EVs And  Watches -- September 17, 2020

I posted this on September 4, 2020: in the UK, interest in buying a new EV has fallen from 16 percent to four percent.

While new electric car sales have been rising, there are also signs that the pandemic has hurt consumers’ ability to pay the upfront costs of the cars, which tend to be significantly more expensive than fossil-fuel powered vehicles.  

Auto Trader found that the percentage of customers considering buying a battery electric car fell from 16 per cent in January to 4 per cent last month, with half saying their finances had deteriorated because of the economic impact of coronavirus.

This corroborates my feelings that EVs are a luxury item bought by folks when times are flush, and with plenty of money to spend.  

Now, this by Charles Kennedy: UK car buyers aren't sold on EVs.

A total of 79 percent of UK drivers would consider buying an electric vehicle (EV) or have already purchased one, but 70 percent would prefer to lease an EV for 2-3 years to try out the technology and decide if it is right for them, a new survey showed.

According to the survey of 2,025 UK drivers, while nearly 80 percent would consider buying an EV, misconceptions and uncertainty about the technology still exist. Even among those who would think about buying an electric car, a good 40 percent admitted that they had reservations about the capabilities and technology of electric vehicles, Auto Trader’s survey found.

Half of UK drivers are apprehensive about the EV range and feel nervous about how far they could travel on a single charge.

Range anxiety is top of the list of worries for UK drivers, with 51 percent feeling nervous how far they can drive on one charge, followed closely by the lack of public charging points across the UK, with 49 percent of drivers expressing this worry.

Only 7 percent of drivers admitted they would miss the purr of a traditionally fuelled engine, Auto Trader’s survey showed.

The UK is currently considering whether to bring forward the deadline for phasing out the new sales of gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles to 2035 or even sooner from the current deadline 2040.

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Apple

If I were a cardiologist and a patient asked me if he should buy a new  Watch, what do you think my answer would be?

Now, what percent of Americans have some form of heart disease?

• 5%
• 10%
• 15%
• 20%
• 25%

And we move on.