TOP TEN CHEAPEST CARS UK

WHAT ARE ELECTRIC CARS SO EXPENSIVE? THEY SHOULD AND COULD BE CHEAPER THAN PETROL TRUCKS AND SUVs

ROAD DAMAGE AND ECONOMY EV'S - Electric cars can be cheaper and less damaging than gas guzzlers. But, to make that happen, will require California style legislation, banning car sales by any manufacturer, unless a maker offers a truly budget EV in their range. Alongside such radical climate cooling statutory requirements, would need to be a servicing obligation, imposed on utilities. Leaving such essentials to a free market, will never see us reach 2030 and 2050 zero emission levels. Politicians must act immediately, perhaps as a COP28 consideration, to pass laws to make it happen. Many auto makers are gearing up for trucks and SUVs, with 4 out of 5 vehicles sold being the heavier models. While it may seem obvious that bigger vehicles produce more road damage, in fact EV dust or particles from brakes, is far reduced, with regenerative braking. Leaving only the really large pickup trucks and SUVs, to break up the tarmac, as any HGV would do in.

Electric cars should be much cheaper to buy and operate, and they can be with PAYD, energy cartridge exchange and solar panels as standard.

With standard cartridges, the EV buyer does not have to buy a battery, just the vehicle. There are no hidden replacement costs further down the line, since depreciation (or renewal if you prefer) is paid for at every energy fill up. Solar panels on roofs will reduce energy (charging) costs even more; and should be law.

EV's with instant recharging via cartridge exchange, can be a lot lighter than a car that has to carry a ton of extra battery weight around, to gain range in between charges. That in turn means less wear and tear on our roads, tarmac damage and potholes. A lighter car cause less road damage. Such EVs can swap between battery and hydrogen fuel cells at the flick of a switch.

An EV like this could be less than £10,000. A true people's car, or modern Austin Mini, in the Alec Issigonis tradition.

DEBUNKING EV'S AS MORE POLLUTING

The idea that EV tires cause more pollution than typical ICE vehicle tires just doesn’t make sense. A report by Emissions Analytics that suggested particulate matter pollution from the wear and tear of tires is 1,000 times higher than car exhaust emissions. The report also said that tires may produce up to 9.28 grams of particulate matter per mile. However, Dr. McTurk shared calculations that disproved this:

“A typical 16” family car tyre weighs around 9 kg, so four of them on a vehicle gives a total weight of 36 kg. That’s not just the tread, but the full tyres. If the car really did shed 9.28 grams of particulate matter per mile from the tyres, then the car tyres would physically have disappeared — and the car would be running on its alloys — in less than 4,000 miles.

“In reality, the tread of a tyre is about 35% of the tyre’s total weight, so the tyres would be bald in less than 1,358 miles, or two months’ worth of driving for the average UK driver. Chances are that the Emissions Analytics study was accidentally measuring particulate matter emitted by other cars, that had settled on the road and then been kicked up by the tyres of the test car, rather than what was being shed from the tyres of the car undergoing the test.

“So, we now know that tyre wear is nowhere near as big a contributor to particulate matter emissions as the Emissions Analytics’ report claimed. However, if electric vehicles are heavier than petrol or diesel cars, do they wear out their tyres faster? Firstly, modern electric vehicles aren’t actually that much heavier than many modern petrol or diesel cars, especially with the recent trend towards bigger and heavier SUVs.”

EV brake pad lifespans can last up to 100,000 miles. As an example, see Dundee Taxi Rentals.

“High mileage electric vehicle fleets across the country will testify to the reduced wear and increased lifespan of brakes on EVs compared to those on petrol or diesel vehicles. A perfect place to start is in Dundee, a city that has thoroughly embraced EVs. Ryan Todd, director of Dundee Taxi Rentals — one of several electric taxi fleet operators in the city — notes that his 11 electric Nissan Leaf taxis typically have a brake pad lifespan of 80,000 to 100,000 miles, with discs typically being changed because of warping rather than wear."

he reduction in particulate matter from EVs versus diesel cars – not just from brakes, but from exhaust emissions too – and such is the extent that Dundee has embraced electric taxis, cars, buses and vans, that in 2018, Dundee city centre met key air quality targets for the first time, as a direct result of the city’s switch to EVs.

https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/electric-cars/running/do-electric-vehicles-produce-more-tyre-and-brake-pollution-than-petrol-and/

https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/electric-cars/running/do-electric-vehicles-produce-more-tyre-and-brake-pollution-than-petrol-and/

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