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Ask HN: How are young people going to afford buying/switching to EVs?

1 points by marto1 ↗ HN
Electric Vehicles have been all the rage this year, especially in Europe and to some extent the US and Canada. So my question is how is the new generation going to afford something like a Tesla and/or similar cars? And in general how do you see mobility/transportation changing in the coming years? Especially interested in local(where you live) answers.

11 comments

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nonrandomstring
Mainly e-scooters are where it's at for young people in my part of the world. As an older person, I might think about retrofitting a hub motor and battery to my bike one day, but right now I appreciate the exercise. Both these electric transport options seem very affordable and maintainable, so long as Li batteries don't grow in price too fast.
marto1
What about anything that's not last-mile transportation and/or requires carrying heavy/bulky stuff ?
defrost
Non local | less frequent transport can be addressed by either Rental (ie I would rent a commercial closed van to move 'house' as a student .. or borrow a car + double axle trailer) or hire-purchase if it's required for an activity that generates income.

Location matters a lot here also, some cities | countries have better public transport options than others .. so young people should be aware of the need to lobby for future change to improve transit w/out vehicle ownership.

sebastix
EVs are not the solution for future's problems around climate and energy usage. Watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8CnlL8I4HE for the opinion I share. Side-effect: ICE equipped cars are not going away coming years (I think even for the next 20-30 yeare). As for meself, my workspace is just a couple of kms away so I use a BIKE. Although I have 3 cars here -2 Honda Civics build for trackdays and 1 Nissan Figaro semiclassic-, but those are my hobby as a petrolhead.
Normille
Why do you have to be young to not be able to afford an EV? I'm an old fucker and I can't afford one either.

BTW --I read a while back that [in UK anyway] car ownership and numbers taking driving lessons/tests amongst young people has fallen dramatically in recent years. A combo of the cost of running a vehicle, sky-high insurance rates for new drivers, the lack of parking spaces in major cities and the rise of on-demand alternatives such as Uber were cited as the reasons.

Laaas
I wonder whether the next generation of people in the West will even be able to afford our current luxuries. It's not immediately obvious that they'll be able to afford any non-trivial property.
fragmede
New car prices are up; there are cheaper EVs than Tesla; the future of mobility/transportation is in scooter sized lithium ion vehicles.
marto1
Which implies less country travel?
soueuls
I don’t know, how other people think, but in my circle, we are more and more living without the intent of even having a driving license.

Yes, we all live in cities (otherwise it’s not possible) but I still notice the trend. Compared to previous generations, having a card is not even considered in the first place

MilnerRoute
When I was young and low-earning, I stuck to used cars. And for what it's worth, the new Inflation Reduction Act includes subsidies for the purchase of used electric vehicles.

I've heard the used car market doesn't have enough electric cars -- but as adoption increases, that may change.