There are also people like me - who were considering an EV but in the meantime... stopped driving altogether.
Ok, I haven't completely stopped, but I do less than 6k km annually - at this rate my current car will last me more than 20 years.
Ok, I haven't completely stopped, but I do less than 6k km annually - at this rate my current car will last me more than 20 years.
I keep wondering how EVs might behave in this regard. Can they be effectively parked to defer their useful lifetime, or will batteries and power electronics also degrade whether you drive or not? Imagine power electronics succumbing to "bad capacitor" fiascos like other consumer electronics, or batteries being cooked by poor charge controllers when a car is constantly on standby.
But I also wonder this about the ever growing informatics systems, regardless of whether it is EV or ICE. Will modern cars be able to be used 10-20 years later, or will some crucial systems fail with no cost-effective service option because manufacturers have moved on to completely different tech? I'm very disheartened to see the smartphone obsolescence mentality seeming to infect car designs.
I followed the "buy and hold" strategy for the past 30 years, but I start to wonder if I'll be forced into leasing due to these concerns about the practical longevity of all the newer tech. It seems the only way to make the manufacturer somewhat responsible for the residual utility of the car after its prime years.
I am disgusted by the cynical vertical integrations which are trying to shorten the lifecycle of mechanical equipment by conflating it with the life of digital systems and software. If I were King of the World, modular construction and operation would be mandated as a philosophical extension of "right to repair" into "right to retrofit". The core electro-mechanical car-as-transport would have standardized mount points and interfaces to allow sensor-suite, processing, and driver-automation to be upgraded.
A bit like the DIN car stereos of yore, the fancy driving modes or infotainment systems should be field replaceable bits that can be added to an older car to prevent its obsolescence. And conversely, the new car should be able to be bought and used in an old fashioned manner without all those add-ons, if desired by the buyer. I don't want the car manufacturer to limit me to one and only one automation or infotainment suite that they can force into obsolescence.
I feel similarly about the actual EV traction bits, but realize current packaging is at its limits to squeeze sufficient battery into the chassis. If battery chemistry ever permits, I would hope that traction batteries can eventually be a smaller modular unit to swap in or out of a car again, more like the conventional 12V battery in standard forms shared by many car makes and models.
The reason is that it's an incredibly useful tool - especially for a family with small children - and I can't rely on renting services during bursts of demand like during the holidays.
Also I picked a vehicle that was way less expensive than what I could afford at the time, not to mention now that my financial situation is better.
Our household saves 40% of its income after taxes, but we don't choose everything (or anything really) with just financial efficiency in mind, because to me personally such a life would be quite hellish.