Future of the IS ??

[Blisteringblue]

4 minutes ago, rayaans said:

Well I mean it's been a few months since the UX300e was revealed and is actually available to order from March onwards. And it comes with Android auto so it seems you're slightly behind in terms of what's actually going on 

I was aware but again it's full electric, company said no.   I really wanted a Model 3 Tesla, PHEV is a compromise.

[wharfhouse]

18 minutes ago, Blisteringblue said:

Our modern thinking company have said a blanket no to full electric cars for now.  Haven't even quoted for a Lexus this time, I'm leaving for the new Volvo XC40 T5 Twin Engine Inspiration (PHEV).  Quoted 22 weeks by Lex Autolease.

I've loved the drive of the IS, hated the infotainment and it will be a shame to move on, but quite looking forward to the XC40 PHEV and Android Auto finally 😝

Your company's blanket ban on BEV is interesting given the latest date from the government (possibly as early as 2032) for no petrol/diesel/hybrid new car sales. I use my car for business (as well as personal) and at this point in time with the shambolic BEV infrastructure we have at the moment (other than for Tesla, which is close to getting it right, if you have a Tesla...) much as would like to consider a BEV there is no way that I could do my job with a BEV without wasting time (which to me is money) and getting incredibly frustrated. IMHO hybrid delivers a sensible solution in so far as in urban areas my car emitting lower levels of pollutants but I am not constrained when it comes to long distances and remote places. I simply can't see the BEV infrastructure being in place by 2032 if left to "market forces" without significant top level government intervention. I think the large company car fleets will either make or break the government dates - it will be interesting to see which prevails, although with a following wind I may be retired by then...

[malcolmw]

The role of the Government in the charging infrastructure for EVs should be in regulation and providing the electricity infrastructure to support it.

There should be the following regulations to ensure that the charging infrastructure mirrors that of petrol/diesel:

- all chargers installed must be capable of interfacing with all vehicles (including Tesla).

- all charging stations must allow payment by normal credit cards and not require an account with the provider.

- the above should be agreed with Europe so that we can take our cars abroad with no problems.

At the moment, we have an equivalent situation to, say, BMWs only being able to use Shell petrol and not BP.

The ban on hybrids proposed from 2032 should also be reversed so that one of the main objections to EVs - people's range anxiety - would be assuaged.

[Blisteringblue]

They haven't said no forever, HR just need to think about the rules.   What happens if you miss a meeting because you didn't have enough charge?   Should you be able to claim the 3p a mile Government rate but get to charge your car at work etc etc?  Full electric does open up HR headaches which I can see.  So at the moment PHEV is the only plug in electric allowed for now.

[wharfhouse]

1 minute ago, malcolmw said:

The role of the Government in the charging infrastructure for EVs should be in regulation and providing the electricity infrastructure to support it.

There should be the following regulations to ensure that the charging infrastructure mirrors that of petrol/diesel:

- all chargers installed must be capable of interfacing with all vehicles (including Tesla).

- all charging stations must allow payment by normal credit cards and not require an account with the provider.

- the above should be agreed with Europe so that we can take our cars abroad with no problems.

The ban on hybrids proposed from 2032 should also be reversed so that one of the main objections to EVs - people's range anxiety - would be assuaged.

Totally agree with all of this and without such a vision the whole thing will be a half-baked mess...and it's the motorists and hard-pressed businesses who will suffer - again.

[wharfhouse]

3 minutes ago, Blisteringblue said:

They haven't said no forever, HR just need to think about the rules.   What happens if you miss a meeting because you didn't have enough charge?   Should you be able to claim the 3p a mile Government rate but get to charge your car at work etc etc?  Full electric does open up HR headaches which I can see.  So at the moment PHEV is the only plug in electric allowed for now.

Understand that it's not forever and the points your company make are all very valid and shows how ill-thought out the government thinking is on this. I'm sure other companies, large and small, are having the same debates. Ministers want to look "green" by naming ever more un-achievable dates whilst standing back and "hoping" that someone else will do all the thinking and hard work rather than leading from the front on what is a monumental shift and setting in place the "framework" needed for BEV to be successful as per the points made by malcolmw.

[ColinBarber]

2 hours ago, malcolmw said:

The ban on hybrids proposed from 2032 should also be reversed so that one of the main objections to EVs - people's range anxiety - would be assuaged.

Equally the ban might force the manufacturers to accelerate their R&D, and not hold things back like they do now when they know the competition isn't at their level.

Improvements in Battery tech over the next ten years hopefully will see some big advances but even if not, we should see year on year incremental improvements in capacity and charging times. Or other approaches such as electric vehicles based on hydrogen rather than stored energy in Lithium Ion cells.

[wharfhouse]

5 minutes ago, ColinBarber said:

Equally the ban might force the manufacturers to accelerate their R&D, and not hold things back like they do now when they know the competition isn't at their level.

Improvements in battery tech over the next ten years hopefully will see some big advances but even if not, we should see year on year incremental improvements in capacity and charging times. Or other approaches such as electric vehicles based on hydrogen rather than stored energy in Lithium Ion cells.

It's not so much the manufacturers but the infrastructure that concerns me. At the moment it's shambolic - no leadership or vision nor any confidence that this is even being addressed. No good having a BEV that might be able to do 400 miles or perhaps more on a charge if there are no charging points at ones destination. If I had a BEV today even though I might drive within its range for one way of a journey I'd have nowhere to charge it whilst busy working ready for my return journey without stopping somewhere on the way back (assuming I could even find a charging point that works and I have a membership card for) and therefore wasting time where I could be earning money or enjoying personal time. I believe the manufacturers have some answers, or would within a decade, to many of the challenges but those cars are useless to many of us without the public charging infrastructure in place that mirrors that of fuel stations today. Of course if technology moves on in the next decade so charging for another 400 miles takes 5 minutes at a charging point, assuming our creaking national grid can cope, all might be good - in fact that's probably the extent of government planning - fingers crossed at best. 

[rayaans]

I believe the next NX is going to be a PHEV too. It should be released in the next 3-6 months