Back to the future.
 

Was just watching the N. Farage show on GB News, I know, I know, where he was interviewing Andy Palmer. Ex- CEO of Aston Martin for many years and having been heavily involved in the design and manufacture of EV’s at Nissan and then AM. Aside: he was actually drinking a pint of the black stuff and looked in a hurry to finish it.

He says the battery in the EV’s have a useful life of 5 to 7 years when they will need to be renewed, having dropped to approximately 80% of their capacity. They then need to be removed, deconstructed to make the Lithium suitable for a second outing in other products not yet invented.

Think of the expense in that to be borne by the owner, and a replacement sought. Upside? No vehicles over 7 years old on the road followed by a guaranteed new customer base at premium prices and desperate to maintain mobility.

Now let me see, can I think of any downsides...? Oh yes, all of us with cars over 30 years old can look forward to the admiring glances of jealous other road users. Until petrol is withdrawn. Or petrol prices are beyond the dreams of avarice and we can dream of how it used to be. And the Green lobby needs a repaint.

Not sure about UK, but my stepdaughter lives near Los Angelese and reconditioned batteries for her Prius will cost about £450-500. I read an article about Buying individual cells and home reconditioning.

The practice of reconditioning batteries by replacing individual cells is part of the teaching on motor vehicle courses. Even a local small garage down here advertises this service.

https://www.speed-style.co.uk/pages/hybrid

If one surveys posts on the forum, the practice of posting anti-conservation, anti-EV, anti-anything that reduces the belching out of human killing particles has become almost like a religion to some members that has to be preached on a daily basis.

As with religion and politics, some cannot see beyond their own beliefs.

The ultimate answer is to cut down on vehicle ownership and driving as none of the technologies, including 30-year old ICE, are exactly green.

EV battery pack replacement is something that certain ev workshops carry out. I think a popular one is called peak autos or something. Robert Llewellyn used them to replace his battery pack in his leaf.

Not cheap by any means, in the long term, I do wonder if ownership of a car will become less desirable and leasing will become more popular, especially if costs of battery packs increase due to the associated technology with increased ranges and faster charging times. If leasing companies or battery packs and the car itself can be returned after say 3 years by which time the battery health may have dropped slightly, the person leasing simply returns the car for a newer model, saving the expense of battery replacement..

Once again MSS, and predictably, you deliberately (seemingly) miss the point. It's a much wider subject than you apparently are aware. Those blind references to 'other members' are infantile and silly, if you have a demonstrative and valid point with a member at least have the courtesy to use their name. Rise above the personality stakes and try to avoid personal attacks - it's not in the spirit of a 'club' and you seem to be the only one resorting to that level. It can only produce a negative response.

More to the point however, please pay attention to the message rather than the messenger! Read it again, you will realise I was reporting the views and comments of an eminent and acknowledged expert with a proven track record. Perhaps you know better, but I doubt it.

Good morning Wraymond,

Thank you for your helpful and so eloquently delivered feedback. It is always a great pleasure to be considered worthy of direct feedback by the good and the great. Equally, it has always been a source of great shame to me that I lack the sophistication, knowledge and wisdom to understand some of the more complex issues and associated posts. Nevertheless I shall of course strive to raise my standards. :bowdown::}

Do you have authoritative scientific sources for the suggestion 'No vehicles over 7 years old on the road' (other than Nigel Farage and chums!)? I was under the impression that EV batteries these days have a projected life of 15 to 20 years and that they do not need to be 'deconstructed' at reaching 80% of maximum capacity. If so, the majority will outlive the cars to which they are fitted.

The Leaf was launched 11 years ago and many are running on original batteries. I also understand that battery technology has advanced rapidly in the last 11 years.

Thank you.

So Electric or petrol isnt going do it is it. we need to cull(nice word for kill) the worlds population by anything 30% to 80% and then maybe we would be back at to 1950 UK levels. I cant see that being a vote catcher although China and Russia have previous for mass extermination of their citizens so maybe? So while we are waiting? Insulate your house? Get a diesel car, dont eat meat, install ch driven by Tolkiens mates, billion£barrages around the coast, etc etc, I dont believe the Global warning propaganda, I dont trust to the good intentions of those spouting it, no not even the experts, they all have angles. Chris.S.

Purely coming at this from a positive and problem solving mindset, that would depend on whether the vote is taken before or after, do you not think? ;):p:

I can imagine a lot of people won't like the text I've copied from the MG website
It suggests a life span of between 10-20 years


HOW LONG DO ELECTRIC CAR BATTERIES LAST?
Electric car battery life is one of the main factors that makes drivers reluctant to switch to an electric vehicle. The batteries undergo cycles of 'discharge' that occur when driving and 'charge' when the car is plugged in. Repeating this process over time affects the amount of charge the battery can hold. This decreases the range and time needed between each journey to charge. Most manufacturers have a five to eight-year warranty on their battery. However, the current prediction is that an electric car battery life will last from 10 – 20 years before they need to be replaced. Advancements in technology, however, mean that the latest electric car batteries have a longer lifespan than ever before, including the MG ZS EV which comes with a 7 year warranty.

This might seem remarkable when the battery in your mobile phone begins to wear out after only a couple of years, but during that time it might be fully charged and discharged hundreds of times. Each of these so-called charge cycles counts against the life of the battery: after perhaps 500 full cycles, a lithium-ion phone battery begins to lose a significant part of the capacity it had when new.

While a couple of years might be acceptable in a phone, it's not good enough for a car designed to last many thousands of miles, so electric car manufacturers go to great lengths to make the batteries last longer.

In an electric vehicle such as the MG ZS EV, batteries are 'buffered', meaning that drivers can't use the full amount of power they store, reducing the number of cycles the battery goes through. Together with other techniques such as water-cooling systems, this means that electric car batteries should last for many years.

Well I've seen under several mg zs now (Google it) and at less than 2 years old I'd doubt they will make it to 5 years old, so the battery will be the least of your worry.