Turns out my power company is German, just operating as a reseller in NZ.

@Sam7919 Like the Renault Twizy

Nobody is buying it

@Sam7919 Or an e-scooter.

@Sam7919 The question is: who would buy a car only for commuting? Most people choose them for the maximal use case (typically holiday), and then use them for commuting. It's only the second car that can be specialized for commuting, but not always (people with kids for example like that all cars in the household are capable of carrying all kids).

@Rеnаud Right. Two requirements, travel and kids, make it hard to opt for just an (e-)bike. My question is: if you're setting policy in a region, is there a way to invite most people to do their commuting and their shopping without a car? That in turn means most will be on board for the (expensive) changes needed for better cycling networks.

@Erlkoenig It's not attractive enough as a commuter, since it still requires a parking spot. It's also not the right tool to haul kids around, since it would be the least safe car on the roads. A vehicle allowed on bike lanes would be more attractive.

@Sam7919 Nope, (e-)bikes still make sense (even with kids - Tern GSD are very popular here for example), what makes rarely make sense is the small car specialized for commuting. Speaking of personal experience, bike theft is the main deterrent for me to use an e-bike for utility purposes. Infrastructure does not always to be changed dramatically to be viable - look for "tactical urbanism" (for example in Brussels, the speed limit has been set to 30km/h, that made a huge difference).

@Sam7919 This is not a car (legally a quadricycle), it's not fast enough to go on the secondary road network or the highways, has a 90km range, and can only be charged using 220V (standard one in Europe, there's no 110V). So the only use case was in cities, but urbanites that have access to a spare parking spot with 220V sockets are a tiny minority (no public charging because 220V). It's a niche product.

More suited example for your question could be the Renault Zoé or Dacia Spring, but there are a lot of small electric cars in China as well, and they are selling well.

@Criggie for the law they are seen as mopeds, so allowed where mopeds are. So not on cycle lanes but allowed on cycle/moped lanes. And they used to be almost exclusively for handicapped people though now young and rich people think they are fun or useful.

@Sam7919 it is, even in Finland with the guaranteed snow in winter. But you have to work, if you cycle you keep warm enough, if you go full power assist you will get cold.

Most cars used for commuting contain one person, it is silly to use the big car for that. And most car use is less than 7.5 km, cargo-e-bikes with a cover over the kids will do better/faster than a car in many cases.

yah - mopeds don't really exist here. a 50cc is officially a full motorbike.

Smaller, cheaper EVs maybe coming soon?

Well fuck - I'm redundant.

How will I afford more bikes ?

Damn.