[gambiting]

>>Who the hell pays that for a car, when half that gets you a car just as nice but running on gasoline?

Does it? What example do you have in mind? Because the only one I can think of is perhaps the E-Tron compared to the Audi Q5, and I'd argue that to reach the "half" mark you'd get a Q5 that has barely any options fitted in, while the E-Tron will come packed with tech. And then yes, there is the Tesla Model S which is absolutely not worth the money they are asking, but it's an exception not the rule. There's more and more EV vehicles where there isn't a non-EV equivalent for half the price.

[the_biot]

The example I had in mind was the Volvo XC40. Gasoline model starts at €30k, electric model at €59K. More often than not you pay a huge premium for electric cars. I think the cheapest right now is the Nissan Leaf, but that's still a tiny car for a lot of money.

I just don't think electric cars make financial sense at all right now. All those car manufacturers saying they won't be making ICE cars within < 5 years anymore must know something I don't, but I don't see who's going to be paying that premium in the low/middle end.

[gambiting]

Yeah that's fair enough - the electric XC40 is a stupidly expensive car. I still think it's not exactly a fair comparison, as the cheapest XC40 is a 100bhp 3 cylinder petrol, while the electric XC40 is a 400bhp all wheel drive car. That alone would command a large premium even in an ICE car, no?

But yeah, I'm thinking more about the cars like the MG ZS EV, which I actually put a deposit down on last year(and cancelled due to coronavirus and working from home, but I test drove it and was 100% willing to buy it) - at £25k it was very affordable for a full EV, with loads of space inside.

And then remember that all manufacturers always start with the most expensive models first because that's where the money is, but more and more cars are arriving form various manufacturers. ID.3 from Volkswagen is already approaching affordable prices in lower specs, but there is the ID.2 coming. And if I were to buy a second car as a runaround now, I'd happily buy a £12k second hand e-Up, it's more than enough for driving around and will cost nearly nothing to use.