Public Charging - bit of a shitshow.

[Morris Minor]

WSJ Tech columnist takes a Rivian out in LA.
My takeaway: if you can't charge at home, wait a couple of years: it's not yet worth bothering with an EV.

I Visited Over 120 EV Chargers: Three Reasons Why So Many Were Broken

[565]

Or get a Tesla.

[MrH]

WSJ Tech columnist takes a Rivian out in LA.
My takeaway: if you can't charge at home, wait a couple of years: it's not yet worth bothering with an EV.

I Visited Over 120 EV Chargers: Three Reasons Why So Many Were Broken

Wait a couple of years?  There isn't a path forward still.  If you can't charge at home, EVs are a non-starter.  This is, and always has been, the rule.  I'm not sure why people keep trying to say otherwise.

[Morris Minor]

My thought is that the public charging infrastructure will be sorted out in a couple of years, and so less of a barrier to those who can't charge at home.

[AutobahnSHO]

Wait a couple of years?  There isn't a path forward still.  If you can't charge at home, EVs are a non-starter.  This is, and always has been, the rule.  I'm not sure why people keep trying to say otherwise.

I mostly agree but I know a guy who lived in an apartment and would surf/ play games on his phone in a parking lot a few times a week to charge up.

[SJ_GTI]

EV adoption will almost always favor people who can charge at home. For now that is mainly people who own (or possibly rent) single family housing....which is admittedly a big chunk of the overall carbuying market.

[Madman]

This story clearly illustrates how fast charging technology, and EV technology in general, is still in it's infancy.  If EVs are indeed "The Future" (a highly debatable claim but, for sake of argument, let's roll with it for the time being) then anyone buying an EV at this early stage of technological development is sure to find themselves in the same position as someone who bought a Betamax video recorder in 1981.  You are guaranteed to find yourself being stuck with technology that is soon to be obsolete and will inevitably be abandoned and no longer supported by it's manufacturer.

Hell, until recently, the industry couldn't even agree on what type of charging plug to use!  And if all the manufacturers eventually do move away from the CCS plug and adopt Tesla's NACS plug, where does that leave the owners of non-Tesla EVs still using the CCS plug in a few years time?  Will they even be able to use a fast charger anywhere, once their CCS charging plugs have been rendered obsolete?  What about all the people who had home chargers installed in their garages?  Will they be like the Betamax owner trying to find tapes for their hopelessly unsupported video machines by 1986?

This is the dilemma faced by all early adopters who buy into a new technology before it has a chance to mature.  It takes time for an entire industry to coalesce around a set of standard fittings, specifications, parameters, or whatever.  This is why whenever somebody tries to introduce a solution to a problem that doesn't exist (Michelin's metric-sized TRX wheels are a prime example) it usually ends up being a total failure.  Just try finding (and pricing!) a set of tyres for TRX wheels these days and you'll understand why nearly everyone with a car who had them switched to conventional wheels a very long time ago.

This is yet another reason for not buying an EV, at least at this point in time.  However advanced you may think it is, it is sure to be superseded by something even better and more advanced before you're even able to drive it home from the dealership, such is the pace of technological development.  In other words, you're going to find yourself stuck with the automotive equivalent of the Betamax video recorder.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

[veeman]

I love my Kia EV6 which uses a CCS plug.  My brother in law, who is a Tesla fan boy and has a Model S, kept telling me that once you drive an EV for a bit, ICE feels prehistoric.  After owning an EV for a few months now, I agree with him.

For level 2 charging, which is what is found in peoples homes when they install an EV charger, there are inexpensive adaptors you can get on Amazon which will easily allow charging between CCS and NACS and vice versa.

I don't drive anywhere with the EV outside its range.  That's what the additional ICE car in my garage is for.

As an analogy I think most people who own a 2 seater sports car own at least one additional vehicle. The sports car might be their favorite car but they wouldn't use it to transport themselves, a spouse, and kids on a winter vacation ski trip (wouldn't even be possible).

Similarly my EV is my favorite car. But I don't use it to go anywhere outside its home range.  Why would I?  No compelling reason for me to do that. Gasoline is cheap in the U.S. and public charging with fast chargers isn't a significant cost savings for most people.

Pronouncements that all new cars must be EV or plug in electric hybrid by 2035 are stupid. They are nonsensical because it is an impossible feat.  As an example by googling the largest apartment complex in Los Angeles is Park La Brea in which 10,000 people live in over 4,000 apartments (there are 18 thirteen story towers and 31 two story buildings sitting on 160 acres in this apartment complex). Do you really think 4,000 EV chargers are going to be able to be installed for these residents in a little over a decade in a state with an electric grid which can't handle current electricity demands in the summer. 

[Laconian]

, though my ICE backup car is a useless sports car...

[giant_mtb]

Wait a couple of years?  There isn't a path forward still.  If you can't charge at home, EVs are a non-starter.  This is, and always has been, the rule.  I'm not sure why people keep trying to say otherwise.

But they're so great, mannnnn.  You're like, saving the earth via more consumerism!  Fuck those children in Africa mining cobalt with their bare hands.

[r0tor]

My thought is that the public charging infrastructure will be sorted out in a couple of years, and so less of a barrier to those who can't charge at home.

There is a two plus year lead time for transformers needed to even install a decent sized charging station.

[CaminoRacer]

There is a two plus year lead time for transformers needed to even install a decent sized charging station.

Probably because there are hundreds/thousands on order and will be installed in those 2 years..

[r0tor]

Probably because there are hundreds/thousands on order and will be installed in those 2 years..

My guess in 2 years the lead time will be 5+ years