Drivers need more help to switch to electric cars
THE West Midlands needs to be switched on to a future where electric and hybrid cars dominate our roads, according to the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI).
It said electric and hybrid cars had seen a 47 per cent growth this year but more needed to be done to encourage motorists to make the switch from diesel and petrol engines.
Though an increasing number of motorists are choosing alternatives, the West Midlands is failing to keep up with the demand as the number of ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEV) significantly outpaces the number of charging stations with 12 plug-in vehicles to one charging connector.
The IMI said Britain would fail to remove diesels and in turn improve air quality if significant investment was not made to the number of charging stations.
It found insurance costs for ultralow emission vehicles could also be up to 50 per cent higher than for petrol or diesel equivalents and warned they would not become more competitive until more people were qualified to work on them.
Currently only one per cent of all technicians have been trained to work safely on the high-voltage technology, of which almost all work exclusively for manufacturers’ franchised dealers.
The IMI believes that the UK will fail to keep up with the global competition for the adoption of ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs) if the charging infrastructure was not drastically improved – and more technicians were given the training required to service these high powered vehicles.
A government-commissioned report estimated that the new vehicle technologies could contribute £51 billion to the UK economy by 2030.
Steve Nash, chief executive at the IMI, said: “Much more needs to be done if the UK is to realise the £51 billion contribution from new vehicle tech- nologies that the government is pursuing by 2030.
“That is contingent upon the UK being a leading player, but we must start with the basics by ensuring that we have the infrastructure and skills base. “The IMI is continuing its campaign for the introduction of a licensing scheme for those working on the high voltage vehicles, and we’ve asked the government to contribute £30 million to support the uptake of the necessary training. “In order to facilitate this and help clarify the competencies required for working on these vehicles, the IMI has launched a new Electric & Hybrid Vehicle qualification along with the appropriate support materials.
There could be as many as nine million electric vehicles on UK roads by 2030, pushing up peak demand for power, National Grid has said.
In its annual report setting out future energy scenarios for the UK, National Grid said electricity demand was set to rise to power electric vehicles and later to provide heating.
By 2050 electric vehicles could make up more than 90 per cent of all car sales, creating an additional peak demand of up to 18 gigawatts (GW) - equivalent to more than five Hinkley Point C nuclear plants, or 30 per cent above current peak demand.