GetOffYourGas said:
...It is my opinion that a pay-as-you-go system, at least for the cheaper cars, will lead to the best outcome overall in terms of adoption of EVs in the market. I want to see EVs survive and thrive but on-the-go charging is a real problem and hindrance to widespread adoption today.
Perhaps pay-as-you-go will work. My guess, however, is that it will be something closer to a limited subscription model to avoid the hassles of "pay-at-the-pump". One advantage of the current system is the lack of hassle, which in turn leads to the idea that EVs can be as practical as the ICEVs already so familiar.
Prior to the paradigm shift in EV utility brought about by Tesla's introduction of Supercharging-capable cars and the Supercharger network, it was hard to see EVs as anything but local or regional cars: useful to be sure, but still fundamentally limited. Now all that has changed. But there is still a long way to go in persuading car drivers that a BEV can be a reasonable substitute for an ICEV and the easy-to-use (and
inexpensive-to-use) Supercharger network figures to be crucial to achieve that goal.
I must say that I find the current plethora of pay-for-use charge station networks difficult to navigate and a nuisance to use (Chargepoint is my favorite because their website and app are superb). The simplicity of Tesla's network is a considerable attraction: navigate to Supercharger Station (the car knows where they all are), plug-in, set nav to next station, charge until nav says you have enough, drive to next station. No worries about cards or phone calls or access being denied, it just works. Perhaps one needs to try it for a thousand miles to truly appreciate it, I don't know.
If Tesla doesn't survive I have my doubts whether other car companies will take the long distance travel ball and run with it; they just don't have enough "vision" to do so. But the proof-of-concept has already been accomplished I think.
