Electric Cars: Fatally Flawed?

The world is going electric , but are electric cars that good? It are they flawed from the outset? Rory explores the reasons not to buy… and suggests reasons maybe you should.

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[maheshmnair]

The more I watch this guy's videos the more I become envious of his speaking skill. He can be a great teacher, a top class salesman or a sort after lawyer. Keep the good work going Rory. 👍

[jonathancamp]

Good video but I think you missed a couple of really important points. EV batteries are only just being replaced as they last longer than was initially expected. They are replaced because the range reduction has become unacceptable, but the old batteries still have value in power storage where their reduced capacity is less of an issue. This can then last for 15+ years before they degrade too far. And then they can be almost 100% recycled. There are companies doing this.
The pumping and refining of petrol and diesel uses huge amounts of electricity which are conveniently ignored by those who are anti EV - if this is produced from CO2 heavy sources then it also needs to be factored into the carbon footprint. We also can't ignore oil spillage and the resulting environmental damage that happens every day.

[gaminggrandpa]

How did Rory get removd from Top Gear?!?! the mind boggles with the BBC sometimes, THIS is the information TG needs to be providing, I enjoy the tom foolery of the (not so good as Clarkson/Hammond/May) trio we now have but not all the bloody time.

[sandyritchie]

Remember to consider that the majority of Cobalt mined is actually not used in battery production. Its used as a catalyst to clean up petrochemical fuels, where its consumed forever, meaning more needs mined. But what is used in batteries can be recovered when recycling them. Also Lithium can and is extracted from sea water. No reason why that "waste" water couldn't be cleaner after the extraction process. Yup EVs aren't for everyone, but they are a viable option for many.

[rtfazeberdee]

Missed one thing about batteries - 2nd life use before recycling. but overall a good informative video. Shame Phone and Computer companies don't get any grief for not setting up recycling a decade (or more) ago for their lithium batteries but EVs get all the grief.

[habsom]

Well reasoned, well considered, thought provoking and articulately presented arguments. I like this guy!

[matthewwatt]

Worth mentioning that the EV will use the energy from the power grid far more efficiently (motors are 90%+ efficient vs engines at 30%) so even if you're charging on coal power you still save emissions

[aidan]

Don't agree with the running costs. What do you think they're going to tax once petrol is obsolete? Huge increase in duty/tax on electricity once the population is reliant on it.

[NickThompsonUK]

I didn't expect that. A well balanced video that talks honestly about EVs. Excellent and well done!

[Zygersaf]

On that point about one country producing less pollution than another, it's also important to remember that the big polluters like China and India are only doing that because of the crazy amount of stuff they are making that we buy from them in the west!

[bigjim]

I own a 2012 EV from new. It has leather seats, sat nav, A/C etc...
I have covered 80, 000 miles.
No road tax.
£130 services every 18, 000 miles.
Has never broken down or gone wrong.
Only does 100 miles range, but this hasn't been an issue.
I charge at work for free with my free charger.

I have owned 100 vehicles and hands down this is the best I have owned.

What is needed is a new sub £15k EV that can can carry 4 people with a 150 miles range. Not £50k EV SUVs.

[ThomasKrul]

Rory's the best, even uses a green screen so that he can stand in front of a blue one LOL

[gmr]

Bravo, Rory. Excellent content, informative, timely, brilliantly presented. This is the sort of content that can actually make a real difference. More please

[wattlebough]

And Tesla has developed cobalt free batteries. They’re literally months away from mass production in their 4680 battery cells, and Lithium Iron Phosphate LFP Tesla batteries made by CATL don’t require cobalt presently.

[mahargrekab]

Great video! It should always be the direction we’re headed in to focus on. The grid is getting cleaner, charging infrastructure is being built.Battery technology advancing fast.

[michaelaltun]

YOU said so many wrong things about ev's being bad. do more research. talk to fully charged or matt ferrell

[Implude]

I agree that, on the long run, EV's are less expensive then ICE, but a lot of people cannot spent an extra 6 to 10000 pounds/euros at once to get the EV one

[jamesmayhew]

5 years now I've owned an electric car. I'm just your average Joe Tesco worker. The money I would have spent on petrol/diesel ended up being used to pay for my EV finance... which paid off 3 years ago and now I'm financially even with an asset of £10k sitting on my drive.

All thanks to the cheapness of running an EV compared to Petrol/Diesel/LPG/Hydrogen.

I do like the fact peope are slow in the uptake though. Means more years free road tax for people like me 👌

[janpruijser]

I love that Rory is educating the public (us) in such a non preachy way.
I love cars, but let’s be real. We all love nature a whole lot more and it’s worth protecting.

[ianmurray]

Cobalt: The largest use of cobalt is to refine petrol / diesel - so if you're really worried about those kids mining cobalt in the DRC, you need to stop watching this sort of video and look at getting a bicycle or try out pedalling an e-bike. Oh, and after cobalt has been used to refine oil, you can't recycle it into anything.