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Re:Offshore wind to become a $1T industry by SEJeff on Friday October 25, 2019 @01:58PM (#21357528)
Why would you buy an EV with 150 miles today, in 2019, when EVs much better than that exist? The "standard" range Tesla Model 3 has 250 miles of range. The Long Range Tesla Model 3 cars is 310 miles whereas the long range Model S does 325 miles of range on a single charge.

You could comfortably do that entire trip on a single charge with existing EVs. Volkswagen is about to release their ID.3, which which has 3 variants ranging from 205-340 miles of range. In a year or two, the range anxiety "problem" with EVs will simply be a noop as EVs will have longer range than most ICE vehicles.

Disclaimer: I own a Model 3 AWD LR and am a big fan, but also own a 2011 Ford Fiesta

Re:Offshore wind to become a $1T industry by danans on Friday October 25, 2019 @02:31PM (#21357863)
> Why would you buy an EV with 150 miles today

Because they are cheaper. And many will by high mileage EVs on the used market. A 200mi EV will have a lower usable range later in it's life, but otherwise work great. For example, I can imagine buying a used Chevy bolt for my kids to use around town 8 years from now.

Re:Offshore wind to become a $1T industry by SEJeff on Friday October 25, 2019 @03:17PM (#21358289)
GM doesn't even make the Volt anymore and it was only ever a car for compliance with federal emissions laws. It might be harder to get parts for it in 8 years as a result. In 8 years I suspect there will be a dearth of really good used EVs on the market, Teslas, Volkswagens, Fords, and Toyotas included.

But on the price you make a good point. That will come down over time as more and more companies make good EVs.

Re:Offshore wind to become a $1T industry by danans on Friday October 25, 2019 @04:52PM (#21359138)
> It might be harder to get parts for it in 8 years as a result

A Volt is a PHEV, which is an ICE+EV, with the associated complexity and wear.

Pure EVs, however have far fewer parts to replace, and put very little wear on those parts. Most of the wearing parts are pretty generic, like tires and brake pads (the latter being replace rarely). AC induction motors also have a very long lifetime.

The most specialized part on an EV that wears the fastest, the battery, is reusable/replaceable.

Already today, there are people taking battery packs from totaled Teslas and installing them in classic cars like the VW bus. There is a shop in southern CA replacing drivetrains in classic cars w/ EV drivetrains [1]. So I can totally see replacement batteries being produced by aftermarket manufacturers for existing EVs in a number of years. Of course the vehicle manufacturers themselves probably won't supply those replacements, but cars aren't mobile phones, and I bet that right-to-repair will resonate with people a lot more with EVs.

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neYuohLzVdg

Re:Offshore wind to become a $1T industry by dcooper8 on Saturday October 26, 2019 @02:05AM (#21362011)
OP said the Bolt, not the Volt.
Re:Offshore wind to become a $1T industry by mikeyouse on Friday October 25, 2019 @02:20PM (#21357760)
The standard Tesla Model 3 costs at minimum $10k more than the entry level Nissan Leaf (which happens to get 150mi range). That's a substantial amount of money for most of the world.
Re:Offshore wind to become a $1T industry by toomuchtodo on Friday October 25, 2019 @05:32PM (#21359457)
Standard Model 3 is the average price of a new vehicle in the US. 17 million new cars a year in the US, and I assume China is a big market as well with Gigafactory 3 coming online.
Re:Offshore wind to become a $1T industry by mikeyouse on Friday October 25, 2019 @07:08PM (#21360122)
Right.. I'm very bullish on Tesla and on EVs in general but I was responding to "Why would anyone buy a similar, lower-range car that's 25% cheaper" which doesn't seem like a complicated question.