Misconceptions about electric vehicles

Sheaff Vehicles general manager Mike Sheaff next to the electric Nissan Leaf.

They're expensive! They've got no power! There's nowhere to charge them!

These are just a few of the misconceptions Mike Sheaff has encountered when talking about electric vehicles.

But the general manager of Sheaff Vehicles in Mount Maunganui says these days there's an electric vehicle for everyone.

'Many people don't realise you can actually charge them at your house,” says Mike.

He says an EV like the Nissan Leaf will take around six-to-eight hours to charge to full from empty, plugged into the wall socket in your own home.

'With a caravan plug, though, you can cut that time in half. And if you take it to one of the fast charge stations around town, it will only take around half an hour.”

While they take longer to ‘fill up', they're far cheaper to run – five-to-eight dollars to fully charge, says Mike.

Since there's no engine, there is also less to go wrong.

'A normal car might have around 2000 moving parts, while there are only around 200 in an electric,” he says.

Despite this, when you hit the road they accelerate quickly and quietly and maintain speed just as well as any petrol equivalent. And it tells you how much further you can travel on the current battery life, with the estimated distance dropping when you switch on the air conditioner, or increasing when you apply eco mode.

At the moment, most used EVs can travel around 120km – but newer models can reach up to 300km on a single charge, and Mike says when they enter the second-hand market they'll be quite affordable.

'As a commuter who travels mostly around town, though, these vehicles are the best option,” says Mike.

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5 comments

Environmental damage

Posted on 10-06-2018 08:21 | By Mike Kuipers von Lande

Mr. Sheaff should come clean about the terrible environmental damage electric vehicles are doing today and increasingly into the future. The batteries in these cars require large amounts of cobalt. Cobalt mining in the DR Congo, where most of the known global reserves are is creating huge damage, poisoning people and the environment, but the vehicle manufacturers are only interested in obtaining cheap supplies of cobalt, so these effects are of no interest to them. in addition, there is currently no effective recycling regime for the batteries of these vehicles when they reach the end of their life. They contain large amounts of poisonous pollutants and heavy metals. Electric vehicles are creating yet another environmental time bomb. Please don't purchase an electric vehicle, their manufacture and use is simply irresponsible virtue signalling.


Good and bad

Posted on 10-06-2018 08:28 | By About that

Economical and all that, pitty if you need to travel more than 300km in a day


Battery life span

Posted on 10-06-2018 08:34 | By Richard McNair

So what happens when the battery reaches the end of its life (around 4000 hours I am told) how do you dispose of it and where do you get a replacement as I am told that the car manufacturers do not intend to supply them, is this true?


Electric vehicles

Posted on 10-06-2018 09:05 | By OAP

Why is it that no article tells about the enormous cost of replacing the batteries once the performance drops off? Also the fact that as the batteries get older , the vehicle range will also deteriorate? A recent investigation, reported on TV, indicates that many owners are finding this drop off in range is happening far sooner than the manufacturers claim it will. I have been riding electric bikes for years now, and find that even the best batteries will seldom last beyond 3 to 4 years, before the range starts deteriorating and even a bike battery of a decent size can cost upwards of $700 !


No idea

Posted on 10-06-2018 14:17 | By Ubique

What are you going to do burn the petrol . Every barrel of oil produces ,gasoline diesel Jet fuel and other products . I would assume mike doesn’t like cheap air travel. If we stop burning gasoline jet fuel will go up. Electric cars are for dreamers with out thought


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