Should YOUR next car be electric or are they just a load of expensive hassle?
ONLY 240,000 motorists have so far bought an all-electric car despite all the talk about how they represent ‘the future’ of motoring. The fact is that TV adverts showing smug couples driving around the countryside helping to save the planet bare little resemblance to reality.
Although electric car sales rose last month to a record 22,000, about 30 million motorists still prefer to sit behind the steering wheel of a petrol or diesel car.
Most are unfazed about the 2030 deadline set by the Government when motorists will not be able to buy a new car powered by an internal combustion engine. Instead, they will have to choose an all-electric car, a hybrid, or one maybe fuelled by hydrogen.
The Government has not helped matters. Last month, it cut a discount for anyone buying a new electric car by £500 to £2,500. Simultaneously, it restricted eligibility for this ‘plug-in grant’ to cars priced at below £35,000 as opposed to £50,000 previously.
It means some of the most sought-after electric vehicles, such as the £ 42,500 Tesla Model 3, are no longer covered by the discount. Only smaller electric vehicles, such as the Peugeot e-208 (£28,995); Renault Zoe (£29,995); Volkswagen e-UP (£23,555); and the Mini Electric (£28,000) are eligible.
The Government’s move has been criticised. Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, says: ‘Slashing the plug-in car grant is the wrong move at the wrong time – making electric cars more expensive and
‘Long trips can prove to be a challenge’
limiting motorist choice. It also goes against a pledge made by the Government for Britain to have net zero carbon emissions by 2050.’
Philip Gomm, of the RAC Foundation, says: ‘Electric cars are being sold on the premise they offer cheap motoring, but we still have a long way to go to convince many motorists to make the jump.’
Although expensive to buy, electric cars are cheaper to run and their owners do not have to pay road tax. The capacity of an electric car’s battery – measured in kilowatt hours – gives an indication of how far a car can be driven before it needs recharging.
It ranges from about 30kWh to 100kWh, typically enough power to travel between 100 and 300 miles.
Using a home electricity supplier, that’s around 15p per kWh, whereas a public charge point will cost about 30p per kWh – plus a connection fee of around £1. For less than £5 of charging at home – or about £10 at a public power point – you can get enough power to fuel most electric cars. It might work out at under 7p per mile.
In contrast, petrol costs about £5.46 a gallon (£1.20 per litre). So a traditional car managing an economical 40 miles a gallon could cost nearly 14p a mile to run – about double the price of electric.
Despite being cheaper to fuel, electric vehicles need to be refuelled more often than a petrol car. A petrol car can hold ten gallons, so may travel 400 miles before needing a fill-up – three times further than some electric cars. Keith Adams, editor of car buyer’s bible Parkers, says: ‘If you just drive around town or make short journeys, an electric vehicle can be great value. But long trips can be a challenge unless you plan ahead.
‘Hopefully, as technology improves, the distances they can be driven before they need recharging will increase.’
Electric car buyers should budget £500 for a professional car charger to be installed at home. This is the price net of a Government installation grant of up to £500. Parkers rates the Tesla Model 3 as the best family electric car for long journeys. Although expensive, it can do 353 miles on one charge. A popular alternative, such as the Mini Electric, only manages about 145 miles between charges.
There are more than 14,000 electric charge points across Britain – with almost 40,000 plug-in sockets.
This sounds impressive but they will not fit all cars as, infuriatingly, there are four different plug socket designs for vehicles. For example, about 1,150 rapid charging points are designed specifically for Tesla cars. Charge points also vary in terms of the speed at which they pump electricity. This means it can take anything from ten minutes to 20 hours to get your motor fully charged.
About 5,500 chargers are categorised ‘slow’ (in other words, awful); 13,300 ‘fast’ (really slow); and 3,400 ‘rapid’ (slow). Just over 900 are ‘ultra-rapid’ (OK).
Finding an electric charging point is still hit-and-miss, though smart phone apps such as Zap-Map can prove invaluable.