Perhaps the BEST B1G Forum anywhere, here at College Football Fan Site, CFB51!!!

I've mentioned before that an EV light duty truck for a plumbing company or a delivery van could make sense.  There are applications where range is more or less irrelevant, as is charging time.  We have about 6-8 EVs in our building (125 units).  They do have to charge at the two place charging site in the property if they don't go to Kroger or elsewhere.

Honestly an EV light duty truck would be ideal for me. I used to drive a Ford Ranger. It was great. Having a pickup truck available is a TREMENDOUSLY convenient luxury in life, and once the kids start leaving the house, I don't need a big people-hauler vehicle. But at the same time, I don't do nearly enough "truck stuff" to justify something the size and capability of an F-150. 

But a brand new Ranger starts at about $32K. If an EV ranger was suddenly $47K, I'd nope right the eff out of that idea. I'm not spending nearly 50 grand on a light duty truck. 

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tesla-stock-slumps-chinese-rival-141731262.html

BYD unveils new technology that can charge an EV in 5 minutes! And the crowd goes wild...



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Let me throw a little cold water on this... Based on the things I know about EV batteries / charging despite not actually owning one...

So... Having a 1000 kW charging capability DOES mean that they can charge very fast. However, the marketing-speak of simply dividing the battery capacity by the maximum charging rate to say you can deliver X range in Y minutes is, well, BS.

What we know about battery charging is that battery charging is fastest when the battery is at a low charge level. And that as the battery charge level increases, the rate drops. NOT because you can't supply electricity faster, but because of, well, battery chemistry and physical laws. So even if you develop a car that can make use of 1000 kW charging, and you have a 1000 kW charger, and your battery capacity is exactly equal in kWh to 1000 kW * 5 minutes of charging... You're NOT going to fill that battery in 5 minutes. Because you can only accept 1000 kW for a very short portion of the charging curve.

This is why EV owners on road trips don't charge to 100% at each stop. Not because it's not good for the battery; although that's true, on a road trip you might sacrifice long term battery life for time... But because the charge rate drops off as you get above certain charge levels. It might take you 20 minutes to go 10% to 80% at a fast charger, and then another 40 minutes to an hour to go 80% to 100%. At that point going above 80% isn't worth it as long as you can get to the next fast charger with that 80%.

None of this changes when you go to a 1000 kW charger and a car that can accept it. Is it an improvement? Probably, yes! Although nobody knows what the charging will cost at a charger capable of 1000 kW, and what subjecting the battery to that charge rate will do to battery degradation. There might be tradeoffs in designing to 1000 kW that the market will prove are not ideal.

IMHO this whole release is the sort of thing that's great for publicity, but probably nowhere near as meaningful as everyone thinks it is. Because I think the long term proposition is not DC fast charging; it's at-home charging and cheaper L1 or L2 charging becoming ubiquitous. DC fast charging is expensive and not good for your battery. I think the ultimate future of this industry is that DC fast charging will ONLY be used on road trips--and that's an edge case scenario. Would it be nice to have 1000 kW vs 350 kW chargers? Maybe. But I don't think it's a game-changer.

Dropping 15% YoY for Q1 is pretty bad in a global market that increased 3% YoY.  That's some significant market share erosion.

perhaps the insurance companies can help sales with replacements of vandalized Teslas

An EV going after the truck nuts crowd.  Good luck with that.

Geez, as Warren Zevon said, Ain't that pretty at all

The 2025 Escalade-V, on the other hand, starts at $164,495. Sure, it's quick and sounds mean, but yikes. Viewed in that light, the 2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ's price, while substantial, is one of the few things about it that isn't supermassive.