Solar panels make great sense on ICE vehicles. Trickle charge from small solar panel may preserve internal battery much better.
And there are RVs. Some people use solar panels on cars as their only source of electricity!
And there are RVs. Some people use solar panels on cars as their only source of electricity!
The path to mass market EVs is having good charging accessibility and low prices. Adding more cost and telling owners to remember to park in the sun is not it.
Not everyone cares about EVs.
ICE cars also have batteries, if that gets flat, car is not going anywhere. Solar panels can be quite essential, if vehicle is parked for extended periods. It is not just some rounding error!
Why doesn't my sedan? Tesla needs to release a Model S with a microwave, fridge, spare tire and bed!
That means less batteries, less lead in nature, more green stuff, happy Gaia...
And even EVs like Tesla has slow discharge. It makes sense to put small solar panels on top, so they can do firmware updates.
https://hackaday.com/2020/03/10/solar-panel-keeps-car-batter...
If you have street parking only it is questionable whether you will be able to leave a car a whole week without incurring the wrath or a municipal agency. If you have parking lot parking only in an outside lot at an apartment complex of some sort, you might prefer a panel, though I more that you can get a kind that you leave on the dashboard that plugs into the lighter socket for a similar price —without the convenience of an integrated form factor admittedly but still.
Hmm. I just bought a new 36 month battery for $110. Never in the last three years did I have any issues with the battery not being "preserved." $2000 of solar for no measurable impact on the usability of my ICE? This doesn't make sense. $2000 buys me 50 years worth of 36 month batteries. The only time you would need trickle charge is if the car is parked for long periods of time with no plug-in available for trickle charging. That's a niche need. Plug-in trickle charge for the life of the car would cost a lot less than $2000.
RV? When parked with no plug-in power available, sure it would be nice to have some electricity without having to run the motor. Other than that, the tiny bit of solar you could put on the roof is completely insignificant with respect to the power needed to move the extremely heavy RV.
For RV and boats I think solar panels make most sense. But it is not for moving the vehicle, but to charge a alternate battery that is mainly used for electronics, tv, computers and maybe, maybe a fridge...