EV general discussion

BYD are huge in China, prob around 2nd largest in world behind LG.

CATL involvment in GigaShanghai has probably pushed them up in terms of annual GWh output for next year.
 
Bluecube said:
I’m with you on this. The heavy reliance that many electric cars have on software and the ability to be updated makes me wonder when electric cars will have their first Cyberpunk 2077 experience.
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Tesla is probably the only continuous improvement car manufacturer out there. They spot something wrong or a part that can be made better and fix & implement the change straight away, whether it's a minor or major improvement.
Pretty much every other manufacturer operates continual improvement, where they release a facelift every 3-4 years with the revised changes.
 
SDK^ said:
Tesla is probably the only continuous improvement car manufacturer out there. They spot something wrong or a part that can be made better and fix & implement the change straight away, whether it's a minor or major improvement.
Pretty much every other manufacturer operates continual improvement, where they release a facelift every 3-4 years with the revised changes.
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Wrong. All OEMs have continuous improvement. They don’t save them up for facelifts.

I really don’t understand why people think Tesla are suddenly better at making cars than the companies who are much more experienced.
 
Simon said:
Wrong. All OEMs have continuous improvement. They don’t save them up for facelifts.

I really don’t understand why people think Tesla are suddenly better at making cars than the companies who are much more experienced.
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Tesla are updating components in their cars much more frequently than anyone else. This is coming from a company that have been tearing down cars and feeding back improvements to OEM’s for over 40 years.
 
Yes thats because they have so many issues.

I worked in Toyota 10yrs ago for a tier one. The cars are constantly being improved and issues fixed, normally the fixes dont require complete redesign of parts though!!!
 
SDK^ said:
Tesla are updating components in their cars much more frequently than anyone else. This is coming from a company that have been tearing down cars and feeding back improvements to OEM’s for over 40 years.
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I think it must be a 50/50 of improvements and re-design for cost saving and efficiency.

It's nice to see a company actually improving things though, I mean adding things like a electric lifting boot at no extra cost, wireless phone chargers, changing to a heat pump these are all things no other manufacturer does for free with out a MY/revision change or an addon package. I think some premium features being able to be added eventually would be Ok, but I don't want a total cluster hole like you get with the German manufacturers.
 
I guess what both of you are saying and both are correct. The difference is with Tesla is often adds new features or redesigns in flight like new seats etc and doesn’t wait for a new model year. The latest model 3 changes being the exception, that was a big refresh.
 
The fun thing with making running changes (as Tesla do) versus MY changes (as others do) is that when shopping for a used example it can be hard to know what features a particular vehicle has. I'm not even sure that Tesla will know all the specific even.
 
Simon said:
Yes thats because they have so many issues.

I worked in Toyota 10yrs ago for a tier one. The cars are constantly being improved and issues fixed, normally the fixes don't require complete redesign of parts though!!!
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Indeed, its called a running change and doesn't go on Twitter :D

Problems get called either Technical Service bulletins, Advisory recalls or Safety recalls.

Its a bit culty when people get all gushing over an update that gives you somewhere to land a phone, takes away scratchy plastics and offers non chrome surrounds as 'constantly improving'.

Of course OEMS having supplier contracts and commitments means it can feel a little constrained as a consumer. Tesla can simply change the part with their vertical integration.

I mean some OEM might have EV charge limits define by the supplier who warrants the cells/pack through its like life and hence has to work to specific constraints as specified in the contract, Tesla don't have that and hence can be a little more adventurous with the charge speed and state of charge fill of a gross pack capacity. I'm not sure an "update" 18months into ownership to throttle charging speed as they might be getting nervous about long term results of those aggressive attributes of the battery are necessarily a good thing.

</devil advocate>
 
Hi all. Look slike we may be gaining an ev into the family (wife replacing her Karoq with ID3 potentially).

She only drives 8k a year at most, mainly in town.

The main question I have is what charger should we get fitted? There seems to be a huge range of them, from £400 up to 1k plus with leads/smart charging/fancy covers (Anderson, I'm looking at you), etc.

What worries me is whether spending a thousand plus gets a product that can last 10 years, or will the software/electronics prevent a long life? Would that then suggest that getting a cheaper one with equivalent services be better as it can be replaced when technology changes at the same or even lower cost?

I'm perfectly willing to fit a fancy looking charger if it is going to be the bees knees for the next 5 years in term so technology. Looks make no difference to me as we park in our courtyard which isn't seen by anyone.

Any ideas on what features we should be looking for?

Quick edit: can any chargers charge two cars at the same time or do you need to have two separate chargers?
 
The chargers themselves are actually very simple, they just pass through the electricity from the car. Most of the cost is associated with the install its-self and you should consider that cost to be the bare minimum for the most basic install. For example if you want it mounted on a detached garage and that garage doesn't already have enough power capacity which is highly likely then it will cost much more.

You may want to get something that has more 'smart' features if you have solar or plan to use a variable electric tariff. That's really down to you to decide though. Domestic chargers don't really tend to have two plugs but some you can daisy chain from the same supply but if they are both charging they will only get half speed. That said even if you had 2 EV's in the main I don't think two chargers are wholly necessary and is mainly for convenience. The only exception is if both cars do mega miles but it sounds like you don't and your wife will likely only 'need' to charge once or twice a week.

The only thing I'd recommend is getting a 'tethered' charger, this is where the cable is permanently attached to the unit. If the cable isn't tethered you will have to stow it every time you use it. If you leave it on the charger when it isn't in use, it will be nicked and they aren't cheap.
 
gailjon said:
I'm perfectly willing to fit a fancy looking charger if it is going to be the bees knees for the next 5 years in term so technology.
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I love my ugly Ohme, and if you are really sensible you can get the commando version, which means you can have a nice neat commando socket installed on the outside of your premises and just leave the Ohme in the boot/garage/wherever, so it is the neatest solution over all.
 
I’ve got an Ohme being fitted week after next. Still trying to figure out a clever way to hide the ugly thing it’s cheap and clever though. My granny charger plug and connector hiding away in my gas meter box is pretty neat it’s just the cable loop that’s hard to figure out.

8000 miles you need to be looking at a cheap overnight tariff. Full car every morning with the lowest energy cost. Ensuring you have reliable charge timing is key and a good charger will do that regardless of the games the car systems will be doing.

I can’t really see type 2 changing anytime over the next decade, domestic 7kW needs upgrading before we even think about anything else. It’s basically the standard “fuel nozzle” for charging.
 
I think I will look for one that has the ability to hide the cable when not in use. I suppose that's where a lot of the additional cost of an Anderson unit comes from. Luckily the unit would be going on the exterior garage wall opposite side of the wall from the consumer unit so no issues regarding mains access, etc.
 
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