Smoke, mirrors, and electric cars. (1 Viewer)

two

Aug 4, 2011
4,901
4,560
West Midlands
Funster No
17,624
MH
A-Class Fiat
Misinformation:

I went to look at an electric car, yesterday. A Renault Zoe. Compared to other electric car offerings, it seemed to be good value. The range of the latest model has been extended to 250 miles but even the sales person agreed that such is unachievable in the real world. More like 124-186 miles under favourable conditions (even less with a ‘Quick Charger’ fitted). And it wouldn’t surprise me if these figures are only for a single occupant of 75Kg without baggage. So, in practical terms, the actual distances achievable may be less than half that bandied around in their makers. I don’t suppose that Renault is alone in this, though.


The sinister bit:

Having read through the brochure it would appear that data is transferred between the car and a data centre every time it is charged up. Even the ‘Homecharger’ appears to use a network to communicate with the centre. I asked what data is transferred and for what purpose but, unsurprisingly, the salesperson did not know…

I also asked if any data can be passed back into the car and, if so, for what purpose. It seems to me that there may be the ability to limit functions within the vehicle if needed (e.g. if the owner had not fully paid for their battery rental). So now I’ve written to them and am waiting for a reply...
 
Aug 6, 2013
11,941
16,527
Kendal, Cumbria
Funster No
27,352
MH
Le-Voyageur RX958 Pl
Exp
since 1999
Misinformation:

I went to look at an electric car, yesterday. A Renault Zoe. Compared to other electric car offerings, it seemed to be good value. The range of the latest model has been extended to 250 miles but even the sales person agreed that such is unachievable in the real world. More like 124-186 miles under favourable conditions (even less with a ‘Quick Charger’ fitted). And it wouldn’t surprise me if these figures are only for a single occupant of 75Kg without baggage. So, in practical terms, the actual distances achievable may be less than half that bandied around in their makers. I don’t suppose that Renault is alone in this, though.


The sinister bit:

Having read through the brochure it would appear that data is transferred between the car and a data centre every time it is charged up. Even the ‘Homecharger’ appears to use a network to communicate with the centre. I asked what data is transferred and for what purpose but, unsurprisingly, the salesperson did not know…

I also asked if any data can be passed back into the car and, if so, for what purpose. It seems to me that there may be the ability to limit functions within the vehicle if needed (e.g. if the owner had not fully paid for their battery rental). So now I’ve written to them and am waiting for a reply...
I assume you've read the many threads on various Renault forums about the battery contract? Makes petrol-powered cars quite cheap to run by comparison. As for the car talking to its maker ........... that happens every time any modern car is serviced or repaired by a Main Dealer.
 
OP
OP
two

two

Aug 4, 2011
4,901
4,560
West Midlands
Funster No
17,624
MH
A-Class Fiat
I hadn’t stopped to consider data being collected by manufacturers. I think they should be more open about what data is collected and why they are doing so. If the data is of value to them, shouldn’t they be paying for it rather than employing sneaky extraction?

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