Essay by Eric Worrall
According to Aussie Ampol Chief Executive Matt Halliday, whose company is investing heavily in a charging network, Electric Vehicles are currently too expensive to replace Fossil Fuel powered vehicles as mass transport.
Ampol boss: EV prices need to halve
Angela Macdonald-Smith Senior resources writer
Updated Aug 22, 2022 – 6.18pm,first published at 8.43amThe price of electric vehicles needs to roughly halve and fall into the $20,000s range before Australians will switch from traditional combustion engine cars, according to Ampol chief executive Matt Halliday.
Government policies on vehicle emissions efficiency will do little to shift the dial on uptake rates, he added.
Speaking after Ampol more than doubled first-half benchmark profit amid soaring profits in refining and spiking pump prices, Mr Halliday said he expected little change in demand for traditional fuels such as petrol and diesel out to 2030, given EVs would not reach price parity with traditional cars until later in the decade.
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“Getting access to EVs, and particularly getting access to EVs at lower price points, is going to be a really important part of what that policy initiative will need to achieve, in our view.”
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Read more (paywalled): https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/ampol-profit-more-than-doubles-on-refining-revival-20220822-p5bbni
EVs of course suffer other problems besides cost, especially in a country with vast distances like Australia.
I know someone who drives an EV around town. He loves his EV, because he can mostly keep it topped up from a big solar array he installed on his car port roof just for the EV, or by plugging it into the free shopping mall charger.
But my friend has a spare gasoline vehicle, in case he needs to drive outside of town.
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Well, the Aussies are not learning from us Yanks. Here, the problem is solved by doubling the price of an ICE vehicle.
But what if consumers don’t get a choice in the matter? Erasing choice is always a key part of the plan.
Bank Australia Will Stop Offering ICE Vehicle Loans To Speed-Up EV Switch – Auto News
A subsidized car, plugged into a subsidized solar array, or getting electricity free from the mall.
I wonder if the guy is even a bit grateful to all the hardworking people who are being forced to help pay for his toy?
Anyone who thinks that electricity is “free” is in for a rude awakening.
Having a free EV charger out front of your store can be considered a form of advertising.
You are advertising that your goods are expensive and only fit for those who are looking for ways to signal their virtue.
Not even then would I buy one!
The Canadian government earlier Tuesday signed separate agreements with Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz that will see the two German auto manufacturers secure access to Canadian raw materials for batteries in electric vehicles. The agreements include Canadian cobalt, graphite, nickel and lithium.
Canada, Germany aim to start hydrogen shipments in 2025 – ABC News (go.com)
I can’t think of any reason EV’s should be encouraged. All green endeavors need to start paying their own way, the rest of us are sick of paying for your toys and foolish pipe dreams.
I was pricing out a few small EVs recently and found that the cost in Canada of the electric version of the Hyundai Kona was almost double that of its gas counterpart. The difference would pay for a lot of fuel and oil changes. Besides, EV advocates talk as though these vehicles will never need new tires, brakes or suspension work. Not only that, but if governments subsidize EVs, it’s a guarantee the manufacturers will keep their prices high. Remove those incentives and we’ll experience what’s already occurred in Georgia, Ontario, Denmark and Hong Kong; i.e. a precipitous sales decline.
“The inflated cost of oil has driven its use out of almost all sectors bar transport, and for that we now have a permanent solution – electric vehicles. Almost one in three new cars in China, the world’s biggest market, [is] now electric. Renewable energy is now the cheapest option in much of the world and could squeeze out gas-fired power stations if vested interests are faced down. Energy-efficiency drives are under way again in many countries, though incomprehensibly not in the UK.”
So writes Damian Carrington for the Guardian which is now one of most rampant sources of misinformation on the planet …