Next generation (2025, 2026+) BEVs will be the tipping point for the auto industry.
When BEVs have 500 mile+ per charge capacity, charging infrastructure becomes abundant, and 350kW+ charging is ubiquitous (<15 min recharges), there will no longer be any value proposition for ICEs whatsoever (outside of hobbyists).
Amazing how fast the change is happening.
Agree or disagree?
I tried my first 500 mile (RT) road trip in my eqb last weekend. I encountered a few issues charging.
1, the fastest sustained charge I got was 75kW and my car is supposed to go up to 100kW. The others were 40kW (limited by 50kW charger) and 60kW (on a 350kW charger).
2, one of the charges stopped/faulted after 5 minutes, when I was deep into Walmart. Took me like 10 minutes to get back to the car and completely disrupted everything.
3, on the return trip I encountered lines at an EA station at a Wawa. Decided to abandon that charging stop (after taking a leak) and went to “EV institute” at a state highway rest stop. The first charger wouldn’t take payment. But the second one i attempted to use did charge successfully.
Overall, paying just about 11 dollars in energy to go 500 miles is pretty cheap.
That being said, if you explain any of this to any EV-curious ICE driver when they ask you what it’s like road tripping with an EV, it definitely gives them pause. And maybe the Tesla experience is better, but I still saw lines at some supercharger locations.
That being said, if I could even get the full 100kW I think my experience would be very different. Also not having a line at any location would also make things much better.
Overall, I’m not sure if I’d attempt this trip again. It seems like the charging infrastructure is not growing at the same pace as the number of EVs on the road.