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EU approves effective ban on new combustion engine cars from 2035

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Re: EU approves effective ban on new combustion engine cars from 2035

#41

Germany currently has the highest energy prices in the world. It seems seriously insane to suggest banning IC cars before you have a concrete plan to have any kind of sufficient energy supply. How do you cope with tens of millions of EVs charging every night? Also, if there is no enormous breakthrough in the next decade in battery technology, car ownership will become a luxury for the rich. (I use public transport da…

The eventual plan as was announced was that power consumption would reduce once a majority of vehicles were EVs, since the EVs could charge at night during minimal demand and discharge to the grid during the day at peak demand. There's a lot of ignoring possible (and likely) catastrophes with that plan, and Germany found out how flimsy it really is when Russia invaded Ukraine and made economically viable low sulfur coal and natural gas much scarcer.

Re: EU approves effective ban on new combustion engine cars from 2035

#42
post #35

All major car manufacturers already set earlier dates to phase out their ICE production. This announcement has basically no impact. I also don't buy the argument that this is going to be a problem energy- or grid-wise. It's 12 years out and the grid has to change anyway. If it doesn't until then, then it will be the least of our problems.

A large reason that manufacturers have jumped onto EVs with such enthusiasm has nothing to do with regulations or wanting to get ahead of them. It's entirely because EVs sans batteries are extremely cheap to manufacture at scale and are vastly more modular than even the very prevalent front wheel drive layout and platform sharing combination. The number of components is much smaller by half or even more, the cost of servicing the vehicles is much lower during the warranty period, and the permutations that can be made with the same basic parts are limited only by crash and class size regulations.

Re: EU approves effective ban on new combustion engine cars from 2035

#44
post #5

I can see these kinds of bans working in the EU where car ownership isn't a necessity. However, in the US where cars are often the ONLY means of transportation, I imagine they will go down like a lead filled balloon. How many barely running gas cars are the only thing letting poorer Americans make it to work and school? I really wish the US would work much harder on making car ownership unnecessary. In the end though…

Its the same in more rural countries like Ireland, for a lot of people public transport and bikes aren't an option
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