Mileage rises as electric cars outrun their ‘trophy status’

ELECTRIC cars clocked up more miles last year than rival petrol models, analysis has revealed.

New fully battery-powered vehicles were driven 9,435 miles a year on average in their first three years on the road, compared to just 7,490 miles a year for petrol cars, according to research by the RAC Foundation, the motoring industry analysts.

Steve Gooding, the foundation’s director, said the findings were evidence that electric cars were no longer seen as a “trophy vehicle” used to signal the owner’s “green credentials” but are now perceived as a viable alternative for long-distance travel.

Traditionally, drivers have been concerned about a lack of charging infrastructure and their batteries running dry part way through a journey.

Figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders showed that 38,000 purely electric cars were purchased last year, more than double the number for the year before, although the overall proportion on the roads remains small. “Tens of millions still drive petrol and diesel-powered cars, but this data suggests that owners of electric cars have found them to be a practical proposition, running up the sort of big annual mileages that many of us need to do,” Mr Gooding said.

“Concerns about range, recharging, and up-front cost haven’t gone away, but there are tens of thousands of drivers who have put these worries aside and decided electric cars are a real, everyday, practical alternative to petrol and diesel vehicles.”

The research, which was compiled before the lockdown and the resulting fall in car use, is based on MOT data for more than half a million vehicles. Most cars must have their first MOT after three years, at which point their mileage is registered for the first time.

Diesel cars still rack up the most mileage with the average car being driven for 12,496 miles a year, according to the research. The overall average for all the cars analysed was 10,377.

Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, has said the ban on sales of new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars and vans could be brought forward from 2040 to as early as 2032 in a bid to meet carbon reduction targets.

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