Pro's and con's for buying an electric vehicle

It's worth pointing out that the very first cars that reach the UK later this year will take six hours to get an 80% charge from a household socket, or 3.5 hours from a wallbox for the same. However in 2018, electric Smarts will get inbuilt 22kW fast chargers, which take 45 minutes for an 80% charge - it's a rather irritating oversight to not offer the fast charger straight away, so you're certainly better off waiting to buy that version.

Malcolm, I found this bit of interesting information, written in 2017.  It would be worth checking with the dealer that the one they are supplying you will have that 22kW charger fitted. At least then you will be to charge up at the dealer, or any other fast charger, in 45 minutes or less.

I ask if some of the informed contributers to this thread would answer a few questions I have about these (and similar) batteries due to their non-standard nature:-

1. When they fail outside guarantee in a number of years time, will it be possible to get a replacement?
2. And, at what sort of cost?
3. How will it be possible to dispose of the failed batteries/cells if it is not an exchange deal?
4. When the entire vehicle has to be disposed of as scrap for a reason other than battery, how can it be disposed of without cost?

It does make me wonder Steve and the more so with regard to the up to 99 mile smart car range. Presumably the 80% charge will get up to 80 miles. So I find a charging point, spend an hour hooking up, paying, charging, going for coffee with OH, unhooking. So maybe £4 or more to park and charge, £4 for two coffees, £2 for cookies and so perhaps £10 and an hour of my time.

If I want to drive to do the same in a regular Smart car then maybe 10 mins in petrol station, £10 for petrol. Obliviously no coffee or cookies  

They are cellular Nav., think of them as a flat block of dominoes and each one can be removed separately. They can be re-used too. Our car can be 95% recycled due to it's non conventional structure etc. I've forgotten what the 5% bit is just now, the previous claim was 100%. Hope this explains things a bit more. 

Here's a YouTube clip I put on another thread...

Brue is it true that EV can cost up to 45% more to insure than the equivalent petrol/diesel car.

No, ours cost less. 

So in five years or so there will be the capital expenditure of a replacement battery. I wonder how that skews the "cost of ownership" figures?

They are cellular Nav., think of them as a flat block of dominoes and each one can be removed separately. They can be re-used too.

Yes. It the same arrangement of individual cells building up into a battery of cells that has been used for over a hundred years in things like submarines and telephone exchanges.

The individual cells are however manufacturer specific for physical shape and electrical characteristics. Once a replacement for a cell is required and the original manufacturer stocks have been exhausted, where does the replacement come from?

The experience of the supply of aftermarket batteries for mobile phones has been that there is a very limited availability once the model is no longer current, and there are probably millions more mobile/smart phones than electric cars (of any given type).

They are cellular Nav., think of them as a flat block of dominoes and each one can be removed separately. They can be re-used too.

They can be removed separately but presumably one does not then mix old and new batteries as a rule.