My GF and I were considering buying the new Lexus EV RZ450e. She currently drives a Lexus hybrid. Neither of us are environmentalists at all, the sole purpose of the EV was to have lower cost-per-mile as a commuter car & bc I didn't want her to get a Tesla.
But after I did more research - the huge battery pack in EVs does NOT last over long timeframes. You can still drive a ICE car that is 20 years old, no problem. But an EV isn't going to last because the battery degrades over time. And replacing the battery is so expensive it isn't realistic to do on an old, depreciated car anyway.
Even if you don't keep your car 10+ years, this still matters because it means EVs will depreciate far more aggressively than ICE cars, because the buyer knows that he's buying limited battery life.
She also got in an accident in her hybrid and what would have been maybe a $2k repair turned into an $8-9k repair, and on top of that a lot of repair shops wouldn't even touch it out of fear of dealing with the battery.
My GF and I were considering buying the new Lexus EV RZ450e. She currently drives a Lexus hybrid. Neither of us are environmentalists at all, the sole purpose of the EV was to have lower cost-per-mile as a commuter car & bc I didn't want her to get a Tesla.
But after I did more research - the huge battery pack in EVs does NOT last over long timeframes. You can still drive a ICE car that is 20 years old, no problem. But an EV isn't going to last because the battery degrades over time. And replacing the battery is so expensive it isn't realistic to do on an old, depreciated car anyway.
Even if you don't keep your car 10+ years, this still matters because it means EVs will depreciate far more aggressively than ICE cars, because the buyer knows that he's buying limited battery life.
She also got in an accident in her hybrid and what would have been maybe a $2k repair turned into an $8-9k repair, and on top of that a lot of repair shops wouldn't even touch it out of fear of dealing with the battery.
Well lithium is strip mined, so no it's not better.
We had a lithium battery factory go up in flames here last week. big fire hazards