It is good the political class have some knowledge about EVs. However, I suspect progress will be driven by industry, not government. I have always had doubts about the need for a charging infrastructure. I think the electricity infrastructure itself is more important. If all cars are electric a lot more electricity is required. I have no idea how much but presumably a massive amount.
Google, Apple, Virgin, Dyson plus the traditional car companies are all involved now. The are all viewing the car as a means to an end. With autonomous EVs, we (the car occupants) become a captive audience. We will sit in the car for a few hours a day & the companies will find ways to monetize us. They will know even more about us than they know now. Owing a car will come with lots on monthly fees. There will be no more petrol stations so someone will figure out how to make mountains of money from us on electricity consumption. I can even see a situation where we have companies giving away ''free cars'' the same way as mobile phone operators give out (apparently) free phones today. Of course, the phones are not free, you end up paying a fortune for them because of the 3 year contract you need to sign.
Autonomous driving is the key because it means we do not have to look at the road. We can look at adverts instead. When we order something, the retailer can ask if the car should now be diverted to their nearest local store / warehouse to collect the goods. Autonomous driving suits EVs, not ICEs.
I am sure that in 20 years time we will hardly talk about the range of electric cars. Batteries & other storage devices will just get cheaper & lighter. It is already happening as an astonishing rate. Highways will be electrified. This technology has existed even since the electric trolleybus was introduced in the 1880s.
Trolleybus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia It is not even expensive to build this infrastructure.
I suspect all the actors know that when we no longer control the vehicle we drive it will no longer be the status symbol it is today. Assuming we can never crash, there will be no need for safety features & this will give great scope for radical new designs. Motors will be in-wheel so the ''car'' will simply be 4 in-wheel motors & a 100kWh battery that weighs 100kg. Making a car really will be similar to making a cell phone.
The surprise for me is that big oil does not yet seem to be involved in the game. Timing will be key for them & I suspect they will buy into the game rather than starting from scratch. All these corporations know that the piece of hardware is no longer important. What is important is the ecosystem they build around the hardware. It is not the apple handset, it is the apple store, the apps etc. It will be the same with cars.
Big business is somewhat fumbling around in the dark now. No one knows if there strategy is correct or what the correct way to make money from us is. Simply put, one of them will stumble on the right business model & they will dominate the space the same as Microsoft did & now google & Facebook do.
Future generations will look back at the 150 years of the ICE car & think we were all completely mad to have ever used fossil fuel to power vehicles.
To conclude. While it is good that the political class discuss EVs I suspect the real debate will be formed by big business. This could all happen very quickly. When corporations with endless pockets stumble on the right business model they can dominate in a matter of a year or 2. I still think the limiting factor is the actual amount of electricity a country can make. Building power stations is not a sexy business & the likes of google do not want to become low margin utilities.
