Hacker Read top | best | new | newcomments | leaders | about | bookmarklet login

That sounds like a temporary problem to me - not anything fundamentally wrong that can't be fixed.

Apartment complexes where I live (Denver metro) are already competing with each other on features like "bike/snowboard fix-up stations", "Amazon lockers", "heated pool", and other absurdities - you bet they're going to install 220v chargers if it helps lure people in. Eventually, it will be expected - just like the bike fix-up station.



view as:

Schoedel be fixed, for right now if you were at one of the big auto companies and you find out that 30% of customers* can’t buy an electric car because of these issues… what does that do to your interest in selling electric cars?

If I could buy something equivalent to my current car that was electric, I’d be happy to. But I would definitely have to figure out the charging situation. And that could easily turn into a mess. That mass, plus premium price, plus possibly limited availability may make it easier for me to just buy another gas car for now.

*Number made up


I expect there is going to be a bit of a chicken and egg problem during the evolution of car charging infrastructure.

For example, if electric cars become popular we will need tons of public charging stations, but nobody will be willing to build charging stations unless there are already a lot of electric car owners to use them.

The early adopters of electric cars are going to have to deal with a lot of overcrowding at charging stations, unless they are homeowners and can charge in their garages.

All that aside, there is still the issue of price. I paid $21k for a new Prius C that gets 45-50 mpg. A new Chevy Bolt costs about $29k in California after tax credits as far as I can tell, and that does not include the cost of an in-home charger. That $8k difference would cover years of gas purchases for the Prius -- I've had it for 5 years and I've been spending about $35 for a tank every 3 weeks.


Legal | privacy