Lack of EVs and chargers in Tuscany, what is going on in the rest of Europe

[jfarris]

The wife and I just spent two weeks in Tuscany, flew in and out of Rome, but didn't visit there. Florence was the largest town we visited. We drove 1,410 km (875 miles), stayed in four hill towns and Florence.
During our stay, I counted 11 Teslas and two Mustang Mach Es (go figure) as the only plug in EVs we saw. In one hill town we saw a single charging station and a dual in another. Our hotel in Florence also had a single charging station.
I was very surprised at the lack of EVs and chargers.
Is the rest of Europe similar?
Mustang in Montepulciano looked a bit out of place?

 

[NutmegCT]

For a while now, I've been thinking the whole EV idea - and self-driving cars - will slowly whither away, except for the few who can afford them.

Only the Shadow knows.

 

[JPSmit]

I watch some British car TV and am on some British located forums and the proportion seems about the same. Makes me wonder though if the country already having 230V as the electrical norm means that home chargers are also the norm. They seem to make more sense in a location where you can drive many country's end to end in the range of a standard EV.

 

[NutmegCT]

For me, I'd have to save up my pennies just to have a non-Level 1 (Level 1 = 120v) home EV charger:

Where can I find a 1996 EV-1?

 

[John Turney]

For a while now, I've been thinking the whole EV idea - and self-driving cars - will slowly whither away, except for the few who can afford them.

Only the Shadow knows.

My wife's grandfather had a drayage company in Chicago. He was convinced that ICE's were a fad and would never catch on, so he continued to use horses until he went out of business.

 

[Hamish Racing]

I guess rural Italy will be late to the EV party. Their heart is still a petrol pump.

the UK sees quite a few EV’s but more hybrids- massive range fear here despite the small size. I think people ( I want) a min 275miles in the winter range)

we do have a lot of home chargers and if you decide on an EV you have a charger fitted.
many councils ( the local planning authority) insist that all new houses with parking have a dedicated elec point built in to aid fitting of your choice of charge point.
But in big towns and cities ( where the need air quality wise is greatest) have dwellings - terraced houses very small (4-6 rooms in total) that are on the street.

then there is the cost of EV way above the majority pay scale.
i would think here in the uk most EV’s are business use company cars or lease for the income tax breaks you get on company car benefit in kind.

i for one will be waiting past 2035 before I’m made to go EV and ICE is banned.
Im also hoping that our wealthy brothers and sisters who frequent the likes of goodwood will persuade the powers that be that petrol is still needed to maintain out national heritage- our old cars.

 

[mezy]

I give it 5 to 10 years before the EV market goes down the toilet, their second hand value will be next to nothing as the cost of replacing depleated batteries will far outway the value of the car itself, they will become a disposable comodity. unsellable.
The big car companies are already moving away from EV to Hydrogen development,
Rolls royce have come up with a hydrogen jet engine,
The manufacturers were forced by governments to find an alternative to ICE powered vehicles and Electric was the stop gap they needed to give them breathing space.

 

[YakkoWarner]

Wouldn't an engine burning hydrogen still be classified as internal combustion? A cleaner burn to be sure, but if the rules say you have to phase out any internal combustion, won't using hydrogen still be breaking those rules?

 

[NutmegCT]

Interesting. I think the hydrogen "engines" are actually electric motors, powered by fuel cells. So the hydrogen isn't "burned" - it's chemically transformed into electric power.

Alternative Fuels Data Center: How Do Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles Work Using Hydrogen?

 

[waltesefalcon]

Wouldn't an engine burning hydrogen still be classified as internal combustion? A cleaner burn to be sure, but if the rules say you have to phase out any internal combustion, won't using hydrogen still be breaking those rules?

I thought that only California and a few other wacky states were banning the sale of new internal combustion engines. Is the federal government now eyeing this ludicrously stupid idea?

 

[NutmegCT]

I thought that only California and a few other wacky states were banning the sale of new internal combustion engines. Is the federal government now eyeing this ludicrously stupid idea?

noop

 

[John Turney]

I thought that only California and a few other wacky states were banning the sale of new internal combustion engines. Is the federal government now eyeing this ludicrously stupid idea?

We've only just begun - California Passive Speed Limiter Law.

 

[NutmegCT]

That is interesting! They're only saying the driver would see an alert - but it's passive, and the car's speed won't change. Actually, my gps already does the same thing - flashing red when I exceed the posted limit.

We'll see ...

 

[waltesefalcon]

We've only just begun - California Passive Speed Limiter Law.

A couple of my dad's old GMs had buzzers you could adjust on the speedo to alert you when you went over a certain speed. As a kid I would sometimes set it to 25 or 30 mph, whatever the lowest it would go was, and wait for my dad to trip it. I don't know how often I actually surprised him after the first time it went off but he always played along, at least. Here's a picture I found of one from a Pontiac. The yellow needle is for the buzzer, you'd turn the knob until the yellow needle was on the speed you wanted the buzzer to sound at and you were set.