Volvo Going Electric/Online Only By 2030

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NorthCyd

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You ever been to a gas station at 5 pm on most any day? It takes someone what......a couple of minutes to fill up? Is there a quick charge station capable of charging that fast car after car after car for hours......every day?
How many people filling up at a gas station at any given time are daily commuters? Many of them. Most of them. Those people will charge up at home. People recharging at stations are only going to be long distance travelers. Plus electric recharge stations can take up much less space than a fuel pump. This is not anywhere near the problem you are making it out to be.
 

WhoISthis

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Convenience stores (to call them by their fuller name) are going to be one of the losers in the transition from ICE to electric. Yes, people driving along the road are still going to want snacks and bathrooms occasionally, but much of their traffic comes in the form of people stopping for fuel and... why not get something while stopped.

Another big loser is going to be automotive maintenance shops, either attached to dealerships or not. Electric cars have fewer moving parts and do not require oil changes, so owners are going to save money (roughly $300 per year per vehicle) on upkeep expenses. Spreading that out over hundreds of millions of cars is quickly big money.

I have no problems with this, by the way. An economy should be dynamic and reinventing itself constantly if it wants to grow and raise our living standards, so the horse buggy whip manufacturers of today have to go.
Very true.
There’s a reason why dealership lobby groups are obstructionists to Tesla. The old laws were to protect turn from the manufacture undercutting, not from a different manufacture selling direct to the customer. But parts and service are huge to dealerships, and startup electric companies are an existential threat in that regard.
 
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BryceC

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well, that was my thought. if Casey's or whoever is smart, they'll see this coming and develop and equip with fast charging stations so that people will still have a reason to stop and ... why not get something while stopped.

Casey's sells an absurd amount of pizza they'll probably be fine.
 

BoxsterCy

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The world market is driving this and the U.S. is just following along.
Casey's sells an absurd amount of pizza they'll probably be fine.

People will probably eat the pizza in their car rather than taking it to go for home or eating while driving. Oh, and donuts. I think the impact to American obesity is likely negligible. ;)
 
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dmclone

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I'd like to know what Hy-Vee honestly thinks about their charging stations. I think these have been around for almost 10 years. At the time, the electric market was nearly non existent. You had cars like the Nissan Leaf, which had a very limited range. I once in a while see someone using them at the Urbandale Hy-Vee but it's very rare. On the other hand, it's only like 4-5 stalls. In another 10 years, is anyone going to pay to use these? Are people going to drive 5 miles off the interstate to "fuel up"? Just browsing their website, it sounds like all new stores are getting these so they must make some kind of sense.
 

GetAwesome

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This Casey's -vs- Kwik Star turf war that has been waging around Iowa (an overall influx of convenience stores being developed) is a smart move by these companies. They are re-establishing themselves as the neighborhood corner store, no longer a "gas station" but a full-service "convenience" store to serve as many of your daily consumer needs as they can.

They know very well that gasoline-powered vehicles will lose their majority market share in the not-too-distant future, and by establishing themselves as a go-to marketplace they are protecting their own futures - and they can implement adequate recharging stations as the market slowly moves more and more that direction.

If you check out a map of charging stations available statewide, they are actually more prevalent than most of us would think, most of us just aren't looking for them (yet).

As our fearless CF leader so eloquently shares: Evolve or die.

With that said, I really wish Volvo would produce a pickup truck. They got their production facility in Charleston, SC opened in 2018 which now produces all of their S60s. So they can finally avoid the Chicken Tax on imported light trucks (do what Toyota did in the 90s) and hopefully dip their toe into the consumer pickup truck game.

They are moving their entire heavy truck fleet to electric (and self-driving). XC90s will now be made stateside this year as well. Additionally their battery plant in Charleston will be ready by 2022. So they would be well-positioned to start offering hybrid/all-electric trucks for the US market.
 
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BryceC

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I guess a lot depends on how you drive. I'd say that 355/365 days a year I drive less than 300 miles in a day and could just charge my car at home. For those 10 days a year that I drive over 300 miles, I don't think it will be too hard to find a charger. Currently a Tesla can get 158 miles out of a 15 minute supercharge. This number is only going to improve in the future.

I'd say for me personally It'd be even fewer days. Maybe 4 or 5 days out of a year where I'd need a different vehicle.

I think for the next few decades, maybe until 2040 or so, it might make sense to have one EV and one IC car in a family for those times where you'll want it. You can use the EV for 99% of the driving most people do. It's weird that some people get so bent out of shape about something they aren't required to be involved in, and that will only be a factor very rarely.
 

AdRock4Cy

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well, that was my thought. if Casey's or whoever is smart, they'll see this coming and develop and equip with fast charging stations so that people will still have a reason to stop and ... why not get something while stopped.
I have an electric car and i still stop at convenience stores for booze, chew, coffee, etc. so that hasn't changed much.
 
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WhoISthis

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I'd say for me personally It'd be even fewer days. Maybe 4 or 5 days out of a year where I'd need a different vehicle.

I think for the next few decades, maybe until 2040 or so, it might make sense to have one EV and one IC car in a family for those times where you'll want it. You can use the EV for 99% of the driving most people do. It's weird that some people get so bent out of shape about something they aren't required to be involved in, and that will only be a factor very rarely.
Hybrids are quickly becoming great options.

Enough EV range to be fully electric for many daily commuting, more efficient ICE for longer drives. Plus better torque!
 

bigsag

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I would suggest that everyone spend some time googling EV performance during winter driving. When an EV is advertised with a 260 - 300 mile driving range, that is likely at 60-80 degree F ambient temperature. Brutally cold temperatures will knock that driving range by 50% or more.

Also, Germany has pretty much gone "all-out" over the last 6 years attempting to maximize their electricity production from renewable sources. Today, 35% of their electricity comes from renewable sources (primarily wind). Their electric rates (to consumers) have tripled. In order meet increased electricity demands, they have signed long term contracts with Russia for natural gas. (Pipeline from Russia runs through the Baltic Sea.)
 

WhoISthis

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I would suggest that everyone spend some time googling EV performance during winter driving. When an EV is advertised with a 260 - 300 mile driving range, that is likely at 60-80 degree F ambient temperature. Brutally cold temperatures will knock that driving range by 50% or more.

Also, Germany has pretty much gone "all-out" over the last 6 years attempting to maximize their electricity production from renewable sources. Today, 35% of their electricity comes from renewable sources (primarily wind). Their electric rates (to consumers) have tripled. In order meet increased electricity demands, they have signed long term contracts with Russia for natural gas. (Pipeline from Russia runs through the Baltic Sea.)
I don’t need to Google. I have a Tesla with the heat pump and it’s not bad. It will only get better. I had an early Model S with less range and no heat pump and it was only an inconvenience 10% of my annual mile.

Seriously, you know you’re talking to someone ignorant of EVs when they demonstrate range anxiety. No offense.

The cost of power in Germany is far more complex than that. But think how bad of shape they would be in without renewables!

Despite one of the few areas with load growth, Texas has some of the cheapest power in the US with tremendous amounts of wind and soon solar. What did Texas in when demand was unexpectedly high? Gas and coal!

Stopping electrification in the IoT era is silliness. IoT Batteries (EVs), renewables go well together.

I can’t wait for Tesla to have real competition. I’m guessing at some point we won’t own our cars (we arguably don’t now) or at least batteries, and Big Tech will come to dominate management as at least 3rd party software.
 

CascadeClone

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Yeah, I agree, it is not necessarily a death sentence, but their business model is going to need to change.

It could actually help them, if they can find something to keep people happy/occupied for 20-40 minutes while the car charges up - and charge them for it somehow.

Maybe a subscriber fee - $20 per month for a Caseys Subscription, and you get FREE electricity fill ups! Plus wifi, a slice of pizza, and a 55 gallon drum of diet coke while you wait in the lounge. Something like that.
 

CascadeClone

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Jaguar/LandRover is going all electric by 2025.

Really want to pick up a used iPace in the next year or two. So fast off the block!
 

AgronAlum

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Around 20 percent of people in the US live in apartments. It will be interesting to see how this transition goes. You can’t just leave it charge all night in most apartment situations.
 
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WhoISthis

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Around 20 percent of people in the US live in apartments. It will be interesting to see how this transition goes. You can’t just leave it charge all night in most apartment situations.
That’s why EVs work better in America and Iowa in particular. Space is far less of an issue here. Many apartments in Ames for example can be fitted with charging infrastructure. There are companies emerging for this very thing, as well as utilities starting programs.

But in high density areas battery swapping is a potential answer. A subscription service for batteries is also an answer to range- pay for the range you need, when you need it, while also not needing to worry about degradation.
 

besserheimerphat

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Around 20 percent of people in the US live in apartments. It will be interesting to see how this transition goes. You can’t just leave it charge all night in most apartment situations.
Why not? If you already have a car parked somewhere, why couldn't that location be wired up for charging? Even for street parking. Just because its expensive doesn't mean it can't be done, and what's expensive now will be cheaper later.
 

nfrine

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What's the scoop on battery recycling from these electric vehicles? Has anything been developed to address the impact?
 
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madguy30

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The solution if Casey's is afraid of losing business from fueling up:

Bring back the original slush machine.
 
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