Originally posted by Shallow Blue
Plenty of people in the whiter parts of Africa, perhaps. It's still a continent where 5% of the people live off the poverty of the other 95%, even if some of the 5% are now native dictators or Asian contractors rather than European colonisers. Those other 95% are lucky indeed if they can even afford a single car made after 1980.
I am aware of that, I am African after all. Many people I know in Zambia do not own cars and probably never will. So this discussion has nothing to do with them. If you cant afford a car, who cares if its electric or petrol?
As for those who can afford a car, the majority would be willing to give up on range, if they can save 50% on fuel costs (which would, I believe be the case in Zambia). Add to that much lower maintenance costs, and I think many people would choose electric if they had the option.
But even here in Europe, I'm quite certain that I, for one, could not afford to maintain two cars just for the sake of making a dubious ecological point.
Well from what I have seen in European movies, many people do drive small cars which are really only suitable for short distances.
I am not claiming that electric cars should instantly replace all vehicles, but I do think that there is a large market for them right now and that it is the makers that are deliberately not supplying because it is not in their best interests.
Remember that the electricity has to come from somewhere (just as, it must be said, the hydrogen), and that somewhere will, until we do get fusion or solar power up and running, make little difference to the net amount of fuel burned.
That may be so in Europe, but not in Zambia. Our electric power is 100% hydroelectric and locally produced. Our fuel is imported over land at great expense. It would make a massive difference to us if we could convert some of our cars to electric.
... and the extra resources their production would cost.
Cars typically only last 10-20 years. If you have a second car, they would last longer, so I am not convinced production costs are a real issue.
On top of that electric cars are much lower maintenance.