Why EVs will succeed in Europe

[David Roden <roden@ACORN.NET>]

Paul Compton said that English gasoline costs:

> 68.9 pence per litre (97 octane leaded) for the Skoda
>
> 66.9 pence per litre (diesel) for the Peugeot
>
> Exchange rate about $1.65 to the pound
>
> Don't forget VAT (sales tax) is 17.5%, I think it's up to 25% in some EU
> countries.

That works out to about 5.20 per gallon.  This puts the fuel cost of a
fuel-efficient vehicle (40 mpg) at about 13 cents per mile.

Suppose your average bloke uses 20 of those 200 dollar AGM batteries in
his EV and needs to replace them every 3 years.  He drives his EV 6000
miles a year, not an unreasonable amount; his battery amortization costs
are 22 cents per mile, which doesn't include the cost of the electricity.
That extra 9 cents per mile is 69 percent more, but of course the EV has
other maintenance savings (we hope).

Now look at it in the US.  Gasoline costs about 1.20 per gallon (less
where I live, but let's think big city here).  Our small cars aren't
as small or as fuel-efficient as those in London, so let's say we get
30 mpg.  Our fuel cost is 4 cents per mile.

Say I put 20 Optimas in my car.  They're lots cheaper here; the pack will
cost me about $2400.  For my 3 years and 18,000 miles, the cost per mile
will be 13 cents per mile.

The difference is exactly the same, 9 cents.  Unfortunately, it's a
whopping 225 percent increase.  To Joe Average, that sounds like a lot.
And it gets worse: all the cost of replacing those batteries hits at the
end of that 3 years.  It's almost like having to rebuild your engine and
transmission every 3 years.

Nearly every used EV I've ever seen advertised in the newspaper "needs
batteries."  One reason for the limited past success of EVs is the sticker
shock that hits the first-time owner when he learns what a new battery
pack is going to cost.

Until we have the "ultimate battery"  which lasts the life of the vehicle,
I see the answer as leased batteries with the leasing agency -- perhaps
the local electric utility -- responsible for maintenance and periodic
replacement with no additional out-of-pocket expense for the EV's owner.
This is being done in France, I believe, with the utilities leasing the
batteries for the Tulip cars.  Why not here?

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   David Roden         THE VIRTUAL PD            roden@acorn.net
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Why EVs will succeed in Europe                                               R