Random EV thoughts.....

From 37,995 at launch to 39,995 now.

Or was it cheaper at launch?

I'd say the main issue there is that the heat pump tends to be shoved around the back of the house, away from where you'd put a charger. Bit of a niche market to begin with

This is like special EV car insurance. There is no real difference in ICE Vs EV car insurance, same with parking meter installer versus EV charger installer insurance. Sure the risks might be different but it's just a public liability insurance product, same as most contractors insurance that has a cost based on the risks of a claim.

It might make it a bit easier to get a quote and easier to settle a claim as most scenarios are already listed but nothing special.

This might help. Tune in from 3:30

No, we'll miss the targets and then pay a few million in penalties every year until we do eventually meet the targets (of 5 years previous)), then we'll start paying new penalties for missing the newer targets....

While I think 60km is great I would prefer hubs every 100km on major roads. Later they could add more sites in between.

How would that work though. Will ecars or equivalent take a mini digger and knock a hole in fence every 60km along all the main routes and set up 2 chargers and then wait to see if any private providers can see themselves making a killing out of developing these sites? Or will ecars simply throw a few chargers into existing petrol stations along main routes? Always have to admire the EP for their precise plans that really are difficult to implement in the real world.

Interestimg to see how this will actually unfold

This is what was previously recommended by the European Commission:

Member States shall ensure a minimum coverage of publicly accessible recharging points dedicated to light-duty vehicles on the road network in their territory. To that end, Member States shall ensure that:

(a) along the TEN-T core network, publicly accessible recharging pools dedicated to light-duty vehicles and meeting the following requirements are deployed in each direction of travel with a maximum distance of 60 km in-between them: (i) by 31 December 2025, each recharging pool shall offer a power output of at least 300 kW and include at least one recharging station with an individual power output of at least 150 kW; (ii) by 31 December 2030, each recharging pool shall offer a power output of at least 600 kW and include at least two recharging stations with an individual power output of at least 150 kW;

(b) along the TEN-T comprehensive network, publicly accessible recharging pools dedicated to light-duty vehicles and meeting the following requirements are deployed in each direction of travel with a maximum distance of 60 km in between them: (i) by 31 December 2030, each recharging pool shall offer a power output of at least 300 kW and include at least one recharging station with an individual power output of at least 150 kW; (ii) by 31 December 2035, each recharging pool shall offer a power output of at least 600 kW and include at least two recharging stations with an individual power output of at least 150 kW. 

The European Parliament document seems to be focused on truck/bus requirements being brought forward and accessibility and signage requirements for charging hubs. Given the way the press release is worded, they may mandate pay by card being an option and that there be no access fees or overstay fees. I'd also like to see how they define "affordable". Tesla and Ionity hubs don't count either as they're not accessible to all vehicle brands, although they may if they're co-located with a ChaDeMo charger.

Has a battery breakthough been made for electric vehicles?

My take is that it isnt a breakthrough as such, but rather a generational development of existing technology.

The real break through will be when solid state batteries, such as that being developed by ProLogium, can be produced economically at scale.

“But what’s really thrilling is that a fleet of electric Hyundai IONIQ 5 cars will be powering the whole set-up, harnessing electricity through their vehicle-to-load (V2L) feature, which powers other appliances through adaptors.”

All these battery " breakthroughs " are typically companies and universities looking for funding. Many of these batteries may be unsuitable for use in cars and for example may be more suited to homes . There has been constant improvement and even if a breakthrough happens it won't make existing EVs obsolete nor make them unviable.

I tend to ignore them and I assume battery prices will go down and capacity improve and hopefully the rarer materials can be used less and less.