Volvo All - Carbon Crossover Point

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Wed 10 Nov 2021 17:52
Volvo All - Carbon Crossover Point - mcb100
Interesting study by Volvo, abridged by AutoTrader, in which the point at which the greater environmental impact of producing an EV is offset by its zero emission in use is explained.

www.autotrader.co.uk/content/news/petrol-or-electr...t

If you want the full, unexpurgated version, it’s here - www.volvocars.com/images/v/-/media/Market-Assets/I...f
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Wed 10 Nov 2021 18:17
Volvo All - Carbon Crossover Point - SLO76
The elephant in the room being battery pack lifespan which is not factored in as per the norm with these deeply flawed calculations. Place the 9/10yr maximum life of the battery pack and the then much reduced economic lifespan or the huge increase in emissions to produce or refurbish said power pack and the ev doesn’t stack up well against a modern efficient and much cheaper to produce petrol car.
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Wed 10 Nov 2021 18:31
Volvo All - Carbon Crossover Point - mcb100
Can I ask where you’re getting your 9/10 year battery lifespan figures from?
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Wed 10 Nov 2021 21:05
Volvo All - Carbon Crossover Point - SLO76
Can I ask where you’re getting your 9/10 year battery lifespan figures from?

Speaking to dealers and people who’ve owned or sold electric cars over 5yrs old. Latest is our engineering manager who bought a 2015 Nissan Leaf to commute in and has found that he can’t get to and from work in the thing which is just over 30 miles each way. The battery pack has degraded beyond its useful life unless your usage in local town driving. Needless to say, he regrets the purchase and is in the process of selling it despite being very positive about the way the car drives.
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Wed 10 Nov 2021 18:33
Volvo All - Carbon Crossover Point - sammy1

I read 70000 miles is the so called break even.

I am fed up reading and hearing all this carbon nonsense.. Humans are going to live their lives how they see fit. The latest news purely from a motoring aspect is F1 coming to London so draw your own conclusions from this if you have concerns about the planet

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Wed 10 Nov 2021 18:44
Volvo All - Carbon Crossover Point - mcb100
Silverstone signed a five year deal to host F1 in 2019, so that’ll be a few years away. Or it’ll never happen, but the story tends to resurface every few years.
Formula E (all electric) took place at the Excel during the summer, I think that’s as close as London will get to holding an F1 Grand Prix.
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Wed 10 Nov 2021 19:46
Volvo All - Carbon Crossover Point - Xileno

Certainly very interesting and good to see some research into a subject we've probably all suspected but never been able to quantify. As the article suggests, the break-even point is heavily influenced by how the electricity is generated.

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Wed 10 Nov 2021 19:49
Volvo All - Carbon Crossover Point - Andrew-T

Certainly very interesting and good to see some research into a subject we've probably all suspected but never been able to quantify.

However the report can hardly be claimed to be fully independent, can it ?

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Wed 10 Nov 2021 20:05
Volvo All - Carbon Crossover Point - mcb100
Of all manufacturers, I’d trust Volvo to be truthful on this.
They have a history of being ‘open source’, for example sharing 60 years of safety data with anyone willing to utilise it. They invented the three point seat belt in the late 50’s, patented it, but allowed anyone else to use the design. They’re the good guys.
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Wed 10 Nov 2021 21:07
Volvo All - Carbon Crossover Point - SLO76
Of all manufacturers, I’d trust Volvo to be truthful on this. They have a history of being ‘open source’, for example sharing 60 years of safety data with anyone willing to utilise it. They invented the three point seat belt in the late 50’s, patented it, but allowed anyone else to use the design. They’re the good guys.

Agree. It’s refreshing and I’m glad to see the Chinese takeover hasn’t restricted that honesty.
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Thu 11 Nov 2021 16:05
Volvo All - Carbon Crossover Point - pd

The average life of a ICE car is about 13 years so EVs only really have to match that for a direct comparison.

I suspect, in the long term, EVs may turn out to last longer than ICEs.

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Thu 11 Nov 2021 17:01
Volvo All - Carbon Crossover Point - RT

The average life of a ICE car is about 13 years so EVs only really have to match that for a direct comparison.

I suspect, in the long term, EVs may turn out to last longer than ICEs.

The life of cars is determine by the cost of repairs - EVs could be discarded earlier than IC cars.

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Thu 11 Nov 2021 17:38
Volvo All - Carbon Crossover Point - Sparrow

A friend has recently bought a new Nissan Leaf. He is certainly not expecting the battery to have lost that much capacity in 5 years time. It will be interesting to see how he gets on- so far he's loving it.

He doesn't really care much about its green credentials, likes it mote because it is new technology. For these to be low carbon we need to decarbonise the electricity supply, including the electrical supply in those countries where the lithium is refined and the batteries built.

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If you cover no more than 100 miles per day and have easy access to a charging point at home or work, then an EV is ideal for you.

Is an electric car right for me?