It doesn’t even make sense in the long term, yet. If your 20 year bike can’t be fixed you don’t run out and buy a new EV, you buy a used gas bike because it’s dirt cheap and you don’t have the money to buy a new or used EV.
I have no idea what the specific requirements for vehicle registration are. I doubt this article is even true, frankly.
But electrifying smaller vehicles is much, much easier than electrifying large vehicles. The biggest cost center in an EV is the battery, and smaller vehicles need proportionally way less battery compared to large vehicles. An ebike that can go 20-30mph runs off of something not substantially different from a cordless tool battery – a pack of cheap, commodity 18650s – and otherwise functions off of totally standard, mechanically simple parts.
Are scooters excluded from that count? I’m guessing scooters and motorcycles dominate the roads. Electrifying those are a little more challenging.
Getting cars off gas is a great start though.
Akschully, escooters and ebikes are still the most efficient and easiest to electrify.
And they charge quickly from any wall outlet, so not much additional infrastructure is required.
A single 400w solar panel will charge an ebike pretty fast.
The trade off from a 20 year old bike that gets 40+mpg doesn’t make sense.
Somewhat true in the short term. Also very appropriate to electro for an EV future.
It doesn’t even make sense in the long term, yet. If your 20 year bike can’t be fixed you don’t run out and buy a new EV, you buy a used gas bike because it’s dirt cheap and you don’t have the money to buy a new or used EV.
There’s different economics at play.
I have no idea what the specific requirements for vehicle registration are. I doubt this article is even true, frankly.
But electrifying smaller vehicles is much, much easier than electrifying large vehicles. The biggest cost center in an EV is the battery, and smaller vehicles need proportionally way less battery compared to large vehicles. An ebike that can go 20-30mph runs off of something not substantially different from a cordless tool battery – a pack of cheap, commodity 18650s – and otherwise functions off of totally standard, mechanically simple parts.