Going electric

[Paddynabs]

My company issued a press release today on company car policy. They said they have investigated with their fleet partners on the possible use of electric/hybrid cars and come to the conclusion that they are't viable.

Our fleet cars are Audi and Vauxhall who only make one hybrid car between them ( I think, please correct me if I'm wrong).

I bet one of the Japanese manufacturers would have a different opinion!

 

[JCarp16]

My company issued a press release today on company car policy. They said they have investigated with their fleet partners on the possible use of electric/hybrid cars and come to the conclusion that they are't viable.

Our fleet cars are Audi and Vauxhall who only make one hybrid car between them ( I think, please correct me if I'm wrong).

I bet one of the Japanese manufacturers would have a different opinion!

Not even hybrids?

 

[JCarp16]

The LAPD and 'range anxiety' https://electrek.co/2018/01/18/lapd-bmw-i3-fleet-barely-used/

 

[JCarp16]

New Nissan Leaf review. Quick question - why is the range the other way around compared to an ICE car?
Is that because the car isn't using much power (no idling) when stationary and so the lost energy via air resistance is then more obvious? Figures from the article

"Even better, the 40kWh battery on every model will take you as far as 258 miles in city conditions, or 168 miles on road trips mixed with city driving."

http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/new-nissan-leaf-review-2018

 

[StevenRB45]

The fully charged show the MEP linked earlier on you tube has tested it, the E golf and the Renault Zoe among others. I'm slowly getting round to watching them as it's kinda interesting to see where the tech is currently and it's in 4k so if you have the tech it's very nice to look at.

 

[JCarp16]

The Huff post test a Tesla on Autopilot... http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/ent...-huffpost-verdict_uk_5a5e17cae4b04f3c55a62e8e

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

why is the range the other way around compared to an ICE car?

Not sure I follow the question

 

[JCarp16]

Not sure I follow the question

ICE cars seem to have a better range out of town whereas the electric cars are the reverse. Well, based on the figures I've seen in any case. I just wondered if it was because the wasted energy was mostly down to overcoming air resistance because an electric car wouldn't waste energy idling in traffic like an ICE car would. At those lower speeds much less energy is lost to air resistance - hence an electric car has much better range in the city than it does on the open road. Or I could be barking up the wrong tree entirely!

 

[StevenRB45]

That would be my understanding as well, because there is less energy wasted in idle time and operating outside of peak efficiency it follows that it uses less energy to do less, and more energy to do more.

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

ICE cars seem to have a better range out of town whereas the electric cars are the reverse. Well, based on the figures I've seen in any case. I just wondered if it was because the wasted energy was mostly down to overcoming air resistance because an electric car wouldn't waste energy idling in traffic like an ICE car would. At those lower speeds much less energy is lost to air resistance - hence an electric car has much better range in the city than it does on the open road. Or I could be barking up the wrong tree entirely!

Ah right, I'm with you now.

As Steven has mentioned, its efficiencies. Just like an ICE, the faster you go the more fuel you use, so an EV will use a lot more fuel at a stead 70mph than 30mph.

However the reason EV's are better around town, is that they use no fuel when stationary (with the exception of heating / headlights etc), compared to an ICE which will be burning fuel with its engine idling.

In addition to this, in stop start traffic, every time you brake you're regenerating your kinetic energy back into power to store back into the battery, where as with an ICE, once you've burnt the fuel its gone, if you stop you simply waste is as heat via the braking process.

 

[puntofan01]

With EVs which have a flat battery pack mounted on the floor, what happens in the future if the car needs welding done on floorpans/sills?

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

With EVs which have a flat battery pack mounted on the floor, what happens in the future if the car needs welding done on floorpans/sills?

Good question

I suspect it's going to be a lot more difficult. Not sure if having a battery back under the floor will help protect those area's from salt / rot, or actually hold it in and help it rot more.

I'm still yet to stick my head under my Soul and see what the setup is in this respect.

 

[puntofan01]

That thought just randomly occurred to me, as I'd imagine a lot of mass produced EVs will be made from steel in order to help keep costs down?

Out of interest, how many electric Souls did Kia manage to sell in the UK?

 

[PuntoHowTo]

A lot of EVs are using more composite materials not found in normal cars, for example Teslas are aluminium, BMW use quite a lot of specialist materials made in house for the i3 and i8.

Steel is not hugely heavy and car manufacturers are very good at saving weight while maintaining structure.
Some mepaterials are not as strong so will require more to achieve the same structural rigidity as a steel built car.

Anyway, I saw this today, build just down the road from me and has to be the best looking Model S about.... I want one https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-model-s-shooting-brake-wagon-supercharger/

 

[puntofan01]

That's exactly my point: Teslas and BMWs occupy the pricier areas of the market. What about when the likes of Seat and Ford start making electric cars in their thousands, and making them out of steel to keep costs down? Potentially, as those sorts of EVs get older, they may well need attention underneath. If that starts to be the case, what happens if the battery pack is floor mounted?

 

[PuntoHowTo]

The likes of the Nissan Leaf which is largely steel, the battery drops down from the bottom much like a petrol tank from a conventional car

 

[puntofan01]

I see! So it's actually mounted underneath the car, rather than in it?

 

[PuntoHowTo]

I see! So it's actually mounted underneath the car, rather than in it?

Tesla have the battery mounted inside the chassis, in an armoured compartment, but it is also welded and bonded aluminium.

Other cars have different arrangements, for example a Prius has the battery pack behind the back seats

 

[puntofan01]

I see!

 

[portland_bill]

A thought crossed my mind during the evening. If the EV needs charging overnight, it sort of prevents going out for the evening, or maybe even popping out for a takeaway if a full charge is important next day. So, early to bed everyone.