Talk Morgan Forums Community Vehicle Talk (non-Morgan) Electric vehicles the answer ?

This Polestar was a very imposing car I thought looking around it and sitting in it at FOS this year, fit and finish were superb as becomes a car of this price. I don't think they will have a problem selling these at all.

Polestar

Sure, but at what price? List puts it in the same ballpark as serious GTs, and well above Tesla. There'll be some serious discounting, and without a track record, there's the potential of cliff-like depreciation.
That said, it's a halo product, so I guess Volvo can afford to massage the finance numbers to make it attractive & move metal out of the showroom.

Will

Will, your point on depreciation is spot-on (all current EVs will look prehistoric in a few years) but actually irrelevant to the current buyers of these vehicles - in the UK at least.

The 'veblen' pricing of Tesla, Jaguar iPace, Polestar etc is supported by the enhanced capital allowances that business owners can claim on EVs - which gives full relief against pre-tax profits in the first year following purchase. That's why I say the price (and depreciation thereon) is irrelevant. I know around a half-dozen people who drive Tesla, BMW, Jaguar or Porsche EV - they are all in this bracket.

The issue for Polestar is that it is a small bracket (I'd guess <0.1% of the population own a business which is generating sufficient annual profits to make this method of purchase work, and that must be getting saturated already by the other brands in this space). I agree that you would have to be crazy to buy one of these 'luxury EVs' with your own money. Hybrid/Mild-hybrid is different, and I suspect the opposite is the case - larger cars will be unsellable without some type of economy-boosting tech within a few years.

I don't understand why so many manufacturers concentrate on the supercar end of the market. What is it? Are they trying to cater for those who seem need to reinforce their self esteem by buying the most powerful car on the market. Look at the specs:
Power (hp): 609
Torque (lb ft): 738
0-62mph: 4.2sec
Top speed: 155mph

Except on a few sections of the Autobahn and a bit of road in the Northern Territory of Australia there are few places where you can legally drive at 155 mph. Sure you can win the traffic light GP but you have broken the speed limit before you can lift your foot off the accelerator and without all the "driver aids" you risk losing control, if not your license.

Ideal for the every day family car, NOT. It all seems like a collosal wank to me.

What are they going to replace that wonderful engine sound with ?

https://www.driving.co.uk/news/feat...ng-soundscape-bmws-future-electric-cars/

Apparently the Batman theme tune ? (Joke, HZ wrote lots of film soundtracks for those not aware of his expansive pedigree)

It can only get weirder from here.

Peter - to your comment.

I think the car industry as a whole is having trouble shifting gears to the new fashion dynamic. They are also suffering after years of growth https://www.linkedin.com/feed/news/a-terrible-year-for-cars-4024881/

They built large businesses with solid programs in difficult legislative climates. I don't defend them for not having a green agenda or more focus on real value but they did what they did.
Now fashion, twitter, knee-jerk actions and even MORE legislative/political driven things are being pushed into the system. The customer is used to white goods being delivered on the van with some cardboard and an Amazon Prime logo and most of the cars are starting to feel like white goods. They are making more out of the finance deals than the cars. Smaller cars have even less margin in them. .

The whole electric car thing has a high cost of change to their existing manufacturing model so they are focusing on where they can recover this more quickly as the shareholders are more rabid than ever in this climate. So they put the electric stuff where they can make most cash and produce a halo product for the electric range before releasing the white goods which we will end up buying sadly. I think there does need to be more done by the government to assist industry in delivering this. If one of the parties in our joke of an election put up details like a revised tax scheme for the installation of shared charging infrastructure or benefits for National Grid to deliver it to regional hubs It would be outstanding. Who am I kidding they just want to pretend to give away more of our money to us than the other snake oil providers. I still believe a DirtyD/Electric combo is the most intelligent outside a city/home/school/pub car.

Around the WW1 era the internal combustion engine hit farming. Many manufacturers of steam tractors felt their best option to adopt this new power source was to offer tractors in a familiar design, given the natural instinct and conservatism of their customers. This was the ungainly result although a large fuel tank was provided in what was originally the boiler.



An extreme comparison to the advent of all electric cars maybe, but parallels can be drawn with current car manufacturers feeling the need to offer a car with familiar lines when a complete rethink and fresh drawing board is now open to them. As suggested such cars will appear as dinosaurs in a few years to come.

Fascinating, and an excellent point. I wonder what innovations we'll see as manufacturers divest themselves of the ICE constraints and embrace 21st century thinking?

With the political push for EV I wonder what incentives need to be in place.
Buying an EV......for private owners is Government "donation" high enough to reduce private purchase cost?
1. Private buyers don't have the business buyer option of tax relief.
2. Charging options.....will there be incentives to get solar to replace the now greatly reduced tariffs? Battery storage/solar daytime top-up for overnight charging off the battery etc.
3. Battery life and recycling incentives.
1 and 3 above are the barriers to me as a private buyer as they pose initial cost at purchase and the battery life future cost.
2 above would help the availability of charging without the infrastructure/access issues for many.
A friend has just had a Tesla3 and is becoming more impressed as he learns how to use it. Range worry not an issue due to fast charge availability and the car telling him where to go and when. Easy journey planning.
I looked at the Kia e-Nero earlier this year. Up front cost put me off. Availability appears slow too.
Long term as more EV,s come into use the fuel tax will be looked at. A huge source of income.

It's the 3rd best selling car in the UK apparently.

?

https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/best-cars/94280/best-selling-cars-in-the-uk