When this car is 5 or 6 years old, who in his right mind will want to sink $15000 into a 5 or 6 year old car to replace the battery?
Democrats and Commies
Exactly, and who in their right mind would want to buy the car used.
That’s where the Volt should beat the electric Focus. The Volt could continue to run on the gasoline engine, even when the battery needs replacing.
BTW, these batteries degrade a bit every day. Their range will drop a bit every year. Long before an EV battery is “worn out”; you’ll wish you could afford to replace it.
Bingo. Any article or study (e.g., every single one ever) of “yearly fuel savings” or “breakeven compared to a comparable gasoline-powered car” that doesn’t take this into account is a fraud.
BTW, in addition to this absolutely formula-wrecking, unavoidable cost, they never take “opportunity cost” into account — you could invest the difference between a gas car and a hybrid car, which always makes the hybrid’s “savings” less than the usual simple-minded calculation ever is.
I can get a Die Hard at less than 1% of 15,000.
As one who used battery powered instrumentation for the past 40 to 50 years, it is obvious to me that we need a fundamental breakthru in battery technology, or a change in approach. How aboun a small nuclear generator?