A gentle charge in electric-car sales

THE number of pure electric cars sold here reached its highest level yet in the six months to June, with 529 rolling off the forecourts – very quietly.

That compares with 374 in the same period last year, so while the numbers still are small, there’s a very clear momentum in a segment that has been more lethargic than anyone predicted.

Indeed, I remember the former head of Renault Ireland telling us six or seven years ago that 20% of cars sold in 2020 would be zero-emissions cars; Mystic Meg need not fear for her job.

Cars with some electric capability do, however, account for 6.5% of the market, when all the various types of hybrid and EV are added together. Interestingly, though, a survey of 2,000 drivers in Britain indicates that sentiment might be changing.

Conducted by Opinium for InsureTheGap.com, it found that 37% of drivers who do not already own an electric car would consider one as their next vehicle (male 42% v female 32%), with those under 34 the most keen at 49%.

Unsurprisingly, Londoners were the most keen at 49%, probably thanks to the congestion charge for combustion engines in the British capital, but Northern Ireland wasn’t far behind at 41%, a more relevant indicator of what might be the case in the Republic.

Most fascinating of all, though, were the reasons given by those who would not consider electric cars at all. The Top 10 concerns were not enough charging points in the local area; range anxiety taking a long journey; the cars are too expensive; they take too long to charge; no space in current property for a charger (and when I lived in an own-door apartment, the management company refused me permission to install one in case someone tripped over the charging cable and sued); ignorance of how they charge at all; worries over safety and reliability (pure nonsense, that one); and ‘I would feel a bit odd driving one’.

The tenth and final reason was the most stupid, with respondents saying electric cars don’t run as fast as petrol cars.

Stick them in an all-electric Nissan LEAF, so, and after they hit 100kph in just 8.7 seconds, I think that myth might very safely be debunked!