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I think most people that have EVs are pretty happy. Very few people going back to an ICE car once they switch. Of course there are counter examples. But they are outnumbered by 9 to 1 by people that stick with EVs. And then they convince their neighbors. That's why the market is growing. By 20% world wide.

Anyway, apparently Shell is planning to close a 1000 stations. About half of the petrol stations in the Netherlands are projected to disappear over the next 5-10 years. Not surprising considering the massive shift to EVs. Some countries this will go quicker than others of course. But even countries like Germany are starting to see a shift.

You can deny all you want but the numbers are there if you care to look at them. I don't know many businesses that can deal with double digit percentages drops in demand. That's exactly what petrol stations have been facing for a while now and will continue to face. All the obvious things are happening. By the 2030s most commercial traffic will be electric. Because it's simply cheaper. It's not virtue signalling but economics that's driving this.

All the small businesses, contractors, etc. that convince themselves they need to buy diesel at a premium in large quantities will be competing against others that simply don't. More every year. The rest is just Darwinism and market inertia.

>I think most people that have EVs are pretty happy.

Well d'uh, that's why they bought EVs in the fist place, but that's not the point. The point is to convince the people who don't have EVs to get EVs. You need to make them happy too, otherwise they're not gonna buy EVs. Why don't people get this fact?

>You can deny all you want but the numbers are there if you care to look at them.

Care to share them? Also, the NL isn't representative for all of Europe, not by a long shot. Most new cars I see in my neighborhood are diesel, lots of new diesel SUVs, and EVs are only in the suburbs where the richer people live in their single family homes, while poor and middle class drive ICEs because they don't have chargers at home or at work. What happens in the NL has no impact where I live and vice versa.

>All the small businesses, contractors, etc. that convince themselves they need to buy diesel

They didn't "convince themselves" as if it's some cult/religion, they actually did the math on the economics and decided that diesel is better for their businesses' bottom line. You'd also know that if you'd get out of your bubble.

> they actually did the math on the economics

No they didn't. Approximately 0% of small business owners have time to sit down and do math. They keep buying diesel because that's what they've always bought. They've learned the hard won lesson that change is hard and change is costly. Few small business owners are going to be on the bleeding edge.

They'll switch when EV's are the default choice.

> Do you see gas stations closing en-masse yet? I haven't.

The National Association of Convenience Stores is paying attention and watching Norway to be ahead of the game:

https://www.nacsmagazine.com/Issues/October-2024/The-Latest-...

> Unfortunately, this also means that many locations that are good as gas locations today in Norway will lose their relevance in the future. Even with the high EV penetration in Norway, few gas stations have been closed so far. Although some of the players aim to be “the last man standing,” there is little doubt that many sites will be closed in the years to come. This may be unfortunate for smaller communities that rely on having one or two gas stations.

People do drive to smelly, expensive _gas stations_ to power their gas-powered cars. Having to drive to plug your EV is not worse UX than that.

What does the smell have to do with it? Do people choose car refueling methods based on smell of the refueling place, or on cost/convenience of ownership? Can't some drunks or homeless people piss and shit at EV charging station and make them smell even worse than gasoline fumes?

My point was you don't have to loiter for hours or leave your car at the gas station to fill it up then come back to get it like with EV chargers. It's a 3 minute in and out quickie situation so smell or not is not an issue.

I wrote that argument in my previous comment as well but I guess you didn't read it.

I just realised I was writing a thought-out reply to someone named Cumpiler69.

The problem is that using public chargers is, at least in Sweden, so expensive compared to home charging that its suddenly an even worse economic choice to buy an EV. Using public DCFCs (even slow chargers are expensive) the cost is ofte comparable to diesel cars. Add ontop the very expensive EV prices...