Government ambitions for electric cars are as ill thought through as previous policies on diesel
sir – Green legislation to encourage the use of diesel cars was facile.
Diesel was – and remains – the best “green” solution available for longdistance driving, but the law of unintended consequences reigned supreme. People started using their diesel 4x4s for the weekly shop.
The switch to electric vehicles is equally ill thought through. How will the national grid be able to meet increased demand with a sustainable, clean supply?
I shall invest in keeping my very clean diesel (bought mainly for towing) in tip-top condition, as I expect it to be worth a lot of money in 2031.
Mike Kaye
Lincoln
sir – Why do politicians have so little understanding of how normal people live? Electric cars are much more expensive than petrol or diesel cars.
Moreover, if politicians were to visit an estate of terrace houses and high-rise blocks, they would see the difficulties of charging them on roads crammed nose to tail with parked cars.
Working people tend to buy used cars but won’t be able to afford electric ones, particularly if they have to buy new batteries. We will end up like Cuba, which for decades could not import new cars, so the old ones were kept. With creative engineering, they stayed mobile. Manufacturers in Britain must supply spare parts for some years after a model is withdrawn. After that, used-parts firms come into their own.
The green gains of electric cars will thus be much reduced by old (less efficient) cars being driven for decades. Peter Amey
Norwich
sir – Gi Fernando (Letters, November 18) says the number of charging points is growing faster than the number of electric vehicles.
I don’t know about Britain, but in America this has been achieved in part by using diesel generators.
Peter Mitchell
Lee-on-the-solent, Hampshire sir – Mr Fernando says that, in 2030, there will be six charge points for every electric car, compared with one petrol pump for every 600 cars today.
I can fill my car with petrol and pay in about five minutes, then drive 600 miles with, say, an overnight stop on the way. For how many hours would I have to charge an electric car to travel a similar distance?
And how many charging points would a hotel in the middle of Dartmoor need in order to guarantee that I could recharge overnight? Richard Smith
Romsey, Hampshire
sir – When pavements are strewn with charging leads, how are those pushing prams or buggies, or riding in wheelchairs or on mobility scooters, supposed to get about? When somebody trips over, who will be liable for any injuries?
Anne Hayward
Stowmarket, Suffolk
sir – The Government appears to have forgotten about disabled people, many of whom rely on wheelchair-accessible vehicles.
Most of these require substantial floor modifications. With large battery packs in electric vehicles, will such modifications be possible?
Stephen Clough
Wilmslow, Cheshire
sir – The Prime Minister is clearly playing to the gallery.
How will the current annual fuel tax, worth £28 billion, be replaced? How will all the subsidies be repaid? Disposal of all the old cars, and their replacement with new electric ones, will not be carbon-neutral.
John Mclaren
Farnham, Surrey
sir – When I buy my electric car in 2030, will my non-functioning smart meters have been upgraded so that I can monitor how much power I am using to charge it?
Graeme Williams
West Malling, Kent