The Canadian Electric Vehicle thread

[urbandreamer]

The sedan is going on sale next year. Both are practical hatchbacks. The EV versions weigh 5800lbs ouch.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by jonny24

Ooh, I like very much.

420 or 550 HP isn't bad even if it's not a V8. At least with a ICE version, V8 swaps will be a lot more possible.

More importantly, it's gorgeous. Although I'm confused by the one rendering showing 4 doors while the rest show 2 doors.

I'm a fan of the styling as well. A good mix of retro and modern, IMHO.

[Truenorth00]

An Agenda segment on EV manufacturing in Ontario:

• Video Link

And on EV demand:

• Video Link

The full podcast episode is even better.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by jonny24

Ooh, I like very much.

420 or 550 HP isn't bad even if it's not a V8. At least with a ICE version, V8 swaps will be a lot more possible.

More importantly, it's gorgeous. Although I'm confused by the one rendering showing 4 doors while the rest show 2 doors.

Nice but this must be a signal that Chrysler is dead as a brand. No minimum of a 300 replacement.

[urbandreamer]

This was a Dodge brand event. Chrysler's CEO said sedans will be back, as many SUV buyers tire of their expenses and inefficiencies.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Nice but this must be a signal that Chrysler is dead as a brand. No minimum of a 300 replacement.

Good marque for Stellantis to sell to a Chinese OEM. Buick too. I fully believe we'll see these brands sold over the next 5 years.

[goodgrowth]

RAM Trucks and JEEP are the only Stellantis brands that probably have a future.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by goodgrowth

RAM Trucks and JEEP are the only Stellantis brands that probably have a future.

Dodge is fine as the home of minivans and SUVs for the average buyer.

[urbandreamer]

Love the Rivian R3.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by urbandreamer

Love the Rivian R3.

Same. The R2 base price of US$45k is interesting. We're slowly but surely moving to price points that will be more competitive with ICEV.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

Same. The R2 base price of US$45k is interesting. We're slowly but surely moving to price points that will be more competitive with ICEV.

We'll see if that price happens. 2026 is the delivery estimate. Rivian just went through a round of layoffs and halted construction on their $5B Georgia plant. They will double down on the current plant and produce all vehicles there.

Tesla came close to bankruptcy getting the Model 3 to market, Rivian is going through the same phase.

[WarrenC12]

In other relevant Rivian news...

Rivian is making its way further into the commercial vehicle space, stripping the van body from its Rivian CV product and marrying its chassis to the Morgan Olson C250. The partnership will lead to the development of an electric version of the C250 step-van announced in March 2023, designed specifically for Canada Post.

[SpongeG]

this article is behind a pay wall

Australia is showing us what happens when Tesla-beating BYD faces no tariffs and is free to grow
BY STEVE MOLLMAN
March 7, 2024

https://fortune.com/2024/03/07/byd-e...na-automotive/

Same news/info from Reuters

BYD spearheads Chinese electric car push in Australia, a friendlier market
By Stella Qiu
March 7, 2024

SYDNEY, March 6 (Reuters) - BYD (002594.SZ), opens new tab and other Chinese automakers are bringing new electric car models in droves to Australia, a market where they haven't faced trade barriers and sales have surged due to EV subsidies and tax benefits as well as high gasoline prices.
Since coming to power in 2022, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's government has aggressively promoted EV adoption as part of the country's plans to cut down on emissions - a change that came after a decade of weak climate action under conservative leaders.

That's created a powerful tailwind for electric car demand. EVs accounted for 7.2% of Australian new car sales in 2023, up from 3.1% a year earlier.
While Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab too is greatly benefiting, it is the Chinese manufacturers in the non-premium end of the market which pose the biggest threat to incumbent automakers like Toyota (7203.T), opens new tab and Ford (F.N), opens new tab whose wide line-ups of gasoline-engine cars mean they have more to lose.

...

https://www.reuters.com/business/aut...et-2024-03-05/

[Truenorth00]

Thought this was a nice visualization to add to the discourse:

[Truenorth00]

For those silly hydrogen fans:

• Video Link

[whatnext]

From UBC, hardly a bastion of reactionary thinking:

Can you save money driving an electric vehicle? UBC researchers crunched the numbers
Here's how much — and how long — you'd have to drive to make an electric vehicle worth the money, according to UBC researchers
Author of the article: Glenda Luymes
Published Mar 12, 2024

The farther you drive and the longer you own your car are key to determining if an electric vehicle will save you money compared with a gas vehicle, according to a new study by researchers at the University of B.C.

British Columbians must drive an average of 64 kilometres a day for seven years to make the costs associated with an EV break even with the costs associated with the same model gas car, said Bassam Javed, a sessional instructor and PhD candidate at UBC.

If you drive farther, or keep your car longer, the EV becomes more economical.

While a gas car is cheaper to buy, “every electric kilometre is cheaper than a gas kilometre,” said Javed.

So savings add up over time.

“The research helps to show where EVs make sense from a financial point of view,” he said.

While the “break-even” point between EVs and gas cars is 64 km a day in B.C., the numbers vary widely between provinces. In Nunavut, where electricity rates are higher, you would have to drive 181 km each day for an EV to be the cheaper choice. In Ontario, it’s 88 km.

The Hyundai Kona, which has both an EV and gas model, was used for many of the comparisons in the study.

The research took into account both capital costs, like the price of the vehicle and, in the case of EVs, the cost of a charging station minus rebates, as well as operating costs like fuel and maintenance. Calculations were done using average electricity rates, while gas prices were determined using the average monthly fuel prices between September 2021 and August 2022 for each province.

Given that B.C. drivers travel an average of about 34 kilometres a day, according to Statistics Canada, the study found an EV costs about $8,000 more than the same gas car over the average seven-year lifespan of the vehicle....(bold mine)

https://vancouversun.com/news/local-...unched-numbers

[WarrenC12]

Plenty of flaws already pointed out with that study. They noted EVs will cost 60 cents on maintenance for every dollar spent on ICE vehicles. Pretty much BS right there. More like 20 cents if that.

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Plenty of flaws already pointed out with that study. They noted EVs will cost 60 cents on maintenance for every dollar spent on ICE vehicles. Pretty much BS right there. More like 20 cents if that.

Tires alone is much more than 20% of maintenance costs add in glass, wipers and air filters and even if nothing breaks on an EV ever you are nearing a 50% savings max. Oil changes being the biggest savings but spark plugs and the rest are pretty rare and low cost spread over the years.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

Tires alone is much more than 20% of maintenance costs add in glass, wipers and air filters and even if nothing breaks on an EV ever you are nearing a 50% savings max. Oil changes being the biggest savings but spark plugs and the rest are pretty rare and low cost spread over the years.

Oil changes are not a big deal in the grand scheme. Water pumps, coolant, transmission, belts, alternators. All typical stuff that needs work over the lifetime of the vehicle.

Not to mention brake work is less on an EV thanks to regenerative breaking.

[Wigs]

CNBC video - 15 minutes

• Video Link