More efficient manufacturing, falling battery costs and intense competition are lowering sticker prices for battery-powered models to within striking distance of gasoline cars.

  • ShepherdPie@midwest.social
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    8 months ago

    New cars have always been expensive and out of reach for most, which is why the average new car buyer is well into their 50s.

    I don’t see how people can logically make an argument about the necessity of switching to EVs for the environment while also demanding that everyone gets a brand new car. Scrapping a bunch of perfectly good cars to build new ones is not going to help out our climate issue.

    • crusa187@lemmy.ml
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      8 months ago

      Why don’t we stop subsidizing fossil fuel companies to the tune of $1Trillion Anually, and instead put all of that money towards subsidizing purchases and further R&D of electric vehicles? Oil and Gas corporations could enjoy the competition of the free market, and we the people could get access to new EVs for under $10k out of pocket - it would be a win-win!

    • PM_ME_YOUR_ZOD_RUNES@sh.itjust.works
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      8 months ago

      I read that the issue with used EV’s is that you eventually need to replace the battery pack which can sometimes cost you as much as the car.

      Edit: Seems I was misinformed. Glad to hear that replacing EV batteries is not much of a concern.

      • TehWorld@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        If it’s even possible. I’ve personally swapped the main battery pack on a Gen 1 Prius. Not easy, but more tedious than technical. Lifting the assembled unit was a hell of a chore but a coulple strapping dudes managed it. Reconditioned cells are available in a lot of places. I’ve had a Nissan Leaf and would get another one, but even finding a battery, let alone any info on swapping it was pretty much impossible.

    • ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de
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      8 months ago

      Like 16 years ago you could buy a brand new chevy aveo with an msrp of $10,300.

      Small econoboxes used to be cheap and affordable.

      • ShepherdPie@midwest.social
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        8 months ago

        Regardless of where you fall on EVs or new car pricing, the Aveo was hot garbage and there’s a reason why they only cost $10k. This is the same reason why you don’t see any of them on the road anymore.

        • Semi-Hemi-Lemmygod@lemmy.world
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          8 months ago

          True, but at the time you could get a Toyota Echo or a Honda Fit or a Ford Fiesta or even a Nissan Versa which are all small cars that no longer exist.

          And I see plenty of them still on the road.

          • ShepherdPie@midwest.social
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            8 months ago

            Those were priced higher and comparable to the compacts like the Corolla, Civic, and Sentra.

            I think there just wasn’t enough demand since people would rather pay a little more to get a little more car than they need for those rare times when a lot of cargo space was needed. Additionally, tiny CUVs like the RAV4 have increased in popularity quite a bit and still get great fuel economy, further reducing demand for the sub-compacts. These cars were also marketed toward young people like college students who have a harder time affording a new car these days and would rather buy a good used one for much cheaper.