Why are folks comparing an ICE/Hybrid to a BEV?

[JeffVA]

I'm "That Guy" who as little as a month ago swore I would never drive a battery operated vehicle. We just purchased a new gas SUV and while at the dealership was looking at their all electric version and even the salesman was as anti EV as I was.

Then Slate came along. I guess for me it was more about Form, Fit and Function. I've been waiting for something like my small Toyota trucks to come along for years and it finally did. I think it honestly could have been powered by anything and I was going to get one.

 

[cvollers]

I'm "That Guy" who as little as a month ago swore I would never drive a battery operated vehicle. We just purchased a new gas SUV and while at the dealership was looking at their all electric version and even the salesman was as anti EV as I was.

Then Slate came along. I guess for me it was more about Form, Fit and Function. I've been waiting for something like my small Toyota trucks to come along for years and it finally did. I think it honestly could have been powered by anything and I was going to get one.

I think people are suffering PTSD from EV sticker shock. Every time a new EV gets introduced it seems the prices just keep going higher. The Scout is somewhat counter to that but most likely will be $70K nicely equipped. Then here comes Slate offering a new EV for the price of a used Civic with 50K miles.

Not surprised that your sales guy was not promoting EVs…dealers make bank on service and EV servicing is almost nonexistent other than infrequent brakes and suspension work (easy DIY for those who like to wrench). Oil changes are high margin and often lead to bigger ticket service opportunities.

 

[E90400K]

A lot of the folks that are EV resistant haven’t heard anything about one without heavy political bias. To be honest, this is the first offering that isn’t overwhelming from a tech perspective. For those of us that have lived with an EV- we already know that ICE and hybrid are only necessary for a small few.

I think the who political bias idea is overblown. I think EV adoption is more tied to socioeconomic demographics and perceived use cases. For the most part EV are expensive vehicles to purchase and those people who don't have private charging access and/or use their vehicle for mid-distance travel on a schedule are not willing to risk a $60K vehicle purchase on an experimental basis to see if public grid EV charging supports their use case.

The public grid charging cost is not less expensive than gasoline. If you are asking someone to buy a more expensive vehicle that takes more time to refuel on the public grid and doesn't save in operating cost, it's a hard sell. Not everyone is driven by politics, but most are reactive to economics and convenience.

We'll see if Slate's theoretical low purchase cost, alters that equation.

 

[BeachHead]

Why do people compare ICE to EV? Because ICE cars are the "standard". Everyone is well aware of their capabilities, good points, and bad points. Over the 100+ years they've been around they've been refined, and as a product are quite mature, and meet a very wide range of peoples needs.

Compared to ICE, the EV's are very new. They are similar in function, but have limitations that must be considered and understood. They have characteristics that are superior, and things that are inferior to ICE, not the least of which is price, quickly followed up by range and speed of refilling the on board energy supply.

This is not unlike the change from horse and buggy to automobile. Imagine how superior a horse might appear to a car back in the earl 1900's when "everybody" knew how to ride a horse/drive a buggy. And horses could go anywhere, get fed most anywhere, etc. versus the car that was limited, roads were primitive, and there wasn't a gas station on every corner. It took TIME for that transition to occur...there was a great national investment in infrastructure, and technological breakthroughs like production lines, more efficient engines, tires, accessories, etc.

IF it follows through and achieves the production and price point Slate has advertised, I think it stands a good chance of being the "model T" of the EV side of things. It takes the EV out of the stratosphere of being a rich mans toy, and gets it in the hands of the "everyman", based on an attractive price that might get more people interested and familiar with them.

If the EV is truly a sustainable product the key to acceptance is getting it into as many people's hands (garage?) as possible. This does two things. First it gives time to build the infrastructure, as well as develop the product/technology, AND it builds demand for that infrastructure, that will continue to grow as more are built, which will put pressure on to continue to expand infrastructure. Sort of a snowball rolling down the hill effect.

At some point, again assuming a truly sustainable product, even the most hardcore ICE person is going to be drawn to give it a shot. At that point, IF EV's are what some want them to be, there will only be comparisons between different versions of them, and not ICE options, just like no one who buys a car today compares it to a horse and buggy, except maybe as a joke.