Are Electric Cars the biggest con on the planet?
Discussion
delta0 said:
The running costs though! I speak as someone that has had a V8V. Running an EV is ridiculously cheap even compared to a normal car but it’s several leagues less than an AM.
I have a car budget + slush fund for fuel/service/mot etc, at my time of life it a late mid-life crisis purchase, that will eventually be sold on to part fund a newer motorhome and a VSCC eligible car.TheDeuce said:
Is that relevant to this thread...?
Also a non story, the government (civil service) always maintain plans to deal with such scenarios. They have contingency plans for just about every scenario - it's just the politicians that on the day to day aren't aware of the plans that are in place.
As I started this thread then YES !!!!Also a non story, the government (civil service) always maintain plans to deal with such scenarios. They have contingency plans for just about every scenario - it's just the politicians that on the day to day aren't aware of the plans that are in place.
The GuardianThe Guardian
Tesla’s self-driving technology fails to detect children in the road, tests find
Edward Helmore
Tue, 9 August 2022, 6:08 pm
<span>Photograph: Sjoerd van der Wal/Getty Images</span>
Photograph: Sjoerd van der Wal/Getty Images
A safe-technology advocacy group issued claimed on Tuesday that Tesla’s full self-driving software represents a potentially lethal threat to child pedestrians, the latest in a series of claims and investigations into the technology to hit the world’s leading electric carmaker.
According to a safety test conducted by the Dawn Project, the latest version of Tesla Full Self-Driving (FSD) Beta software repeatedly hit a stationary, child-sized mannequin in its path. The claims that the technology apparently has trouble recognizing children form part of an ad campaign urging the public to pressure Congress to ban Tesla’s auto-driving technology.
In several tests, a professional test driver found that the software – released in June – failed to detect the child-sized figure at an average speed of 25mph and the car then hit the mannequin. The Dawn Project’s founder, Dan O’Dowd, called the results “deeply disturbing.”
Company chief “Elon Musk says Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software is ‘amazing,’” O’Dowd added. “It’s not. It’s a lethal threat to all Americans.
“Over 100,000 Tesla drivers are already using the car’s Full Self-Driving mode on public roads, putting children at great risk in communities across the country.”
O’Dowd argued that the test results show the need to prohibit self-driving cars until Tesla proves the vehicles “will not mow down children in crosswalks”.
Tesla has repeatedly hit back at claims that its self-driving technology is too underdeveloped to guarantee the safety of either the car’s occupants or other road users.
O’Dowd has drawn accusations that he is little more than a competitor to Tesla because his company bills itself as an expert in making particular software used in automated driving systems. O’Dowd insists his Green Hills software doesn’t compete with Tesla, saying it doesn’t make self-driving cars. But he has acknowledged some car companies use his company’s software for certain components.
After a fiery crash in Texas in 2021 that killed two, Musk tweeted that the autopilot feature, a less sophisticated version of FSD, was not switched on at the moment of collision.
At the company’s shareholder meeting earlier this month Musk said that Full Self-Driving has greatly improved, and he expected to make the software available by the end of the year to all owners that request it. But questions about its safety continue to mount.
In June, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), said it was expanding an investigation into 830,000 Tesla cars across all four current model lines. The expansion came after analysis of a number of accidents revealed patterns in the car’s performance and driver behavior.
The NHTSA said the widened investigation would aim to examine the degree to which Tesla’s autopilot technology and associated systems “may exacerbate human factors or behavioral safety risks by undermining the effectiveness of the driver’s supervision”.
A second NHTSA investigation is also under way to determine if the removal of the forward-looking radar sensor on some newer Teslas is causing the vehicles to apply their brakes for no reason, which is called “phantom braking” and can lead to wrecks.
Since 2016, the agency has investigated 30 crashes involving Teslas equipped with automated driving systems, 19 of them fatal. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation is also looking at the company’s autopilot technology in at least 11 crashes where Teslas hit emergency vehicles.
Many such wrecks aren’t investigated by the NHTSA. And in nearly 400 crashes involving cars with driver-assist systems reported by automakers between July 2021 and this past May, more Teslas were involved than all other manufacturers combined.
Tesla’s self-driving technology fails to detect children in the road, tests find
Edward Helmore
Tue, 9 August 2022, 6:08 pm
<span>Photograph: Sjoerd van der Wal/Getty Images</span>
Photograph: Sjoerd van der Wal/Getty Images
A safe-technology advocacy group issued claimed on Tuesday that Tesla’s full self-driving software represents a potentially lethal threat to child pedestrians, the latest in a series of claims and investigations into the technology to hit the world’s leading electric carmaker.
According to a safety test conducted by the Dawn Project, the latest version of Tesla Full Self-Driving (FSD) Beta software repeatedly hit a stationary, child-sized mannequin in its path. The claims that the technology apparently has trouble recognizing children form part of an ad campaign urging the public to pressure Congress to ban Tesla’s auto-driving technology.
In several tests, a professional test driver found that the software – released in June – failed to detect the child-sized figure at an average speed of 25mph and the car then hit the mannequin. The Dawn Project’s founder, Dan O’Dowd, called the results “deeply disturbing.”
Company chief “Elon Musk says Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software is ‘amazing,’” O’Dowd added. “It’s not. It’s a lethal threat to all Americans.
“Over 100,000 Tesla drivers are already using the car’s Full Self-Driving mode on public roads, putting children at great risk in communities across the country.”
O’Dowd argued that the test results show the need to prohibit self-driving cars until Tesla proves the vehicles “will not mow down children in crosswalks”.
Tesla has repeatedly hit back at claims that its self-driving technology is too underdeveloped to guarantee the safety of either the car’s occupants or other road users.
O’Dowd has drawn accusations that he is little more than a competitor to Tesla because his company bills itself as an expert in making particular software used in automated driving systems. O’Dowd insists his Green Hills software doesn’t compete with Tesla, saying it doesn’t make self-driving cars. But he has acknowledged some car companies use his company’s software for certain components.
After a fiery crash in Texas in 2021 that killed two, Musk tweeted that the autopilot feature, a less sophisticated version of FSD, was not switched on at the moment of collision.
At the company’s shareholder meeting earlier this month Musk said that Full Self-Driving has greatly improved, and he expected to make the software available by the end of the year to all owners that request it. But questions about its safety continue to mount.
In June, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), said it was expanding an investigation into 830,000 Tesla cars across all four current model lines. The expansion came after analysis of a number of accidents revealed patterns in the car’s performance and driver behavior.
The NHTSA said the widened investigation would aim to examine the degree to which Tesla’s autopilot technology and associated systems “may exacerbate human factors or behavioral safety risks by undermining the effectiveness of the driver’s supervision”.
A second NHTSA investigation is also under way to determine if the removal of the forward-looking radar sensor on some newer Teslas is causing the vehicles to apply their brakes for no reason, which is called “phantom braking” and can lead to wrecks.
Since 2016, the agency has investigated 30 crashes involving Teslas equipped with automated driving systems, 19 of them fatal. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation is also looking at the company’s autopilot technology in at least 11 crashes where Teslas hit emergency vehicles.
Many such wrecks aren’t investigated by the NHTSA. And in nearly 400 crashes involving cars with driver-assist systems reported by automakers between July 2021 and this past May, more Teslas were involved than all other manufacturers combined.
SWoll said:
Leave him to it, at least it's keeping all of the trolling in one place. The forum would be a hell of a mess if he started a thread every time he had a new epiphany he felt was worth sharing.
He'll hopefully get bored eventually..
Having now reached 15 pages, yes I am bored, but I am entitled to my opinion.He'll hopefully get bored eventually..
As Swoll & TheDeuce ,between yourselves have close to 30.000 posts, you both need to get out more.
be it in an ICE or EV car, I really don't give a t*ss.
Right, off to murder some cows, there's far too much methane, over and out
Had hoped by now this thread would have fazed out, but it's the thread that keeps on giving, so I will ask a sensible question that has happened to me in a real life situation, and no doubt many others.
So one's offspring head off to Uni, (which in my case is 250 miles + away from home) and after a few blissful weeks of peace & quiet, a late night phone call arrives and all hell breaks loose, as our little darlings have had a bust up with there boy/girlfriends, been arrested or are in hospital, or all 3.
Anyway one jumps into there ICE car, sees the fuel tank is on fumes, pops to the nearest garage (500 yards away) fills up and heads off into the night.
What would the average EV car owner do in the same situation, if after returning home from a business trip there battery is in need of a re-charge.
This is a serious question and I am not here to take the p*ss on this occasion.
So one's offspring head off to Uni, (which in my case is 250 miles + away from home) and after a few blissful weeks of peace & quiet, a late night phone call arrives and all hell breaks loose, as our little darlings have had a bust up with there boy/girlfriends, been arrested or are in hospital, or all 3.
Anyway one jumps into there ICE car, sees the fuel tank is on fumes, pops to the nearest garage (500 yards away) fills up and heads off into the night.
What would the average EV car owner do in the same situation, if after returning home from a business trip there battery is in need of a re-charge.
This is a serious question and I am not here to take the p*ss on this occasion.
98elise said:
Can I play "whatabout"?
Whatabout if you only have an ICE and live in an area where there are no 24 hour garages. The call comes in at 1 a.m and you're on fumes?
Of course you can, I would like to think that if I lived 'remotely' then I would ensure that my transport needs would be appropriately catered for.Whatabout if you only have an ICE and live in an area where there are no 24 hour garages. The call comes in at 1 a.m and you're on fumes?
As the OP I simply cannot see me ever having a EV , but I see a hybrid ( Self Charging ) as a serious consideration for my next 'New' vehicle.
I'm just throwing out scenarios, that affect us all at different times and how our choice of transport can have differing outcomes as and when panic calls come.
RobbyJ said:
As I mentioned in my previous post my folks live on Dartmoor. When I used to go visit them in my V10 RS6 it basically used a full tank to get there and a full tank to get back. I'd sometimes have to drive a 40 minute round trip to the nearest petrol station to fill up after I got there to have enough fuel to drive around when I was there and often have to top up again on the way home. Now I plug my EV into a 3 pin plug when I'm there and steal their electricity which is far more convenient.
I'm guessing that Tesla, have the best overall network of chargers ? or are all chargers compatible with each and every EV out there. My I-pace owning friend indicated this was not the case ( As an engineer he bought the I-Pace, as he thought the Tesla build quality was 'lacking' but was impressed by the "Electric Bits") What with the price of Electricity do the running cost now start to impact on usage. I now take out my Motorhome (Diesel) every 3 weeks instead of fortnightly. But out daily driver is a Greentech Citigo, so not a great impact on running it.
delta0 said:
I’m curious about this panic call situation. Do you keep your ICE topped up every day just in case of a panic call? Usually the EV is kept plugged in at home so it is always topped up.
No, but only because I have 24 hour petrol stations, with 1/2 mile radius, but never go below 1/4 tank on both vehicles. CitiGo will do 50+/gallon,so always about 125 miles in the tank. Like I said before, what suits your situation best is the right way pre-plan journeys.
delta0 said:
I would say the cost differences are pretty remarkable. Currently running my EV at less than 2p per mile. You need to be doing 423mpg at that price of petrol to match it.
So I can crunch some numbers, what does 1Kw of electricity cost, at 1/home charger, 2/ charger on route. I guess there are significant differences.Oh, and a side issue, what could be considered the closest pure ICE car to a Tesla, in terms of build quality, sevicability, ride/handling etc , but not cost.
Edited by whirlybird on Thursday 11th August 13:25
Rapid charging an electric car has become a fifth more expensive in eight months due to soaring energy prices, new figures show.
THE PRESS ASSOCIATION (Neil Lancefield, PA Transport Correspondent)
May 27, 2022,
Rapid charging an electric car has become a fifth more expensive in eight months due to soaring energy prices, new figures show.
RAC analysis found that the average price of using a public rapid charger in Britain increased from 36.7p per kilowatt hour (kWh) in September last year to 44.6p per kWh this month.
This has added £4 to the typical cost of completing an 80% rapid charge of a family-sized EV (electric vehicle) with a 64kWh battery.
The RAC attributed the increase to a 65% spike in the wholesale cost of electricity, which was driven by surging gas prices.
So based on the above @ 4 MPKw , 1 mile costs £0.11p, and a 64Kwh battery then gives (in theory) 256miles or £28.16p
This would buy 16 litres of fuel or 3.5 gallons + - , my CitiGo can do up to 80mpg or 280 miles, so not much in it realy, and Electricity looks like its going up faster than Petrol/Diesel.
THE PRESS ASSOCIATION (Neil Lancefield, PA Transport Correspondent)
May 27, 2022,
Rapid charging an electric car has become a fifth more expensive in eight months due to soaring energy prices, new figures show.
RAC analysis found that the average price of using a public rapid charger in Britain increased from 36.7p per kilowatt hour (kWh) in September last year to 44.6p per kWh this month.
This has added £4 to the typical cost of completing an 80% rapid charge of a family-sized EV (electric vehicle) with a 64kWh battery.
The RAC attributed the increase to a 65% spike in the wholesale cost of electricity, which was driven by surging gas prices.
So based on the above @ 4 MPKw , 1 mile costs £0.11p, and a 64Kwh battery then gives (in theory) 256miles or £28.16p
This would buy 16 litres of fuel or 3.5 gallons + - , my CitiGo can do up to 80mpg or 280 miles, so not much in it realy, and Electricity looks like its going up faster than Petrol/Diesel.
SWoll said:
Rapid charging at 44.5p/kWh is something the majority of EV drivers do very infrequently, if at all. Home charging, which covers 90%+ of all charging, can be as cheap as 5p kWh or 1.25p per mile based on your figures.
Our next DD from EON will be £330/month from the current DD at £140/month for our domestic fuel use and KwH will be £0.59p.Do home EV chargers qualify for 'Discounted Electricity' , and if that is the case I'm sure someone would abuse the system and power up there home too?
Just cannot see by having an EV would count to getting "cheap fuel' or the Suppliers would be selling at a loss, ?
ps; google supplied the figures I used.
delta0 said:
It’s not abusing it, you get a period overnight to run the charger, dishwasher, washing machine, charge the house battery etc. if you only have a 100A supply to the house then you might start hitting supply limits but many houses including mine can do 200amps (2x100amps) so could max out at 46kWh.
I'm not saying you are abusing the supply, I am just interested in the process, so The EV is charged around what used to called Economy 7 tariffs ?the same cost as night storage heaters etc ???. What voltage do EV cars run at ?as a friend is a MOT tester, and has had to do extra EV training so not to get Zapped during the test.
bigothunter said:
That's horrendous 
That's what my friend said, 400v can do a lot of damage. Also another college runs a database of all current (no pun intended) vehicles that the Rescue services use to cut correctly in the case of a RTA, chopping through a 400v cable is also not recommended. Don't shoot the messenger,
but here's what my friend did.
And he's already a qualified MOT Tester
The Hybrid/EV Level 1
The Hybrid Training Course, Level 1, is 1 day of the MOT & Hybrid/EV Training Course, this part of the course is to raise awareness of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles. This Electric Vehicle 1 day Training Course, will allow you to be more up to speed with these types of vehicles. This is aimed at individuals who has no experience in the motor industry and want to gain knowledge of the HEV’s. This course is also aimed at any individuals that maybe in contact with HEV’s, even if you are office based.
During the 1 day Hybrid/EV Training Course we will cover:
Safe system shut down and recommissioning
Methods of safe component and system test and measurement
Using and interpreting vehicle wiring diagrams & tech data for speedy and efficient repairs
Hybrid propulsion and energy generation systems
Brush less 3 Phase Motor form and function
DC and AC (3 phase) Control Systems
Using OEM, Pass-thru and Aftermarket Scan Tools for the vehicle system and component diagnosis
How to work safely on Hybrid and related vehicle systems
How to carry out maintenance and repair activities when working on Hybrid Vehicles
Construction and function of battery modules and related components
Hybrid drive train layouts
& just seen this
PA Media: Motoring PA Media: Motoring
Britain’s most expensive EV charging provider revealed
Jack Evans, PA Motoring Reporter
Thu, 11 August 2022, 4:30 pm
Significant disparities in the cost of charging an electric vehicle have been revealed as part of a new survey.
Electrifying collated the pricing from the UK’s largest public charging providers and found that the average cost of using a public rapid charger now stands at 53p per kWh. When topping up an average-size EV like the Volkswagen ID.3 with a 58kWh battery, this price means a 10 to 80 per cent charge will cost £21.51.
This cost increases to £28.01 when drivers use one of IONITY’s charging points, making them the UK’s most expensive public charging provider. IONITY charges 69p per kWh, followed by Instavolt which charges 66p per kWh at one of its rapid points.
The study also highlights the penalty that EV drivers who don’t have access to off-street parking suffer. A person driving Volkswagen ID.3 for 10,000 miles per year would pay £208.80 when charging their vehicle at home on a cheap rate, compared to £1,475.52 for an electric vehicle owner who relied on public charging points.
Ginny Buckley, founder and CEO of Electrifying.com, said: “With dramatic increases in wholesale electricity costs, it’s no surprise that prices are rising across the charging network – Instavolt this week announced an increase of 15.7 per cent to its prices, and I suspect they may not be the last to make such a move.
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“For drivers who are unable to take advantage of cheaper home energy tariffs, this is having a serious impact on running costs at a time when budgets are under unprecedented strain. It hits those living in towns and cities the hardest, the very place electric cars can have the most impact on air quality.”
Drivers are being advised to shop around to find the cheapest possible charging rates, with some providers offering better prices for those drivers signed up for a membership system. One of the cheapest providers was Pod Point at Tesco and Lidl, which charged 28p per kWh on its 50kWh rapid chargers.
but here's what my friend did.
And he's already a qualified MOT Tester
The Hybrid/EV Level 1
The Hybrid Training Course, Level 1, is 1 day of the MOT & Hybrid/EV Training Course, this part of the course is to raise awareness of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles. This Electric Vehicle 1 day Training Course, will allow you to be more up to speed with these types of vehicles. This is aimed at individuals who has no experience in the motor industry and want to gain knowledge of the HEV’s. This course is also aimed at any individuals that maybe in contact with HEV’s, even if you are office based.
During the 1 day Hybrid/EV Training Course we will cover:
Safe system shut down and recommissioning
Methods of safe component and system test and measurement
Using and interpreting vehicle wiring diagrams & tech data for speedy and efficient repairs
Hybrid propulsion and energy generation systems
Brush less 3 Phase Motor form and function
DC and AC (3 phase) Control Systems
Using OEM, Pass-thru and Aftermarket Scan Tools for the vehicle system and component diagnosis
How to work safely on Hybrid and related vehicle systems
How to carry out maintenance and repair activities when working on Hybrid Vehicles
Construction and function of battery modules and related components
Hybrid drive train layouts
& just seen this
PA Media: Motoring PA Media: Motoring
Britain’s most expensive EV charging provider revealed
Jack Evans, PA Motoring Reporter
Thu, 11 August 2022, 4:30 pm
Significant disparities in the cost of charging an electric vehicle have been revealed as part of a new survey.
Electrifying collated the pricing from the UK’s largest public charging providers and found that the average cost of using a public rapid charger now stands at 53p per kWh. When topping up an average-size EV like the Volkswagen ID.3 with a 58kWh battery, this price means a 10 to 80 per cent charge will cost £21.51.
This cost increases to £28.01 when drivers use one of IONITY’s charging points, making them the UK’s most expensive public charging provider. IONITY charges 69p per kWh, followed by Instavolt which charges 66p per kWh at one of its rapid points.
The study also highlights the penalty that EV drivers who don’t have access to off-street parking suffer. A person driving Volkswagen ID.3 for 10,000 miles per year would pay £208.80 when charging their vehicle at home on a cheap rate, compared to £1,475.52 for an electric vehicle owner who relied on public charging points.
Ginny Buckley, founder and CEO of Electrifying.com, said: “With dramatic increases in wholesale electricity costs, it’s no surprise that prices are rising across the charging network – Instavolt this week announced an increase of 15.7 per cent to its prices, and I suspect they may not be the last to make such a move.
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“For drivers who are unable to take advantage of cheaper home energy tariffs, this is having a serious impact on running costs at a time when budgets are under unprecedented strain. It hits those living in towns and cities the hardest, the very place electric cars can have the most impact on air quality.”
Drivers are being advised to shop around to find the cheapest possible charging rates, with some providers offering better prices for those drivers signed up for a membership system. One of the cheapest providers was Pod Point at Tesco and Lidl, which charged 28p per kWh on its 50kWh rapid chargers.
Edited by whirlybird on Thursday 11th August 20:59
AstonZagato said:
I realise that you are deaf to anything that doesn't suit your argument but it was pointed out a few times in this thread that high-speed charging networks account for less than 10% of charging (6% IIRC). Most charging happens at home (lower tariff). The next biggest portion is charging at work (usually free). Then destination chargers (also often free).
This is like pointing out petrol at motorway service stations is always ridiculously overpriced (often +15-20p/l) compared to the local forecourt.
I'm not actually arguing, but I struggle with the concept that somebody who buys something as hideous as a BMW iX, or whatever its called, thinks that that's helped a polar bear from drowning.This is like pointing out petrol at motorway service stations is always ridiculously overpriced (often +15-20p/l) compared to the local forecourt.
I,m not anti 'electric transport', and built a proof-of-concept Electric Time Trial Bike, that was so fast it was banned from competition.
Just seen this:Jasper Jolly
Fri, 12 August 2022, 7:00 am
<span>Photograph: BRITISHVOLT/Reuters</span>
Photograph: BRITISHVOLT/Reuters
Construction of a huge electric car battery factory that has attracted tens of millions of pounds of taxpayer cash and been hailed as a flagship project of Boris Johnson’s levelling up policy has been put on “life support” to cut spending, leaked internal documents suggest.
Work on Britishvolt’s 95-hectare site near Blyth in Northumberland has been severely limited until February to minimise spending as it focuses on unlocking its next round of funding and critical power supply infrastructure, the documents suggest.
Britishvolt, which since its formation in 2019 has made a string of increasingly ambitious promises about powering the boom in electric cars, chose the “life support” option in order to “minimise cash out”, the presentation dated 25 July suggests.
Britishvolt and ISG, its main construction contractor, said the pause affected only some parts of the project while they awaited final designs which are due in October. Britishvolt said “life support” in the documents only referred to specific “packages of work as we optimise the design”.
Battery factories for electric cars are seen by the UK government as essential to preserving high-volume car manufacturing in Britain. Business minister Kwasi Kwarteng last month confirmed state support thought to be worth tens of millions of pounds for the factory, which is planned to employ 3,000 people by 2028 in an area previously left behind by industry.
The state support, first promised as early as January, was confirmed on 27 July, two days after the date on the documents seen by the Guardian.
The documents also discuss “mitigations … to deal with imature [sic] design and design release delays” ahead of an institutional investor contract due on 5 September.
Britishvolt has attracted an increasingly stellar cast of backers including FTSE 100 commodities trader Glencore, FTSE 100 equipment rental company Ashtead, and Tritax, an arm of Abrdn, a major institutional investor. Aston Martin and Lotus have also formally said they are interested in buying batteries from Britishvolt.
It has said its factory will be the fourth-biggest building in the UK and the sixteenth-biggest in the world.
Britishvolt claims the backing announced so far could eventually be worth more than £1.7bn, a significant share of the estimated £3.8bn that may be required. However, the company will only receive the money in stages as it achieves milestones.
Tony Laydon, Britishvolt’s chief UK project officer, told the Guardian that work is still continuing at the site, but that some contractors had left because packages of work, including moving soil to prepare the site, had finished.
He said the company was “ahead” with the building work, but acknowledged it was focusing on some priority areas ahead of others.
Any delays would have a “fairly small” financial impact and did not threaten the viability of the overall project, he insisted. “We have line of sight funding to continue with our current plans,” he said.
The government funding is expected to eventually give the project an important injection of cash, as well as reassuring other investors, but there have been concerns over delays. Johnson last month faced a question about the delay in parliament from the Labour MP for Wansbeck, Ian Lavery. A government source said officials had carried out in-depth due diligence on the project.
Britishvolt was founded in 2019 and quickly won the approval of government. However, it has also faced controversies, most notably the abrupt departure of co-founder Lars Carlstrom in 2020 after it emerged he had been convicted of tax fraud in Sweden in the 1990s. The company is now led by chief executive Orral Nadjari, a former investment banker.
Short-term funding problems would not be unusual for a start-up with ambitious growth plans. However, if delays or problems with suppliers were to build up they might affect Britishvolt’s stated aim of starting production by 2024.
The documents suggest a “funding gap” may have caused delays to the installation of steel infrastructure to be procured from British steel company Severfield. Earthworks have also been delayed by “lack of payment”, they suggest.
“We’re a start-up company, so we’re not in a unique situation,” Laydon said, but he added he did not recognise the description of a “funding gap”.
As well as the “life support” plan, Britishvolt considered but rejected several other options, including making redundancies, terminating all contracts and delaying all works other than electricity infrastructure until June 2023, the documents suggest.
In statements, Britishvolt and ISG said that subcontractors and workers have been paid for all work carried out so far, and that works were progressing on schedule.
Britishvolt said it was continuing with spending on building a separate research and development facility in Hams Hall, in the West Midlands, as it races to get the first battery cells to customers.
“We are ahead in our enabling works at the gigasite in Northumberland,” a spokesperson said. “This has allowed us to now take the time to focus on the design work for the site and to reschedule some construction work so that we can optimise the build process for each of the project’s four phases, to better source materials given current supply constraints because of the global economic situation, and to enhance our cost efficiencies.”
ISG said: “We are now pausing works on-site while the design is finalised and remain a committed and passionate partner in this transformative scheme for the people of Northumberland.”
Edited by whirlybird on Friday 12th August 13:49
DrJFoster said:
I think you've just shown your bias right there. Throwing comments about the look of a car as if it some how justifies the lack of environmental credentials is a bit small minded. The iX is one of the most sustainably built cars money can buy, the factory uses renewable energy, the materials are largely recycled. It's not perfect but its about 20% down on the norms and is held up as a positive example.
Cards on the table, here's what actually prompted my original thread; I was on the way to our local supermarket last Sunday &my neighbours son turned up in his brand new BMW X3 EV. As I arrived at the supermarket a Smart EV drove past me. ( As one of the first Smart owners in the UK, and having several over the next 10 years) I realised that as green credentials go,I totally could buy into the Smart EV's reason to exist. What I struggle is the proliferation of these huge SUV EV's that cost a small fortune to purchase (or are leased) and on the face of it make little no difference to the current state of our planet.
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