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EV demand up 50% in France and Germany since Iran war

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71–80 of 91 posts

Re: EV demand up 50% in France and Germany since Iran war

#71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US is on pace to run out of its strategic reserve in ~2 weeks.

Four weeks ago, California received the last of the shipments coming from the Strait. Everyone said CA only has on hand six weeks of supply. There was a bunch of panic baiting posts at the time. I haven't seen any suggesting that the supply is coming to an end, but maybe I've missed stories of resupplies coming in to the west coast??

California itself produces a substantial amount of oil.

A mile off Interstate-5 in the southern Central Valley, and you can’t tell you’re not in Texas oil country. Santa Barbara regularly has oil leaks from the offshore production in the Channel Islands area, and Beverly Hills High School famously has a productive oil well on campus.

So the state isn’t going to literally run out of oil (though lack of imports could lead to shortages).

Re: EV demand up 50% in France and Germany since Iran war

#72
post #16

And demand will probably go up a lot further still. Right now fuel prices are kept artificially low by every country releasing their strategic reserves, but these will run out at some point. Europe is heading into the worst energy crisis since at least the 1970s, possibly worse. And yet very little is happening to prepare for it. Definitely some fun times ahead.

What should be happening to prepare for it?

Re: EV demand up 50% in France and Germany since Iran war

#73
post #4

It’s so wild to me to make a multiyear purchasing decision based upon recent events. My next car will be an EV not suggesting it’s a bad decision however I’m still blown away by statistics like this.

Oil usage being subject to supply shocks is nothing new, it’s completely inevitable. Moving to renewables is an obvious upgrade, this recent crisis is just bringing that into the light for folk.

Re: EV demand up 50% in France and Germany since Iran war

#74
post #59
post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep, Trump enacted a de facto global carbon tax.

First taxing carbon with a blockade, now taxing animal meat with screwworm. I wonder what bad thing he'll accidentally destroy next, maybe the military industrial complex?

Everyone wanted disruption and we get disrupted, but not in the way anyone expected.

Re: EV demand up 50% in France and Germany since Iran war

#75
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It’s so wild to me to make a multiyear purchasing decision based upon recent events. Recent events? Russia going rogue and the US going haywire both happened a decade ago at least. Those are two major suppliers of fossil fuel for Europe. The current trend was bound to happen, it only required time for the industry to pivot.

We're commenting on the fact that demand has surged in the last few months. Russian and American behavior from a decade ago didn't (directly) cause that.

> Russian and American behavior from a decade ago didn't (directly) cause that.

No, but it did cause changes that made it possible for people to change their habits when the current crisis hit them.

Re: EV demand up 50% in France and Germany since Iran war

#76
post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That and governments pushing to ban non-EV cars over a certain timeline while subsidizing more expensive EVs. The most important thing right now in addition to fuel prices is how much cheaper EVs are getting because of innovation in China.

Interesting point, I wonder why governments haven't planted the idea in buyers that ICE cars will be getting more expensive to own (e.g. through taxes) in the coming 5-10 years. Then the thought of buying an ICE car now will also be less attractive because people know they won't be worth much in the 2nd hand market in 5-10 years. But I suppose I see the answer, it's because of the car manufacturers employing many EU…

It's not as direct as a future tax, but ICE cars have been gradually made less useful in many EU countries including Germany and France. You can't drive one into the centre of Paris, and older ICE cars are banned from the centre of larger German cities.

Even people who never go to these cities know it reduces the second hand value.

Re: EV demand up 50% in France and Germany since Iran war

#77
post #48

Slightly off-topic, but can anyone comment on the quality of the EV charging infrastructure in the EU? Outside of owning an EV and charging it at home/work, are fast chargers reliable and abundant enough for road trips? I recently looked into renting an EV in Spain and instead opted for gas. It seems like the public charging infrastructure is just not all that reliable there (e.g. broken chargers + delivering less po…

Friends and colleagues here in Denmark have no problems with summer trips to Italy etc, but I haven't tried a long trip like this myself in an EV.

Re: EV demand up 50% in France and Germany since Iran war

#78
post #48

Slightly off-topic, but can anyone comment on the quality of the EV charging infrastructure in the EU? Outside of owning an EV and charging it at home/work, are fast chargers reliable and abundant enough for road trips? I recently looked into renting an EV in Spain and instead opted for gas. It seems like the public charging infrastructure is just not all that reliable there (e.g. broken chargers + delivering less po…

Have an EV in Germany, charging is a non-issue. The stations are everywhere to the point that it’s easier to get a parking spot with an EV than without.

Re: EV demand up 50% in France and Germany since Iran war

#79
post #4

It’s so wild to me to make a multiyear purchasing decision based upon recent events. My next car will be an EV not suggesting it’s a bad decision however I’m still blown away by statistics like this.

It's more like the recent events trigger people's awareness and learning about multi-year trends that are happening regardless of recent events.

EVs are a good deal in much of the world. They're more quiet, lower maintenance costs, lower fuel costs, therefore lower cost of ownership and operation. And they have less volatile costs as electricity prices swing less than gas prices.

Long-term trends show electricity and gas prices decouple.

It's just that every time gas prices spike, people look into solutions and find out these truths.

Re: EV demand up 50% in France and Germany since Iran war

#80
post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every country? Or just the US? Fuel is through the roof in most countries, Japan had to dedollarize (call in its USA loans) to buy oil and several Asian countries had to switch to 4-day workweeks to avoid riots and coups.

Where are the climate change fanatics when you need them? Work from home Covid style would decrease oil consumption and oil prices.

People who accept the reality of climate change have been calling for that since the return to office push started. Unfortunately, they don’t have a multi-billion dollar marketing budget like the fossil fuel industry or the political parties it’s co-opted so much of the public discourse ignored them.
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