Electric Vehicles (EV) Thread

[NOKYAI]

Last time I looked it was a Dodge Viper, but that's was 6 months ago!

[STEVE G]

Today in MV, there is a small runabout from Wuling, for less than 10,000gbp! (399,000bt)
It seemed surprisingly well finished for the money:

[PeteC]

An electric Mini!

[KhunLA]

Today in MV, there is a small runabout from Wuling, for less than 10,000gbp! (399,000bt)
It seemed surprisingly well finished for the money:

Not too surprising. Made by SAIC, parent company and maker of MG.

[Dannie Boy]

I think the surprise was that you can buy an EV that looks pretty reasonably well put together for B400,000 - a few years ago it would have been very different.

[wenshidi]

Last time I looked it was a Dodge Viper, but that's was 6 months ago!

This one is more of the European style, with a V shaped head badge.
It is kept in the back with the Lexus PPC.

[Dannie Boy]

^No, it's supposed to be coming soon.
It's actually not a problem as I'm just doing local driving and I've had no problem just charging overnight from a normal socket.
I've been very impressed by how easy it is driving an EV around Hua Hin, I'm not a fast driver but the instant acceleration gives you way more overtaking opportunities for all the times you end up stuck behind slow moving vehicles.
After two weeks of driving the BYD, I drove our diesel pickup for the first time yesterday and I felt like I was on a tractor!

Do you have your charger installed now Steve or are you still using a wall socket?

[STEVE G]

I'm back in Europe working now, my partner is organising the charger.
It was on hold for a while because the carport needed a repair to the ceiling, I think the charger is being installed soon. She doesn't drive the BYD because she uses the pickup for her small business.
Actually, when I was there it wasn't a problem charging from a wall socket because the furthest I ever drive is Dolphin Bay.

[GroveHillWanderer]

For those who still worry about the time it takes to recharge at a service station while travelling, battery technologies are improving day by day. For instance, BYD has launched 2 models that can add around 400km worth of charge in only 5 minutes (and have a fully charged range of 700km)

BYD just launched the first EVs based on its new Super e-platform with ultra-fast charging. The new Han L sedan and Tang L SUV can gain nearly 250 miles range in 5 minutes, and prices start at just $30,000.

https://electrek.co/2025/04/09/byd-laun ... -at-30000/

Just for comparison, if I put 400km worth of petrol in my car in some service stations with slowish pumps (like the Bangchak station south of Hua Hin which I often use if I'm down that way as it has E85) it can take up to five minutes - possibly even longer if there's someone in front of me in the queue and/or they're slow taking the money. And a full tank in my car gives me only 500 - 600km of range depending on whether I'm doing urban or motorway driving.

[STEVE G]

Electric Cars More Reliable Than Gas Cars — New Study

A new study from the German Automobile Club (ADAC) tells us what we’ve always suspected would be the case — electric cars are much more reliable than gasoline-powered cars.

German Automobile Club (ADAC) is the largest roadside assistance organization in Europe. If you’re American, think AAA. With an enormous amount of its own data — responding to 3.6 million breakdowns last year, for example — ADAC can really dig in and come to some solid conclusions. Also, it’s apparent they are doing things the right way, eager to come to correct conclusions, not just a preferred talking point. With more EVs on the road, and enough EVs getting older, ADAC was able to come to some important findings.

For the first time in 2024, the ADAC said it had enough data to make a confident call on EV reliability, and that call favors electric,” Carscoops writes. “With another year of data behind them, the case has only grown stronger. While it responded to more EV calls for service than ever before, those accounted for just 43,678 out of the 3.6 million total or just 1.2%.” But what does that mean in broader context?

“For cars first registered between 2020 and 2022, electric vehicles experienced 4.2 breakdowns per 1,000 vehicles,” Handelsblatt writes. In comparison, cars powered by fossil fuels (petrol, diesel) had 10.4 breakdowns per 1,000 vehicles.
https://cleantechnica.com/2025/05/04/el ... new-study/

[STEVE G]

I'm back home and found the charger up and running.
My partner was worried about it being outside so I paid for it to be installed in an exterior junction box, which did cost a bit because it's pretty solid and independently earthed.
I spent 10,000bt extra but that included a couple of other electrical jobs as well, I think the box was about 4,000bt.

[Dannie Boy]

It’ll be a lot quicker to charge by a factor of more than 3 - pity there’s no off-peak reduced tariff out here like in the UK.

[Oilbaron]

It’ll be a lot quicker to charge by a factor of more than 3 - pity there’s no off-peak reduced tariff out here like in the UK.

For off peak tariff you need a TOU Meter. Till around a year ago you could get one just for EV charging as a second Meter, but was stopped by PEA due to miss use by some people.

[Khundon1975]

Nice EVSE installation Steve.
I’m not up with electric prices there as in-laws take care of that.
Back here we only ever charge on Octopus Go @8p per kWh and get cheap electric from 00.30-05.30am which is enough for two cars to keep topped up. They have another tariff Intelligent Octopus Go where you just plug it in and Octopus take over the charging times. You just set what charge you require and when you want to use car and they set several cheap charging slots during day and night which change depending on how much extra the grid has available.
Unfortunately my cars are not yet compatible with that tariff.

[PeteC]

Surprising and concerning. Is this really an issue?

Khaosod English

An EV driver posted on FB a cautionary tale saying he drove his car through a flooded motorway road and it damaged the battery which costs 480,000 baht to be replaced.

The man said the water level was no higher than half the height of the car's wheels so he thought it would be okay.