OK then, explain what those are. Everyone I've argued with seems to think there are none, or they don't matter as long as you're a Mother Earth Hero.
Apart from me, every other time you've raised the subject and demonstrated you know very little about it.
And drop the ignorant attitude. Not everyone who likes electric cars and hybrids is some kind of mega hippy. You've spent enough time on this forum to realise that the people defending hybrids and EVs here also happen to be massive petrolheads. Despite what you may think, it is possible to like both.
Hell, it's even possible for someone to have concerns for the environment but still like gas-guzzling V8s and supercars - you're talking to one of them.
EVs have some pretty obvious downsides, though that's not to say they're a) without reason or b) apply to everyone.
These are the two, overriding main ones. Everything else is just a secondary concern, and usually baseless. And that includes the charging network one, since a massive proportion of charging is done at home.
1) Cost - You'd think people would bring this up as argument #1, but instead they peddle crap about them being dirty or boring to drive. Nope, cost is the main reason. A hell of a lot more people would be happy driving EVs - even with their current range - if they were priced more competitively with regular cars.
In the UK, a hell of a lot of people barely ever do anything other than drive around the city in which they live. Even most of the ones who don't do far fewer miles each day than most EVs can manage on one charge. That's a potentially huge market, but if an EV is ten or fifteen grand more than the equivalent diesel, they'll go for the diesel.
Caveat to this: If you're shopping at a particular price point, rather than class of car, then it may not be as much of an issue. If you have X amount of money to spend and a Nissan Leaf is within X, then you may choose it anyway simply because you like it and it's within your budget. Also, we tend to think of cars in total amounts. If you're buying on finance, then even a 5 grand difference in purchase price can be surprisingly little per month, and make it seem more affordable.
2) Range - Another "duh" one which for some reason people have moved away from in pursuit of dumber, unresearched arguments.
The 100-odd mile range is more a psychological issue than a practical one, since statistics overwhelmingly show that most people - whether in the UK, Europe, Australasia or the U.S. - do far fewer miles on average than most EVs can manage.
However, people do occasionally do a bit more. If I had to list the reasons that
I don't own an electric car personally - despite having driven several and liked them - cost would be reason number one (I don't earn nearly enough to buy
any new car, let alone an expensive one), and as part of my job I drive 100+ mile journeys frequently enough that it would be inconvenient. And clearly, there are others like me.
Caveat to this one: Provided you can get over the cost issue first, which I believe is more of an issue, then your average two-car family could quite easily have an EV sitting next to their regular car. As long as just one of those cars can do the longer journeys, then the other could easily be an EV. I know that, if they could afford it, my parents could happily do this: both their commutes are well within an EV's range, and they only occasionally do a long enough journey to justify any extra range.
Those are the most convincing anti-EV arguments.
But of course, even those don't apply to everyone, they're just the ones that apply to most people. For the time being.
-Not cost-effective in terms of the amount of energy needed for X amount of power, when a lesser value of petrol can match that. (could be an outdated argument)
-more e-cars = higher demand in electricity = higher electricity rates = bigger bills each month.
-Solar panels (under the assumption they haven't really improved) produce avery insufficient amount of energy to be the main power source of a consumer vehicle.
Did I get 'em right?
You're not miles off, but as above - think more obvious.
In terms of price/energy, EVs are still more efficient - petrol has higher energy density than a battery does, but thanks to its cost, you still go more miles on the pennies you spend on electricity than the pennies you spend on fuel.
Higher electricity demand isn't really an issue. Mainly because not many people drive EVs at the mo and the tipping point for higher bills will be way in the future, but also because many people currently spend more in a month on fuel than they do in a year supplying their home with gas and electricity, so energy prices would have to rise
massively before people started spending more filling EVs up than they do their cars.
As for solar panels, there are plenty of people living in California who not only power their EV with solar panels but their house too - and have enough electricity left over to put back into the grid, so they get paid for it. The initial outlay is high (sometimes: there are companies in the UK which give you them for free, so long as they get the money from the excess put back into the grid). Anywhere that's year-round sunny will make easily enough energy from solar to power their car. Even in the UK you can make about 60% enough energy from solar to power your car
