TOT Electric cars will be cheaper to run

A problem with eating more veg is that the fibrous cellulose in them gives rise to farts, i.e. methane, a greenhouse gas 80 times worse than CO2. The move away from eating meat could be counter-productive, (and smelly?)!

But they consume electricity and waste a lot of gas in the case of patio heaters.

We know what price electricity generated by Hinckley C is going to cost, and even if the wholesale leccy price falls below this threshold, the UK taxpayer will make up the difference. This price is a lot more than we pay at the moment.

Norway is paying EV owners massive bungs to switch away from petrol or diesel. Just like NuLab bribed people to buy diesel cars in the noughties with zero/low road tax.

That will still go back to the main smart meter and the technology to send data over mains wiring is well established (Ethernet home plugs).

Even worse, even before Covid-19, the UK's debt/GDP ratio was projected to massively exceed 100% as the baby boomers all get into their 80's and start crippling the NHS and social services with their demands for 'free' treatment.

All with a guaranteed floor price for their leccy of £92/MwH ?.

I thought someone might mention Norway.

Norway is about the only country where the government has oodles of money stashed away with nowhere to spend it. Most governments operate in deficit.

I must remember that as an excuse! :-)

A method to differentiate electricity used for charging, and used elsewhere. Several been mentioned in this thread - direct through say smart meters, or indirect through road pricing etc.

An issue will be deterring workarounds - much like agricultural diesel. Just massive fines I'd have thought. By the time this kicks in I doubt you'll be able to move without it being logged somewhere - you'd have to be pretty crafty if you could drive a car and pay no vehicle related tax.

Driving is one of the most price inelastic (demand doesn't react much to price) activities about - government will find a way to tax it heftily.

But what is the TRUE cost of the electricity produced by wind/solar, including the need for a backup when they both fail to deliver?

There are much easier and cheaper methods of taxation for motoring!

Its not just the old - all those obese school kids who will have diabetes by the time they are 20 :)

But if you want cheaper stick to gas, coal and biomass :)

What will be the cost of all our wind and solar when in a few years all those windmills may need major servicing, and also require back-up when they don't produce anything.

Realistically leave all "dirty" options in place until we see how the green revolution turns out.

Not if you want to tax actual distance travelled and time of use. Just because London has a congestion charge zone does not mean it is easy or cost-effective to expand this more widely.

That can be managed with pills. You cannot use pills to manage a condition that needs (uber expensive) surgical intervention, not to mention the huge increase in the number of people with dementia.

True of every car ever built.

It?s really too early to say with any great accuracy what long term running costs will be but for motorists who change their cars every 5 years or so, running costs should be a lot less.

After that it?s still too soon to say. Doomsayers will have you believe that battery packs are dying all the time but the reality seems to be that they?re lasting much better than most people expect. An EV with only 50% of its original capacity could still be a very useful vehicle for a lot of folk given the brevity of journeys by most city dwellers. Perhaps not as an only vehicle, but a very useful second one.

Tim

Easy to deal with though. I just need to slip my car into neutral on a hill and use the brakes. I keep an eye on my discs. So far no excessive rusting.

Tim

Just pass legislation that every car in the UK has to be fitted/sold with a road distance tag.