You saw the niche Merc on its road test with the CATL battery so they are coming but the mainstream re tooling from others is going to take 3-5 years then a paradigm shift and fast roll out out of the new cells. But we will see. Several companies promissing and the developments are moving pretty quick.
My Mercedes was first registered in November 2003 and we bought it in January 2007 with 41,000 miles on it.
It is a C class 220D and cost thirteen thousand pounds. It now has 2005 k on the clock!
Express: Another blow for petrol & diesel car owners as euro lawmakers back complete ban from 2035.
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By 2035 we should have EV technology fairly mature.
The ban is on new sales after 2035, not on driving existing ICE vehicles.
The 2050 cut off probably won’t bother me too much - if I’m still breathing, I’m unlikely to be doing much driving.
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Well that suits me.
Still plenty of time to buy another diesel in the next 10 years if I need to and that will see me out.
An eye grabbing headline that twists the truth
Diesel cars are good for 20 plus years so there will still be plenty on the road by the 2050’s.
Does this apply to all transport, lorries, planes, ships?
I doubt it.
The proposed change to battery power will take as long as the horse transition to self propelled transport at this rate.
I echo your comments and the post before, a good car to last 20y, if they are not full self driving by then it will be too late.
Can I gently point out that it’s not all about the convenience/likes/fears/stubbornness of the older generation. It’s about trying to make the world a clean & sustainable place for those to come. In other words if you have the money to spare on an EV now (as many older folk do) it makes sense; not only do you get to enjoy it it also adds to the used car market of a few years hence.
Of course, the real change will be society evolving to reduce the needs for mass ownership of “tin boxes” (as my Dad used to call them). It really is mad to invest in something that sits idle for over 90% of the time, but we’ve all been sold the dream…
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As many older folk do!!! Bit presumptious surely.
Ok , according to a quick look at Google it tells me that the average cost to buy an electric car in the UK is around £44,000 , but prices range from £17,350 up to £138,826, or even more. Yes this refers to the UK but I suspect it is also a good guide for Europe.
Is spending this amount of money really saving the planet to sit idle for 90% of the time when my existing diesel car can sit idle for 90% of the time.
Maybe we have been sold the dream but trying to sell it again in a new form is another dream.
I believe I am doing my bit not to buy an EV as my current low milage diesel vehicles will not reach a point where they have cost more kilometre for kilometre than a new EV for many years.
I have little doubt that EV’s will become more commonplace but to destroy the old and bring in the new in a short period of time will cost the world far more than a gentle transition would.
It may well be but I suspect I am not alone with my thoughts of as we get older we are all too aware that the days we have left are significantly less than those we have had yet still want to complete our bucket list. I do my bit for those to come but an EV isnt on my bucket list.
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It’s a sound argument for low use vehicles I admit, although in direct energy per km or mile cost the difference is already massively lower for EVs. It will get harder to use ICE vehicles in the future as things like Crit’Air get more widespread.
Yes, I understand that, but surely that’s shouldn’t be at the cost of those younger than you/us? As an example we’ve decided that we’re not going to fly again. We have no family reasons for doing so, so it’s an easy choice & I understand that it would not be the same for everyone.
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We are on the same page with that 
Its not just £££€€€€ its the crap out of the tailpipe. A street outside my work in central London is always a queue of taxis. They are Teslas, Nissan e nv200’s, Kia e-niros and it is remarkable no noise no smell. As I walk to my station in south London passed queues of diesels and petrols the noise and smell is quite remarkable. The tax increases on polluting vehicles will only increase.
I jump into a zip hire car for driving into London and mostly EV’s they are a pleasure to drive.
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So true. There is no comparison between the driving experience on electric and noisy, fumy fossil fuel cars.
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That should read “the real change will be society being FORCED to reduce the mass ownership of tin boxes”
As Klaus Schwab said in 2019 at the WEF “you will own nothing and be happy”
I havent flown commercially for over 10 years or so. I still fly as a hobby and will continue to streak around the skies over France in my little Fleewatut for as long as possible
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Is it verifiable?
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I should think it is. This has been said by Volvo some time ago but in the interests of the environmentalist activists it gets swept under the rug.
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possibly - scan up the thread, there have been some figures discussed for the additional CO2 emissions caused by EV manufacture.
The only battery for which I have some info is the Tesla model 3(I think) which is 4.5 to 7.5 tonnes of CO2 depending on manufacturing location
If we estimate 250g of CO2 per mile, (including all “hidden” CO2 in the supply chain) then that is up to 30,000 miles - at average mileage of 7.4k/year that’s 4 years or so.
Whether some specific battery gets you to 8 years I don’t know.
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It’s not a straight forward calculation, plus that statement discounts the more intensive processes required to make an ICE.
Even it were true the advantage of EVs in terms of local pollution is still a no-brainer.
This is quite a balanced article…
Not a bad article but it is rather short (and short on detailed analysis) - I see it puts the upper limit for the Tesla model 3 battery at over 15 tonnes - which would easily get you to the 8 year mark for a fossil fuelled car.
From the follow Trump organisation? Really.