You do. You just paid up front!

 

[Cmaier]

You do. You just paid up front!

Not according to Tesla’s profit and loss statement back then

 

[DT]

You have to create a Tesla account. And your billed directly through it.
Personally I prefer contactless payment without an account etc. but I understand a few different ones require that here.

Yeah, I more or less knew that much, I'm interested in the how the process works, re: car identification, how long takes to start charging, that sort of thing. Like does the car ID itself? So once you have your Tesla account setup, you just plug in? Or do you do something in the app, at the SuC?

Tesla SuCs don't have any kind of billing interface on the charger, like there's not any kind of display! It's literally that white/red obelisk, and a charging cable.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Yeah, I more or less knew that much, I'm interested in the how the process works, re: car identification, how long takes to start charging, that sort of thing. Like does the car ID itself? So once you have your Tesla account setup, you just plug in? Or do you do something in the app, at the SuC?

Tesla SuCs don't have any kind of billing interface on the charger, like there's not any kind of display! It's literally that white/red obelisk, and a charging cable.

This is the video I watched that told me about it.