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Got a PHEV for our family recently, wanted to go full EV but our region just doesn’t have enough charging stations available yet.

While going over the paperwork for the financing, the paperwork guy was talking about how the car company keeps pushing them to order EVs for their lot but they keep refusing. They don’t want to sell EVs because they think people don’t want them, because they think it just “won’t ever work” - so now I think that there may be other car dealers like that who are holding back what options consumers may have in there area. I had to drive 100 miles to buy the PHEV I wanted, none nearby.

Until they make electric vehicles that need as much maintenance and repairs as ICEs car dealers will of course oppose them.

Not much difference. You still need to rotate the tires and such. The engine is complex but generally doesn't need much maintenance other than oil changes.

Brakes may last the life of the EV (we were already seeing this with hybrids). Not only is there no engine oil, but there’s also no transmission oil, no spark plugs, no catalytic converter, and coolant needs are far reduced. Batteries already coming out of manufacturers are significantly better than what’s going in actual EVs on sale. That should make the heavier weight (more tire wear) go away.

There’s a whole engine life support system that just goes away. It all adds up to much reduced lifetime costs. Especially if you do 90% of your charging at home.

Now, if we could get manufactures to make EVs as actual small cars instead of luxury SUVs, then we’d really see cost reductions. Hell, not even particularly small; a Toyota Corolla isn’t that small, but manufactures seem to think it is. The few options on the market for this (Mini Cooper SE, Nissan Leaf) are lackluster.

@frezik @bluGill Being pedantic: there's still engine oil and transmission oil, but because (almost always, except in some performance BEVs) those are fixed and sealed, they practically do not require changing. Unless the manufacturer is unsure (some Hyundai EVs) or there's a fault and repairs required taking the assembly apart.

I'm really confused by the comparison between Corolla and Leaf - here on the European side, Leaf is the bigger car. https://www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/nissan-leaf-2017-5-door-hatchback-vs-toyota-corolla-2018-5-door-hatchback/

I’m using “small” as meaning “not a goddamn SUV”. Leaf is more of a hatchback.

Yes, you typically get it as a sedan in the US.

www.toyota.com/corolla/

But there is a hatchback version.

www.toyota.com/corollahatchback/