... as an aside to this, Smart are no longer making petrol or diesel For Two models, only electric, with a range of 63 miles (or 98 if you believe Smart!).
I have said it before..
The only serious was forward ( at the moment given present technology ) is for manufacturers to agree on a battery type, size and connection. Perhaps have three sizes to accommodate three different sized vehicles ?
When you pull in to a garage an automated bit of machinery removes the spent battery and slots in a replacement..
Who really wants to stand perhaps for 10 hours in a garage every time you need to charge ( see note below )
But even then range MUST be at least 200 miles before they will be attractive to the average user.. and the new vehicle must be commensurate with a similar I.C engined' vehicle
Note re charging
I say 10 hours because.. If all vehicles are electric either garage forecourts ( esp motorway ones ) will have to be VERY big indeed, with perhaps 50 to 100 charging points.. and take a moment to think about that.. every garage needing a 4300 kW or 4.3 megawatts minimum electricity supply ! ( Most fast charge points a designed to draw 43kW ) That is the same as about 3500 average homes
At the moment a car pulls in and takes maybe 4 minutes to fill up.
An average electric car ( according to the trade blurb ) will take 24 minutes to charge to 80% providing the charger being used is of a 'commercial type'. A little more delving gives a more realistic figure or 50% charge in approx 30 minutes)
So an average forecourt has 10 or 12 pumps and there are often times when every pump is in use, but they get cleared in maybe 6 minutes ( time to fill up and pay )
If every car is sitting on a charge point for 24 minutes it will take 6 times longer to 'fill up'.. And the queues will be miles long in a very short time as the accumulated times add up
And all this has to be in place on motorways at a maximum of 40 miles apart
Electric cars are here and here to stay, but realistically, at the moment, they only make real sense for towns
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