Quote:
Originally Posted by dfox
I've said this before, but in order for EV to take off, batteries need to be leased.
Electric cars and motorcycles would be much more enticing to the average consumer if you paid a small fee every month/year for battery replacement/maintenance.
Sure, you can charge your battery at home if you want, but if you're on the road, pull into the "battery station" and have them swap your batteries. In a matter of minutes you're back out on the road. They maintain and charge the battery you swapped out, then give it to another customer. As it ages, they recycle the material into a new battery.
It won't happen until manufacturers agree on (or an agency standardizes) a modular battery system that is quickly accessible. I see this as being easier to achieve on a motorcycle than a car, but still possible on both. It'd greatly extend range to the point that there is no difference between gas and electric, except maybe 2-3 minutes longer at a "battery station" than a gas station.
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This is essentially what the Telsa has for a business plan. Granted i dont know if anyone else if trying to standardize with them, but on their site they have this exact scenario. Pull up to a "station" and sensors and arms under the car remove the battery and replace with a fully charged one under 2 minutes. You just pay a fee as you would if you went to a gas station. They also will have their own chargin stations throughout in case your running to the mall for an hour or something where you could leave it on charge. Awesome stuff, but they i can see they starting with low prices to entice people ot make the switch, then raising the cost just like gas prices now. Not that the Tesla is cheap by any means....