Electric cars - so worried

[Northernlurker]

I keep worrying about being forced to buy an electric car when I change my car in a few years.
Reason being the long journeys and (mostly) self catering we love. In Scotland.
We need a range around 50% higher than the current max. It's no good saying charge it on the way if there are no fast chargers. Been looking at details today, even the fastest chargers need just over 30 minutes. Thousands of people drive UJ the Highlands and Islands annually. There won't be anything like enough chargers to cover that. We can charge overnight using an ordinary plug but it's not going to hit the max. Feel like we will spend the whole time worrying about finding a free charger in the middle of nowhere.
How is this ever going to work? It takes two Minutes to fill up a tank with petrol, electric is going to take hours!

I'm far more worried that the covenants on our house forbid electricity in the garage outside which is our drive, plus we have 4 cars (4 adults in household and no decent public transport unless they finish the promised train line)

@lightand

The only people who get range anxiety are those who don't own or drive electric cars

Another thing that is incorrect on this thread.

Really? Well as an electric car owner, and friends with many other electric car owners...I've yet to find one who spends their time worrying about when and where they are going to charge. We use the resources available to us to plan our journeys (zap map etc) and get on with our lives like normal car drivers. I certainly haven't met an electric car driver who spends their time panicking about when and where they will charge. Maybe you do, in which case I'd suggest spending more time researching your options because you really don't need to! In two years I've had one instance where I've worried I wouldn't get home on my charge or have access to a charging facility - and I've travelled around the UK extensively in that time, and done over 60,000miles. I had far more close calls in my ICE than I have in my electric.

God, I wish everyone drove an electric car. I am sick to death of boy racers. We live in the countryside, and the little **holes are ruining my life. At least in the winter I can shut the windows (though even then the sound goes right through the house). But in the summer, as it warms up and we need them open, the sound drives me mad.

Every time I go for a walk, instead of birdsong and running water, all I can hear is the banging and popping of their stupid exhaust pipes and the screeching of their engines. At the weekends, the whole valley explodes with the sound. They've even begun waking me up at night. I don't mind people enjoying their cars. If that's your thing, great, spend your money on what you love. But it isn't fair to disturb and upset other people.

@Elphame

I'm also looking at electric cars and wondering how on earth this is going to work.

Visit the residential streets in the inner city. Residents never know where they will park that evening so can't guarantee they will be able to use a home charger and if its a set up where you use anyone's charger by means of an app, all the trailing cables over the pavements are going to be a hazard.

On a long trip and need a battery charge? 30 minutes sounds fine but what if there are 5 cars ahead of you. That's a 3 hour delay. Not fine.

An awful lot is going to have to happen in the next 13 years!

I can't wait for the parking threads

Ok good to read views. Yes it is a specific anxiety. It something I'm anxious about. Telling me I shouldn't be anxious about it doesn't really work.

I have no faith in the charging point network keeping pace with demand. 1 rapid point taking 30 minutes can charge no more than 27 cars in a 14hr period eg 8 am to 10 pm. That's allowing a couple of minutes to change over. The same number of cars could refuel at a petrol station in no more than 2 1/4 hours - a d that's assuming they were all very slow. This is going to be the issue, the rollout of chargers must be huge, has to be. Do we think the government can actually deliver that?

The UK is banning sales of new petrol or diesel from 2030. That's not a decade away. That's less than 8 years. And furthermore some manufacturers are moving more and more over to electric in advance of that deadline so choices will narrow and the price of second hand cars rise from this point on really.

The oft quoted line is that range isn't an issue because most journeys are short, I do short journeys in my bike. This line is just going to allow range to be minimised in development of the technology.

And I know people with electric cars, one recent,y took nine hours to do a Four hour journey because of charging.

Re Scotland and anywhere - chargers won't just be used by people passing through, locals will want them too. And won't be chuffed with waiting three hours whilst four people in front of them charge.

This is the argument on every single electric car ad on Facebook etc. it doesn’t matter that your diesel can do 600 miles in one go and the electric only 300; nobody is driving that far in one go without stopping to pee/eat/sleep. My own car is able to charge to 80% capacity on a motorway charger in under an hour. If it’s dinner time and busy, that hour passes in no time. We’ve done the highlands many times and never had a problem finding a charger - the infrastructure is improving daily and by the time all new cars are electric they’ll have enough in place for everybody.

Oh yes and pavement parked cars. How will that work as another poster asked?

@AffIt

Reason being the long journeys and (mostly) self catering we love. In Scotland.

You know some of us actually do actually live in Scotland, like ALL THE TIME, and have infrastructure and stuff?

Christ. Talk about first world problems.

Anyway, your worries are needless: the legislation applies to new cars only, won't be in place until at least 2030, and battery technology is accelerating by the day.

I hear there's a bit of an issue in Ukraine ATM if you're looking for something to get properly concerned about?

It's common knowledge that no one actually lives in Scotland...

EV range anxiety is going to be so quaint when fuel is harder to acquire.

At least with electric cars they can be charged, people don't have diesel taps at home.

Advertising range anxiety as a thing to fear has unfortunately worked.

You can guarantee there won't be chargers in every street for residents in a lot of towns and villages, that will only happen in major towns and cities. Crikey we haven't even got FTTP broadband up my road so doubt we will get chargers anytime soon for those that haven't got off road parking

You have a specific anxiety about a situation that might not happen even in the next ten years? Because you like to travel by car a lot?

The fastest chargers take no where near 30minutes OP. Our Tesla takes 15 minutes,20 tops to charge to almost full. The chargers are getting quicker all the time and there will be more of them.

I think I'd be more worried about food shortages , widespread flooding, desertification than whether I might have to have a half hour break during a long drive

Your worried about a electric car that you don’t have ?.
Honestly they aren’t going to make everyone have a electric car yet it will be rolled out and by that point there will be more charging point so worry about the now not something that may or may not happen .

How many petrol stations were there 100 years ago?

We love our electric car- it does over 250 miles range. Super chargers are quick and springing up everywhere. We charge it up overnight on a cheap tarriff. I felt worried about it before we got it but honestly it’s amazing. You’d have to make minor adaptions possibly to work out where you’ll charge but on most long journeys it’s good to have a 20/30 min stretch while a car charges.

A lot of places get left behind with technology, some people still can't get a reliable phone signal or broadband, I suspect charging points will be similar

We've taken our EVs to Scotland a few times now and went to S France at half term. It's been absolutely fine! It may take 30 mins for a full charge but you don't often need that, we usually do smaller stops and coincide them with coffee/toilet breaks. We have small children so they appreciate the break anyway.

We've had EVs for about 4 years and every year the infrastructure has got better and the range on new cars has increased. Honestly I was a bit sceptical too but I love them and love not needing to go to petrol stations anymore.

@Againstmachine

Electric isn't the future and never will be , the upgrades to infrastructure, charging points for houses without drives ect won't happen.

I am not sure what Is, only other thing I can suggest is buy a hybrid as it's a halfway house.

Soo, you know electric isnt the future, but you don’t know what is? Is your crystal ball broken?

Also unlike filling your car up you can charge at home so most people won’t be using chargers except for long journeys so the demand for chargers won’t be quite the same as petrol stations.