The most common repairs on an EV can be done at your regular mechanic. The only thing that will probably require going to the dealership will be main battery work. But here’s the thing, EVs have so many fewer moving parts that they’re far less likely to have severe mechanical breakdowns. All of the data to date shows that the expected cost of maintenance over the life of a typical car will be drastically less for EVs.
The grid will be adapted as people electrify. It won’t happen overnight. I’m not worried about the price of electricity. The cost of renewables has fallen by 90% in the last decade and will continue to decrease in the next decade. Fossil fuels for cars and light trucks will not be economic by the middle of this decade period. That’s without heavy subsidies or taxes.
Electric vehicles will help lower income people because their total cost of ownership is significantly less than ICE vehicles. While they’re more expensive today, by the time electrification goes mainstream there will be a wide range of used electric cars for people to buy at all price points. Also, in the near term no one is saying you have to get rid of all gas cars. Most families could get by with one gas car and one electric.
You also have to keep in mind that the economies of scale for EVS are just ramping up. They're more expensive now brand new but it won't be long at all before they're priced competitively against gas cars at the dealer.
Also, a carbon tax will happen sooner or later. That will push people from all income levels towards electric vehicles.
It's better to own something that costs X amount per month than to get a steal and have unbudgeted surprise expenses if you are poor. Exploitation happens when someone is unable to make an informed decision because of information asymmetry.
[0] https://electrek.co/2020/06/06/tesla-battery-degradation-rep...
There is aftermarket batteries to put life back in a Nissan leaf.
> can our grid handle that?
Not in the few hours of peak though there are charges that understand the time of day costs and will only charge in certain times when the grid is cheaper.
Some electric vehicles such as the Nissan leaf also have V2G which will help the grid in times of need.
> cannot see how it would be cheaper than gas
It already is.
> I just see this hurting low-income people.
You are right it will as people transition off gas it will no longer have economies of scale so the price of gas will rise.
That's my point though, it currently is. There's no massive load, its not the majority. If the world switches, cities will be needing to do massive power overhauls and use more resources. This will be translated into electricity rates/taxes increasing. Will it be translated to the rate of gasoline? Who knows.
I feel like batteries are right there, and this tesla push for electric cars is giving battery research a new life and we might see batteries be a huge upgrade from gas but I don't think it's entirely there. If it is an upgrade, it's marginal.
All things considered, I keep my car budget around $1k and that's been working fantastic for me. That budget if ever possible, won't be viable for many many many years.
From what I've heard, it'll need to increase by about 5%.
Specifically, from what I've heard from ~6:20 in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QLLYauN7sY .
I don't have numbers, but increasing the grid by 5% doesn't sound catastrophically impossible. Not compared to shipping truckloads of fresh petrol to every town on the planet on a weekly basis, at least.
Right now, replacing a Tesla battery pack is $16,000. That puts a pretty hard bottom on the resale value of old cars.
It's really hard to say what the market will look like for older EVs. Battery prices come down every year so it feels like in 10 years the $16k battery pack will be a lot less expensive. You might be able to pick up an older Tesla with a run down battery that has really shitty range.
It's hard to say, for the moment cheap used EVs are mostly LEAFs. Used Teslas, even older ones tend to be pricey.
Cars, not just electric ones, have gotten more complex and have software that may need special equipment to diagnose. EVs are simpler and more robust in a number of ways, and might eventually be cheaper to maintain than gas cars once there's enough of them on the road.
I could see dropping the battery pack and getting it repaired be a comparable option in the future.
That definitely sounds possible, but it's just an anecdote and not data.
People will train themselves. In the world of science fiction, ordinary people fix spaceships and other futuristic vehicles all the time. The same thing will happen (will have to happen) in reality if we're going to have a futuristic society.
What's different is basically the battery pack, which is "unrepairable" without disassembly and the electric motors and regenerative braking.
There's a lot less to fix on an EV. Which is going to put dealerships out of business, because that's their purpose.
Just so we're clear: You're saying that ordinary peoples' ability in popular fantasies has some bearing on real world expectations?
Right to repair has gained some traction in the automotive space in the past decade and Massachusetts has extended its law to include vehicle data standards. This is important because manufacturers generally don't like to make several variants of the same basic systems, so an individual state can have a nationwide impact.
https://www.theverge.com/2020/11/4/21549129/massachusetts-ri...
Yes, batteries will need to be recycled if we want a sustainable solution
Not sure how EVs will age and how things will work in the end. It wouldn't be surprised to have shorter range ones with refurb batteries
https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Great...
Most electric vehicles seem to have their value based in the battery pack, but these batteries packs have a life span of 10~ years, right? Do these vehicles have zero value after ten years (assuming the batteries are bad then), high mileage or not?
I managed to save thousands of dollars in high school/university just driving a beater and fixing it as stuff broke, but an electric vehicle isn't something that can be casually repaired right? Even if in 20-30 years when parts are cheap and plentiful, you need to be a skilled engineer (or at least highly trained) to do these repairs right?
When the world is swapped to electric vehicles, can our grid handle that? and if so, why wouldn't our local governments be increasing our electric bills? I cannot see how it would be cheaper than gas, sure some charging stations are free now because it niche, but it wont be in the future.
I'm not against electric vehicles, but I just see this hurting low-income people.