Comment by CogitoCogito
4 years ago
EVs don't need to entirely displace ICEs. Many zealots think so, but it isn't even necessary from an environmental perspective.
But I think the main complication comes to ownership. Are you going to own an EV and an ICE? Or are you doing to own and EV and rent an ICE when needed? Or the other way around? And even if you rent it can become complicated. Last weekend I rented a car and it needed to be an EV since I booked it late and that's all that was late. I personally would rather not have dealt with the extra complexity of charging it compared to just putting gas in the tank.
But really I thin the issue is that if we move to EVs it kind of forces some sort of vehicle specialization where it previously didn't feel as necessary. That opens a big can of worms when it comes to changes in lifestyle for many people.
In general, people often don't optimize for their average use case like commuting or going to the grocery store. They optimize for weekend recreation, buying lumber, the occasional long drive off the beaten path, etc. Some of it isn't entirely rational. But it's also the case that, for many of us, renting a car is a bit of a pain and it's often hard to depend on renting a more specialized vehicle if you need one. So if you're just going to own one vehicle, you tend to buy one for the 10-20% case, not the 80% case.
>EVs don't need to entirely displace ICEs.
They do when ICEs are getting banned.
I'm surprised you can rent an EV. Few hotels have a place to charge them, so there goes the idea of plugging them in overnight, which is the main advantage of EVs
In the US maybe. Lot's of countries which offer charge capabilities for EVs everywhere, even at hotels (The Netherlands, Norway etc.).
I've even seen fast chargers at petrol stations in Tunsia this year, all the way down in the South not to far from the Lybian border.
You can go to a normal super-charger while you have breakfast or whatever.
You know what else is going to open a big can of worms when it comes to changes in lifestyle for many people? Climate change.