General Discussions, page-28242

Hertz just took an absolutely huge hit on their EV fleet which they said was not working for their business model - that says something about the current practically of EVs.

I have no doubt when technology improves i.e.decent range, faster charging and competitive pricing EVs might take off but right now they do not represent a viable value proposition IMHO and certainly Hertz's opinion. Their EV fleet is relatively young but the resale they are expecting represents a significant depreciation.

An Australian car publication I think it was Drive ran a test of 2 comparable BMW from Melbourne to Sydney recently and the diesel BMW cost was slighty less in fuel than the charging cost for the EV and it was just under 3 hours faster - CO2 emissions not sure but quite possibly the power for the EV might have been from a coal generator.

I have read that the costs of insuring a EV are higher than a comparable ICE and battery replacement is a huge cost which limits resale values as the vehicle ages given batteries loose health progressively from the first charge/ discharge.

EV when the technology improves and volumes increase might well become the norm but then so might a lot of other options like synthetic bio fuels, hydrogen etc

Time will tell how we will in the future power cars, trucks, planes and ships. EVs right now are embyonic technology which will no doubt improve - certainly someone will develop a more practical battery than the current lithium batteries which have significant thermal risks if nothing else.

i'm confortable with my investment in RNU - yes it is down at the moment but I believe there will be contined and rising demand which will see an improvement in RNU's SP.