<div></div> Kia launched its new entry-level urban EV on Thursday. As its cheapest electric model, the Kia Ray EV racked up 6,000 pre-orders in Korea with a starting price of around $20,400 (27.35 million won). more… The post Kia’s Ray EV racks up 6,000 pre-orders in Korea, starting at $20,400 appeared first on Electrek.
Yesss, that’s awesome. Great to see practical cars becoming popular
I so want a practical electric vehicle, and this comes close, but still falls short on the mileage, at least for people like me.
10 to 80% in 40 minutes charging, so 90 miles in 40 minutes, 2 and a 1/4 mi per minute of charging , it’s really just cross country road trips in larger countries that you don’t want to take any breaks on that would give you any trouble.
Most countries not being the size of the states, China, Russia or Australia, this is already the perfect EV. Of course, I guess there’s also a disclaimer for extreme climates.
I do a lot of cross country and traveling for concerts in the states though, and with plugshare and planning things would work out.
I’m mostly excited because if we have a $20,000 car that is practical for planners, soon we’ll have a $20,000 car that doesn’t scare people who don’t want to plan or just want extra range and faster charging and extreme climate protection.
This car is a practical step on the road to affordable electric cars that can sustainably take anyone anywhere they want to go.
I always think about the advances of electric cars versus the advances of gasoline cars also. Gas cars, range pretty much the same forever. Electric cars? Doubling the range every 5-10 years.
Its less of a problem for gas car because the “recharge” time for a gas car is a minute. Which is functionally non existent wait time. Its “charging network” is wide spread so range is not often in consideration. Its EVs biggest weakness, and why for example NACS beat CCS in the states. (Because tesla put a lot more money into the charging network than all of the others combined)
Outside.of the price of the car, if EVa want to sell, they need to both: have accessible chargers, in a reasonable distance and b: charge as easily as gas cara charge. One of the big problems evs face is that they require an app to charge, which is a huge no go for the technologically illiteerate
If its about the environment, we should actually have more chargers that charge quickly, instead of having longer range evs. The biggest pollutant on a car ia the particles coming off the tires and evs wear down tires faster due to their heavier weight. (Less battery more chargers would make evs lighter)
What car needs an app to charge? Tesla? My Kia has an app but isn’t required for anything. I don’t even have it installed.
it’s not that car needs the app to charge, but many charge stations are tied to apps.
I’m fine with Tesla tech taking over the charging situation right now since their chargers are the simplest and fastest.
Plugshare.com to cover any gaps in corporate charging stations, although we’re up to installing 60,000 EV charging stations a year at this point, so I doubt that’s going to be a problem for very long, especially as ev prices keep coming down and more people invest in electric automobiles.
I didn’t know you need an app, that’s irritating.
And I completely agree with your last point. That’s why I’m so enthusiastic about this car as a milestone. Lightweight SUV, enough range for a couple days, SUV body for storage space or camping without all the dumb extra weight, fast charging, and It’s half the price of most other electric vehicles on the market.
Yeah. I see long range now as a stopgap from the lacktherof of a deep infrastructure. The future of EVs imo are smaller battery, and charge quicker when the infrastructure exists to support that lifestyle.
I keep thinking 10 years ago, you’d see a “breakthrough” battery article once every few years, maybe, never with anything more than a prototype or just a research paper, and now there are so many teams developing and lab testing new batteries completely and new forms of storage and new ways of translating stored energy into batteries, there’s going to be a breakthrough in either battery composition or battery storage that’s going to make the range question fairly irrelevant coupled with tens of thousands of chargers being installed every year in the states and charging tech improving so quickly every year as well with teams everywhere trying to be the first ones to make charging as quick as gasoline.
Lithium ion batteries are 30 years old commercially and already solve practical rang anxieties for most drivers. As soon as we figure out whatever the next commercial step in battery storage or energy transfer is(or current tech continues to keep getting more efficient as they have been for the past decade), the range question is over.
I feel like I just read a new article yesterday about some team achieving 10 to 80% ev charging in under 3 minutes.
As an aside, the ev I’m most excited about is the aptera, this three-wheel covered motorcycle.
Lightweight, aerodynamic, high range, passive solar, DIY repairs, fast charging. And it looks pretty futuristic, which is fun.
In my case, the problem is that I’m a courier, and while most days are under 100 miles, my current one route record is 158 miles, and I often pull multiple routes on Tues. All that and the routes I get sometimes get into the more rural parts of STL where there isn’t a charger for miles, heck, sometimes I’m not even sure where civilization is for an hour or two.
Sure, I don’t think this specific car is going to work for literally everyone on earth. But courier? delfast ebikes with cargo saddlebags go 236 miles on a charge. Jus saaaaayin.
Yeah, but my loads barely fit in a Subaru Crosstrek. The Ray looks perfect except the range. Ideal for me would be something with 70-80cu ft of cargo space and 175 miles of range year round.
Reminds me of the Honda element. Just uglier.
