Is EV demand really tanking?
- Thread starter JohnBills
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Scout Motors, this kept me thinking about the lunch break within your Scout road trip software. Out of curiosity I plugged in the below trip, thinking western Kansas would be limited with charging stations. On this 7 hour trip it shows a couple 30+ minute stops. If I was to make this trip, I could see stopping in Manhattan, KS to eat lunch with my brother, or maybe I'm planning to take off later in the day and I would stop to grab a great steak for dinner at Meridy's restaurant in Russell, KS. I would imagine a 1 hour stop to eat at either would in turn make that other 30+ minute charge a lot less, and make the overall road trip with stops more enjoyable.
So with this scenario in mind, what if your software did something similar to below after you put your starting point and destination in. Then have a "Meal" button that has the users desired meal duration time preset (1 hour for this example). Once this button is clicked the user can drag his/her finger across the screen (route) to desired meal locations (snaps to actual charger location in that area). The 1 hour meal time changes the other charge locations/times in real time, allowing the user to figure out the best option for that particular road trip. I would also add that this software/app needs to be able to log in on your PC, tablet, phone, Scout touch screen, etc. so these road trips can be preplanned and then sent to your Scout.
The second approach to incorporating a meal time with a longer charge would be to include a start time (when using PC, tablet, phone - using Scout touchscreen would assume start time is about to happen). Then charging options along the route show on the screen that match to 11:00-12:30 lunch hour. The user can then click on each of the chargers that come up during this time slot of the road trip, and restaurants in the area of that particular charger come up on the screen for the user to choose where he/she would like to stop for a lunch break/longer charge.
Just to put to bed the idea that EV is tanking… I was just watching the news, and they were discussing EV sales in 2023. Numbers were a little higher than NADA, but statement was basically 1/10 vehicles sold in 2023 were EV. Excerpt from the NADA below. Full report here: https://www.nada.org/nada/research-and-data/market-beat
“Year-to-date sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) topped 1 million units during November, the first time BEV sales have exceeded that threshold in a single sales year. Through 11 months of the year, BEV sales totaled 1,007,984, an increase of 50.7% year over year. And BEVs sold by franchised dealerships represented 39.7% of all the new BEVs sold so far this year.”
They aren’t going away, question is how can they or their required infrastructure be engineered to make them work for people.
“Year-to-date sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) topped 1 million units during November, the first time BEV sales have exceeded that threshold in a single sales year. Through 11 months of the year, BEV sales totaled 1,007,984, an increase of 50.7% year over year. And BEVs sold by franchised dealerships represented 39.7% of all the new BEVs sold so far this year.”
They aren’t going away, question is how can they or their required infrastructure be engineered to make them work for people.
Happy Nee Year everyone !!!
Having watched the kick off to the Rose Bowl parade this morning if EV’s are tanking then Honda completely missed the mark since the first 10 minutes was a “paid” Honda commercial and it was all about carbon neutral by 2050. I think EV’s are just fine (and lots of proof earlier in this post). Now if only they can make the B-2 stealth bomber an EV
Having watched the kick off to the Rose Bowl parade this morning if EV’s are tanking then Honda completely missed the mark since the first 10 minutes was a “paid” Honda commercial and it was all about carbon neutral by 2050. I think EV’s are just fine (and lots of proof earlier in this post). Now if only they can make the B-2 stealth bomber an EV
The current infrastructure deficiencies pose a significant challenge. I suggest exploring the possibility of introducing the initial generations of Scout vehicles as Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs). This strategic move could serve as a pragmatic interim solution until there is substantial legislation or investment in plug-in grids. Penetrating the market, particularly in the SUV and Truck segments, with a relatively unfamiliar brand might encounter resistance from those hesitant to embrace change. However, by offering PHEVs, we present a compromise that could make the transition more palatable to potential customers.
I disagree. PHEV's are a bridge technology and will be a waste of money and resources for Scout at this point. Scout will be production constrained for years after launch so a pure EV play will be fine. There will be enough demand from people looking for EV off-roaders that Scout will be able to sell every vehicle they make (assuming they're priced correctly). A clean-sheet pure BEV platform will be superior than an afterthought interim PHEV vehicle. Charging infrastructure is actually fine and improving every day, especially since Scout vehicles will have access to the Supercharger network at launch.
If you want a PHEV off road vehicle Jeep has one. Personally I'm waiting for a pure EV off roader.
I agree 100% that with the current infrastructure, a PHEV makes more sense. I’ve had one for almost 10 years. About 85% of my 70,000+ miles have been all electric with no range worry. Road trips require no additional planning to figure out where to charge and no wasted time waiting to charge.
BUT if I was starting a brand new company from the ground up, I’d just go straight to full BEV too for simplicity. Design and engineering of a BEV have to be easier than a PHEV because there’s fewer systems to design and package. I think a platform that supports both PHEV and BEV would not be ideal for either. I’m willing to get a BEV because I would still use my wife’s ICE for road trips.
With a PHEV you are going to lose cubic feet of storage. You will need an engine compartment, you will need battery space, you will need a place for a gas tank, etc.