Overview:
Electric Vehicles are a key part of our tomorrow and how we get there. If we can get all the fossil fuel vehicles off our roads, out of our seas and out of our skies, we'll have a much better environment. This community is where we discuss the various different vehicles and news stories regarding electric transportation.
Related communities:
The company whose CEO said EVs are a bad idea? Whose only(?) EV costs $45k+, has only ±150 miles range, and can DC "fast" charge in two to three times it takes the competition? That company is struggling to sell EVs?
I'm shocked, I tell you, flabbergasted even.
Yeah, I skipped right past Toyota in my EV search when I learned they weren't one of the manufacturers with a near horizon for all-electric.
Only 150 miles? Damn that’s bad. Minimum is 300 and that’s on the low end.
150 alone for a range isn't terrible for certain markets (local use), but you better have fast recharge and everything else great. You're right though that at this point most everyone is offering higher.
There's plenty of daily commuters in the 220-260 mile range, which is perfectly cromulent. Their car isn't an urban commuter, though.
It is the #1 selling EV in Norway
And not a single Volvo on the list. Truly puzzling.
Making an actually good ones would be a good start.
Maybe the Chinese Toyota EVs will be good?
if the only reason to buy your EV over competitors is almost solely on your brand recognition, then its a bad EV
especially since many companies are using the EV market to make a new brand image (especially the korean ones)
Past few years it seems that I've heard good things about Hyundai's EVs, as opposed to the years of problems with their gas cars. I think I got the last generation that they build well, after was when the problems started hitting the fan.
They've got one of if not the best battery technologies out there. It's got insanely fast charging, and because it runs at 800V, the wires can be much thinner than the 400V competition. They ran into issues with their ICCU, and prioritized building more new cars rather than servicing their customers. Some folks had to wait 5 months without a vehicle because they weren't delivering the part. So yeah, asshole aftersales aside, they're kicking ass.
How do smaller wires carry more voltage? Doesn't more voltage need a lower gauge (wider) wire?
What does work is power over time. Electrical power P = voltage V x current I. So, for the same power motor, if your voltage is higher, your current can be lower and achieve that same required power.
Wires are sized for current, not voltage. Imagine the wire as a pipe, voltage as pressure, current as flow. A tight pipe will restrict flow more, resulting in more pressure loss. That loss electrically is heat. You don't want your wires to melt, so you'd need bigger wires. Now, because friction is caused only by flow, not pressure, if you can achieve the same effect in the end with less flow, you won't need a thicker pipe.
So, higher voltage means lower current, meaning cheaper, thinner, lighter wires and components.
Someone should tell Toyota about the Prius line, maybe they could copy that idea
They did on the Rav4 and compared to the Prius it's selling like hotcakes. Half of the ones sold in the US were hybrids last year, and nearly as many phev rav4s as the Prius
Buddy I can barely afford groceries