If you live in Switzerland

and own a Tesla or equivalent I hope you have good footwear because you will be walking a lot. Switzerland is going through an electricity crisis and is about to ban electric cars for all but emergency use. Funnily enough unless you keep your car charged it will drain and you won't be using it for emergencies either.

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ArishMell · 70-79, M

If that is correct, both in the "ban" claim and in the matter of the cars' batteries draining then simply keeping the cars off the road (for how long anyway?) will still represent a huge drop in electricity demand, because that would diminish to steady maintainance "topping-up".

FreddieUK · 70-79, M

Untrue. There are draft plans going though (not passed) so that IF there was a shortage of electricity, the government would act.

https://www.electrive.com/2022/12/02/switzerland-rumoured-to-ban-evs/

The ban on electric cars would be the last resort in an escalating series of actions in the event of such a shortage.

Royrogers · 61-69, M

@FreddieUK @FreddieUK i would not rely on this government

ArishMell · 70-79, M

@FreddieUK I read the report you cite, which a few others here seem not to have done.

It does clearly state this is a matter under discussion, not a policy being adopted.

It also clearly states restrictions on electric car use are one of several options, and not top of the list.

It concludes with:

So: Should there really be a power shortage in Switzerland, according to the draft, partial driving bans for electric cars could be considered as one of numerous upstream measures.

[My itlaics]. So it does not say Switzerland is short of electricity!

Though I did find the suggested "necessary" reasons for using the car rather vague. Medical, professional and law-court attendances yes. Shopping, maybe, especially for rural residents.... Driving to a "religious event" though? Funerals and perhaps already-organised weddings, yes, but otherwise why not any cultural / social event?

Mistakesmakeus · M

I dont think youve actually understood what you saw or read. Unless its "ban" and "electric cars switzerland". Or you got that information from social media in which case its been heavily skewed to.portray something entirely different from reality to get views

smileylovesgaming · 31-35, FVIP

Europe is no where close to ready for electric cars at all

ArishMell · 70-79, M

@smileylovesgaming Which part of Europe?

You are not correct anyway, although Europe is nearly thirty separate countries, most but not all in the EU; and the proportion of EV registrations will vary from nation to nation.

Electric cars are already very common in Norway, and becoming more numerous in the UK, for example - European countries but non-EU. The number of public charging points everywhere is rising, too.

I looked it up:

The share of new electric cars registered in the EU, including both battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), has significantly grown in the last decade. The number of new electric cars increased from just 600 vehicles in 2010 to 1 million in 2020, and 2.4 million in 2023. During 2024, BEVs accounted for 13.6% of total new car registrations, while PHEVs represented 7.3%.

Those are official, independent figures, not ones hyped by manufacturers' and dealers' associations, Greenpeace or a political-party publicist. Source: the EU's European Environment Agency.

There was a slight drop in BEV registrations in 2024 but no=one would sensibly expect a steady rise without occasional dips or eventual flattening. The rate of registrations of new PHEVs is lower though, perhaps as the battery-only ones' ranges improve. The same source states more choices are available and,

Due to advancements in battery technology, ... larger batteries and increasingly efficient drivetrains, many electric cars offer ranges - under type-approval conditions - > 400 kilometres. Several models are now reaching more than 500km on a single charge.

"Type-approval conditions" means formal, scientific tests, not what individual owners might obtain in normal driving, but still shows impressive improvements over the last decade. Also, this does not break the figures down by nation, only represents the bloc, matching your comment.

So I am afraid you, or your source, are incorrect.

I should add I had to look up the figures - I did not know.

Also, I do not own a battery-electric or hybrid car but an ordinary, small one with a petrol engine.

[Ref: https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/indicators/new-registrations-of-electric-vehicles]

FreestyleArt · 36-40, M

Hey California. you hear that?

TheOneyouwerewarnedabout · 46-50, MVIP

I think it’s time to lynch all politicians who ignore their ppl and push the WEFs economy destroying policies

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