Are we to believe VW will actually stop making Gas cars?

[stealthn]

I somehow think no...


Volkswagen Will Stop Making Gas Powered Cars in 2026

[legion]

That date will get pushed a few times and then quietly retired...

Or, they will go through it and die.

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by stealthn

I somehow think no...


Volkswagen Will Stop Making Gas Powered Cars in 2026

I would imagine a slow transition following the likes of a half-bell curve.

Let's say we are at about 5% electric vehicles in 2018, and it took us 15 years to get there.

So another 20-25 years to get there, not 8-12?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_car_use_by_country

Country 2017 2015
California 4.8% 3.1%
Europe 1.74% 1.41%

https://study.com/cimages/multimages/16/Standard_deviation_diagram.svg.png

A typical bell curve

I suspect trucks, Diesel trucks specifically will be the last holdouts, then they will switch to hydrogen or some hybrid mix.

Maybe Europe can do it, Germany specifically is investing highly in renewable energy for their power grid.

France's nuclear energy plants providing the cheapest electricity in Europe are scheduled to be decommissioned at tremendous costs as they are too old to go on. Electric cars with no electricity, not a good combination.

[flatbutt]

I think the beetle, with it's low mass would be ideal for electric drive.

[GH85Carrera]

2026 is a number that sounds like the far future until I do the math. In a few weeks it will be just 7 years away. Of course I remember when the movie 2001 a Space Odyssey was released in 1968 and that was way off in the future.

[DaveE]

The article I read said their last internal combustion engine family would be launched in 2026. I’m thinking they could build off of that family for years.

[kach22i]

October 26th 2017
Toyota Just Announced a Deadline for the Phasing out of Gas Engines
https://futurism.com/toyota-just-announced-a-deadline-for-the-phasing-out-of-gas-engines

According to Kiyotaka Ise, Toyota’s Chief Safety Technology Officer, the Japanese carmaker will be phasing out gas engines from their lineup, with a goal of ending production of all traditional internal combustion engines (ICE) by 2040...................

Toyota’s commitment to more environmentally friendly transportation options matches similar goals set by other car manufacturers, including BMW and Ford, in terms of timeline.
..................

It’s also aligned with the future bans on combustion engine vehicles that have been announced by countries such as France, the Netherlands, Norway, India, Germany, and the U.K.

No such ban on diesel- and gas-powered cars is planned for the U.S., but studies still predict 90 percent of vehicles in the nation will be electric by 2040.

It's going to happen, just don't know when.

[Sooner or later]

Originally Posted by DaveE

The article I read said their last internal combustion engine family would be launched in 2026. I’m thinking they could build off of that family for years.

That is the way it read to me. We ain't gonnq design anything gas for post 2026 release but we will sell pre 2026 platforms.

[HardDrive]

I don't think that's unrealistic. There will be gas hybrids on the market for a long time because people want to road trip. But many city dwellers will go for electric soon. I will likely join them.

We are talking about a shrinking population: People who actually want to own a motor vehicle of their own. Like so many things, transport will be a service, one that is tied to a lifestyle statement.

[DanielDudley]

One of the reasons GM is firing all those workers is to concentrate on e cars for the China market.

[onewhippedpuppy]

That’s a big lol. Unless there is a dramatic swing in political leaning, 2026 is smoking the good stuff and nothing but a publicity stunt. Ultimately companies build what the customers want or they die. At the moment customers don’t want electric cars

[jcommin]

Here is Volvo's position:

https://electrek.co/2018/04/25/volvo-electrification-plan-fully-electric/

It's coming.

[stealthn]

Chevy just dropped the volt....just sayin

[HardDrive]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

That’s a big lol. Unless there is a dramatic swing in political leaning, 2026 is smoking the good stuff and nothing but a publicity stunt. Ultimately companies build what the customers want or they die. At the moment customers don’t want electric cars

Do you work with a lot of young folks? That is going to change rapidly.

[wildthing]

We should figure out planes and factories first.

And figure out how to get a full “tank” of battery power in under 10 minutes with a range of 380mi.

Toyota is also experimenting with the Mirai but I understand producing hydrogen fuel isn’t the most efficient either.

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by stealthn

Chevy just dropped the volt....just sayin

That is a Hybrid, and people are not using the gas part of it.

Why General Motors Is Ditching the Chevy Volt
https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/why-general-motors-is-ditching-the-chevy-volt

A primary selling point for the Volt was that owners could go (mostly) electric without having to compromise on range. The Volt’s roughly 50-mile electric range covers most daily commutes in America. For longer journeys, the car seamlessly switches over to using its small gasoline engine to power an on-board generator, for a total hybrid range of more than 400 miles.

But GM's customer data shows that Volt owners simply aren’t turning on their gasoline engines all that much anymore.

“What we're finding is that consumers are…carrying around this engine and driving on full electricity,” said Shad Balch, Chevrolet spokesperson, in a recent interview at the L.A. Auto Show.

Times are changing.

Drivers are also getting over range anxiety, he said. When GM launched the first-generation Volt, there was virtually no public charging infrastructure. Now there are upward of 23,000 public charging stations in the U.S. and Canada.

“The need to carry around a backup generator under the hood is just going away,” Balch said. “We’re seeing that as...our customers are leaving the Volt to get into the Bolt EV.”

Like I mentioned a year or two in the E-Formula thread nobody is even making jokes anymore about "they are going to need longer extension cords" and other fun idiocy.

[CurtEgerer]

[kach22i]

Always advancements in technology, current tech of rare Earth metals certainly has political shortcomings.

Feb 28, 2017
Lithium-Ion Battery Inventor Introduces New Technology for Fast-Charging, Noncombustible Batteries
https://news.utexas.edu/2017/02/28/goodenough-introduces-new-battery-technology/

AUSTIN, Texas — A team of engineers led by 94-year-old John Goodenough, professor in the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin and co-inventor of the lithium-ion battery, has developed the first all-solid-state battery cells that could lead to safer, faster-charging, longer-lasting rechargeable batteries for handheld mobile devices, electric cars and stationary energy storage...............

The researchers demonstrated that their new battery cells have at least three times as much energy density as today’s lithium-ion batteries. A battery cell’s energy density gives an electric vehicle its driving range, so a higher energy density means that a car can drive more miles between charges. The UT Austin battery formulation also allows for a greater number of charging and discharging cycles, which equates to longer-lasting batteries, as well as a faster rate of recharge (minutes rather than hours)........................

Another advantage is that the battery cells can be made from earth-friendly materials.