The Canadian Electric Vehicle thread

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

I can't see it for anything land based. Ocean shipping perhaps. The distribution is a huge factor, facilities with production on site at ports might be feasible.

Even for ocean shipping, it seems hydrogen isn't having its day - nuclear powered container ships are being developed instead. Space launches & other similar uses where combustion is absolutely necessary are looking more likely to use synthetic methane than hydrogen in the net zero world. Hydrogen will be very valuable in industrial uses, such as making net zero steel and fertilizer. As well, hydrogen is an input for synthetic methane, so it would have an indirect use in transportation that way.

[Arrdeeharharharbour]

Cute!


20240214_134008 by AJ Forsythe, on Flickr


I can imagine a bunch of these tiny cars racked-up like electric scooters for rent.

[jonny24]

[Nouvellecosse]

The flat face reminds me of a pug. I actually think it's kind of cute. Not "attractive" cute but "endearing" cute.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

I can't see it for anything land based. Ocean shipping perhaps. The distribution is a huge factor, facilities with production on site at ports might be feasible.

Not to mention that refueling hydrogen for the average know-nothing motorist (which comprise the majority IMHO) could be contentious. It's more difficult and dangerous than simply gassing up with petrol.

The increased complexity and extra expense of basically using hydrogen to power an EV makes little sense - why not just eliminate the hydrogen fuel cell stuff and make it an EV? We already have the answer to that.

[urbandreamer]

Dacia Spring is nice.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by urbandreamer

Dacia Spring is nice.

Not exactly relevant to the Canadian EV thread. It's very unlikely that Renault, or it's lower cost Chinese-built Dacia brand will export into North America. The Spring has a low range (220km) and a poor crash test rating, but it's cheap.

[Truenorth00]

I'm really curious about the Rivian R2. The price, size and capabilities seem to really be in sweet spot.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

I'm really curious about the Rivian R2. The price, size and capabilities seem to really be in sweet spot.

They will reveal it March 7th.

Nobody seems to be able to crack "price + features + profitability" in the EV space except Tesla so far.

[urbandreamer]

I think it'll be a Jeep Wrangler or Bronco competitor, when what they really need is a Honda CRV/Toyota RAV4 type vehicle, which TBH, Tesla does as well.

Is anyone tempted to take a Vinfast for a test drive?

(Dacia Spring as an ICE car would be lovely.)

[OldDartmouthMark]

My take:
We're still in the early days of EVs, and early adopters are going to have to put up with some growing pains.

Why some P.E.I. bus drivers are getting fed up with their new electric school buses

Three years ago, the P.E.I. government rolled out its new electric school buses with much fanfare.

Now some drivers say the buses are plagued with problems, with 16 to 18 of the vehicles in the shop at a time on occasions, out of a total of just over 100.

Robert Geiss, president of CUPE Local 1145, which represents school bus drivers on the Island, says he believes the provincial government rushed into buying the new buses — and now students and drivers are paying the price.

He said the biggest problems are with the heating systems, leaving some buses icy cold and leading to windows fogging and freezing up. There also are issues with air compressors freezing, which can interfere with braking, Geiss said during an interview with CBC News.

Twice this month, Gillis said, P.E.I. students had to be sent home on buses without working heaters because there were no spares available in their area.

"We took two things into consideration when we made the decision," he said. "One was the temperature outside; it wasn't excessively cold. And two was the drive times associated with the two buses in question. In both of those scenarios, we made the decision that it was not a safety issue as much as it was a comfort issue."

Officials with Lion Electric, the makers of the electric buses, acknowledge there are issues with the buses.

But Marie-Ève Labranche, Lion's manager of public and government relations, said student safety is the company's top priority.

"The most common repair on EV buses is the auxiliary heating system, which can also be found on internal combustion engines (ICE) buses, but may require more frequent maintenance due to this being the sole source of heat on-board," Labranche said in a statement to CBC News.

Geiss said range is also an issue. The union president said drivers can't use the electric buses to take students to sporting events at some rural schools because they can't go far enough on a single charge.

The manufacturer says its electric school buses have a range of between 150 and 200 kilometres in ideal conditions, but Geiss said he's never seen any of the buses actually reach that number.

"I ran out of power on the way back from a school trip last year Up West," he said.

"I took a band trip up, and on the way back, I realized I wasn't going to make it. I radioed the depot and they met me at another driver's home that had a charger.... We just swapped out buses and I continued on with the diesel bus and left the electric there to charge."

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

They will reveal it March 7th.

Nobody seems to be able to crack "price + features + profitability" in the EV space except Tesla so far.

Tesla's big advantage has been the price-range ratio. I think there's room for alternative visions on the minimalism with driving controls and screen. If the rumours are true about entry model at US$40K with 250miles/400km of range, I think they'll do quite well. Not everybody wants a Tesla. And the price-range ratio just has to be reasonable enough to be useful.

[Djeffery]

Originally Posted by urbandreamer

Is anyone tempted to take a Vinfast for a test drive?

I may as a "something to do" one afternoon, as I noticed there is a dealer about 35 minutes away in Kitchener. They don't interest me, I read too much of the redflagdeals thread on them and how the quality of the cars they displayed at the CNE was crap. But I wasn't interested in Kia either and now I own my first brand new one of those after a couple used. I haven't done a deep dive on the economics of them, with the battery lease deal, and I have no desire whatsoever for the week at their Vietnam resort that comes (came?) with each car.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

Tesla's big advantage has been the price-range ratio. I think there's room for alternative visions on the minimalism with driving controls and screen. If the rumours are true about entry model at US$40K with 250miles/400km of range, I think they'll do quite well. Not everybody wants a Tesla. And the price-range ratio just has to be reasonable enough to be useful.

Yes people will buy cars at that mix but will the manufacturer make money? That seems to be impossible for most.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Yes people will buy cars at that mix but will the manufacturer make money? That seems to be impossible for most.

I don't think you or I need to worry about that as a consumer. And they have Daddy Bezos backing them and Amazon's large order to help provide a floor on pricing. No risk of going under any time soon.

It's kinda revealing how much Rivian gets under the skin of Tesla fans. If you really love EVs, you should be hoping for single battery jalopy to succeed.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

I don't think you or I need to worry about that as a consumer. And they have Daddy Bezos backing them and Amazon's large order to help provide a floor on pricing. No risk of going under any time soon.

It's kinda revealing how much Rivian gets under the skin of Tesla fans. If you really love EVs, you should be hoping for single battery jalopy to succeed.

I'm not worried about Rivian per se, but the industry as a whole needs to be profitable or it will suffer. Look at Ford and GM cutting back production for example.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

I'm not worried about Rivian per se, but the industry as a whole needs to be profitable or it will suffer. Look at Ford and GM cutting back production for example.

The industry as a whole is profitable. It's mostly legacy and non-Chinese automakers struggling. And the second part of that will be mitigated as more non-Chinese battery manufacturing capacity comes online.

A new company like Rivian doesn't have have legacy workforce or infrastructure, IP, supplier base and design sunk costs. They can build what they want, how they want, right from the start. They expect to have gross profit by the end of this year. Not much of a reason to doubt them right now.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

I'm not worried about Rivian per se, but the industry as a whole needs to be profitable or it will suffer. Look at Ford and GM cutting back production for example.

Sure, but GM has handled the whole EV transition ineptly, shutting down production of their increasingly successful model just as sales were taking off.

Stellantis and Volvo are both making profits from their EVs.

[urbandreamer]

GM lost money on the Bolt. Also, very dated tech.

Who has time for 1 hour plus charges on road trips?!

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by urbandreamer

(Dacia Spring as an ICE car would be lovely.)

Would be pointless and overlap with other ICE vehicles in that category.

Also, I don't think you realize that Europeans don't have the range concerns we do. Which is why small city car EVs do alright in Europe when priced right.