Electric Vehicles here to stay, for good or bad?

[ZX9RCAM]

Find a need, offer the option....


ETA: Ninja'd.
Ben and I think alike...

 

[oldag]

Given the tiny number of electric vehicles on the road, you would have to charge a small fortune to make a good return.

 

[benenglish]

Ben and I think alike...

Yeah, but I've been thinking about it ever since my post. I keep running up against the same problem. How do you find a general area where enough people are getting stranded often enough to make the business work?

EV drivers are careful to figure out where to find intermediate charging stations if they're on a long trip. The actual rate at which EV drivers are stranded is quite low. According to the surveys I've been able to find (Yes, I have been thinking about this since my post.) EVs tend to get stranded about every 100,000 to 500,000 miles driven. So it just doesn't happen very often.

Making a profit at that business would probably require finding some location where there is enough EV traffic but a paucity of charging stations. As soon as you found such a location, though, I'm sure someone would build a charging station.

It looks like the rig in the picture is doing it as a business but I can't figure out how.

 

[Pops1955]

Does not look American. Is it Norway? They have a high % of EVs in metro areas I am told.

 

[ZX9RCAM]

Yeah, but I've been thinking about it ever since my post. I keep running up against the same problem. How do you find a general area where enough people are getting stranded often enough to make the business work?

EV drivers are careful to figure out where to find intermediate charging stations if they're on a long trip. The actual rate at which EV drivers are stranded is quite low. According to the surveys I've been able to find (Yes, I have been thinking about this since my post.) EVs tend to get stranded about every 100,000 to 500,000 miles driven. So it just doesn't happen very often.

Making a profit at that business would probably require finding some location where there is enough EV traffic but a paucity of charging stations. As soon as you found such a location, though, I'm sure someone would build a charging station.

It looks like the rig in the picture is doing it as a business but I can't figure out how.

You forgot you added this caveat...

The future may be stupid but if there are enough EVs getting stranded,

 

[toddnjoyce]

Yeah, but I've been thinking about it ever since my post. I keep running up against the same problem. How do you find a general area where enough people are getting stranded often enough to make the business work?

EV drivers are careful to figure out where to find intermediate charging stations if they're on a long trip. The actual rate at which EV drivers are stranded is quite low. According to the surveys I've been able to find (Yes, I have been thinking about this since my post.) EVs tend to get stranded about every 100,000 to 500,000 miles driven. So it just doesn't happen very often.

Making a profit at that business would probably require finding some location where there is enough EV traffic but a paucity of charging stations. As soon as you found such a location, though, I'm sure someone would build a charging station.

It looks like the rig in the picture is doing it as a business but I can't figure out how.

The location is Europe, can’t tell which country. I suspect the model is one mobile recharge capability in a general geographic area the company services.

The company may even offer that as a ‘premium’ option, it may be a regulatory requirement in the area, or it may be service differentiation.

I suspect the vast majority of their mobile assistance vehicles do not have an EV capability.

 

[IXLR8]

No matter how you look at it, the electricity used to charge the cars has to come in part from fossil fuels including coal.
The local conversion of fossil fuels to motion is more efficient than creating energy in another location, and storing and or transporting it to a specific location, and using it to charge a vehicle.

Any city in China creates more air pollution every second than you will save in a lifetime by driving an electric vehicle.

 

[Brains]

No matter how you look at it, the electricity used to charge the cars has to come in part from fossil fuels including coal.
The local conversion of fossil fuels to motion is more efficient than creating energy in another location, and storing and or transporting it to a specific location, and using it to charge a vehicle.

Any city in China creates more air pollution every second than you will save in a lifetime by driving an electric vehicle.

That's the one simple truth so many people are either ignorant to, or conveniently ignore. Any time energy is transferred or transformed, the process is not 100% efficient. If you put 100kw into a battery, you're not getting 100kw back out. Put 100kw into a power line, you're not getting 100kw back out. etc.

 

[oldag]

That's the one simple truth so many people are either ignorant to, or conveniently ignore. Any time energy is transferred or transformed, the process is not 100% efficient. If you put 100kw into a battery, you're not getting 100kw back out. Put 100kw into a power line, you're not getting 100kw back out. etc.

Guess you aren't going to buy the perpetual motion machine I was hoping to sell.

 

[Brains]

You're too late, AOC already patented it.

 

[TheDan]

Yeah, but I've been thinking about it ever since my post. I keep running up against the same problem. How do you find a general area where enough people are getting stranded often enough to make the business work?

EV drivers are careful to figure out where to find intermediate charging stations if they're on a long trip. The actual rate at which EV drivers are stranded is quite low. According to the surveys I've been able to find (Yes, I have been thinking about this since my post.) EVs tend to get stranded about every 100,000 to 500,000 miles driven. So it just doesn't happen very often.

Making a profit at that business would probably require finding some location where there is enough EV traffic but a paucity of charging stations. As soon as you found such a location, though, I'm sure someone would build a charging station.

It looks like the rig in the picture is doing it as a business but I can't figure out how.

Wouldn't make more sense to just get a tow to the nearest charging station?

 

[Pops1955]

Sense?

 

[benenglish]

Wouldn't make more sense to just get a tow to the nearest charging station?

Yes, that makes more sense. So I can't figure out how the pictured rig ever came into existence.

 

[SQLGeek]

Wouldn't make more sense to just get a tow to the nearest charging station?

Depends which is cheaper I suppose. I can't imagine a tow being cheaper than this but who knows?

Also, I wonder how EVs handle being towed?

 

[toddnjoyce]

Yes, that makes more sense. So I can't figure out how the pictured rig ever came into existence.

AAA got into that service in 2011, in a limited manner and then suspended the service just a couple of months ago.

https://www.torquenews.com/1083/aaa...-charging-program-hopes-return-better-service

There’s a company is Australia that markets these types of mobile charging rigs, starting at $28K per unit. They claim AAA is/was a customer.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/aussi...ger-for-electric-vehicle-roadside-assistance/

ETA: I can see if it takes 10mins for a charge, that’s about the same time it takes to load/unload a vehicle on a flat bed.

Depends which is cheaper I suppose. I can't imagine a tow being cheaper than this but who knows?

Also, I wonder how EVs handle being towed?

This company offers exactly that service.

https://www.geturgently.com/services/electric-vehicle-towing

 

[ZX9RCAM]

ETA: I can see if it takes 10mins for a charge, that’s about the same time it takes to load/unload a vehicle on a flat bed.

Don't forget the time to drive to the nearest charging station.
Who knows how far that might be.
Then unload it.

 

[Brains]

Depends which is cheaper I suppose. I can't imagine a tow being cheaper than this but who knows?

Also, I wonder how EVs handle being towed?

Depends on if they tow it to their lot, strip it of anything they think they can sell or keep, and claim it was 'vandalized.' Then of course there's the 'lot fees' to go along with it. Bonus points if they sling it wrong and destroy the bumper cover, or drop the car and frog the frame.

 

[SQLGeek]

Sounds like the Harris County special right there. Right after they ran a car or two off the road racing to be the first to your breakdown.

 

[SQLGeek]

This company offers exactly that service.

https://www.geturgently.com/services/electric-vehicle-towing

Makes sense. Offering a tow with a truck that's already in use is certainly cheaper on the business owner than buying a portable charger.

 

[avvidclif]

I doubt they are offering a full charge. More likely a quickie to get you to the nearest charging station, Kinda like a jump start.