In Japan, Hyundai has launched their Inster base model at $18,000 USD. In Australia BYD's Dolphin Essential is priced at $19,000 USD.
Meanwhile, solar panels and home charging setups for EVs keep getting cheaper. Prices vary, but there are options that only cost a few thousand dollars. Once that investment is paid off, it's effectively free car fuel for years to come.
There's no doubt the fossil fuel industry isn't going down without a fight. They have deep pockets, and the world is filled with corrupt politicians they can bribe to slow down progress. Still, it seems ultimately they will lose, it's just a question of how soon. The EV alternative keeps looking more and more attractive. It also still has plenty more cost reductions to come.
Japan and Australia both see mass-market EVs at less than $20,000. Will the future of personal mobility be dominated by cheap cars you can fuel from your own home solar panels?
byu/lughnasadh inFuturology
12 Comments
Would love for those vehicles to be for sale here in the states. Do NOT want to buy an over priced Tesla.
The same cars in Brazil are super expensive. So annoying.
Short answer no, even fior people with a fair bit of roof space you aren’t regularly charging your car with solar unless it and battery tech gets way more efficient (and you mostly don’t use it during the day). Not enough energy. I say that as someone who both has solar panels and is broadly in favour of converting to EV.
I think that in the European and Usian markets the local automobile industry, through lobbying, the main actors stopping this trend. Making those markets dominated by big, expensive cars and slowering the transition to EV.
My understanding is that most power grids aren’t capable of handling a mass switch to EVs. If you then layer on the increasing demand of AI data centers, which is causing people like Microsoft to look into building their own nuclear reactors for energy, I’m not sure big oil is the reason for the slow transition to EVs. The electric grid in most places just doesn’t seem ready for it.
We’re getting our panels installed on our home roof in southern Europe in the next month. I literally just had a conversation with the wife 20 minutes ago that when they’re in we should go have a look at the BYD showroom, to try get our petrol bill down to zero…
Queues at the charging stations are going to be a problem if everyone is driving EVs. Most people will not be able to charge at home.
Bro 20k is not fucking cheap why does everyone play along with such rhetoric baffles me, bloody vehicle should cost the same as a fucking house
Except solar works during the day… when you’re at work. And you recharge at night… when your car is back home.
On my way to a dream little project of a small remote autonomous house. Damn, have the price of solar plus batteries crashed lately. I mean since I have been looking at prices, about a year ago, it fell by at least 30% if not more. Poor Americans, will have to watch everyone else buying solar pannels and batteries, while they are stuck with expensive gas in the future.
The electricity charging the cars is still mostly produced by burning fossil fuels. At least in the UK.
I think we will be going to a car rental app or robotaxi future… Almost every kid under 18 ive talked to has no interest in owning a car