Zapping the myths of electric motoring

British motorists say they don’t know enough about electric driving to make the switch. We tackle the big issues – without the jargon

Thinking about going electric, but confused by the options and worried about charging up or running out of juice?

You’re not alone. A new survey suggests that a lack of information means millions of British motorists may be missing out on lower running costs and tax bills of electric driving.

The study by Ford found that more than half of British motorists will now consider buying an electric car. But 43 per cent said they didn’t know enough about them to make a decision.

And with the Government’s plug-in car grant set to end in 2023, delaying the switch could cost thousands more.

More than half of those surveyed said they had concerns about the high price of electric cars and the availability of public charging points. Just over a third said that they were worried about the range of electric cars.

An electric car won’t be for everyone, yet. But with the numbers of EVs being sold in the UK doubling each year, record numbers of British buyers are finding that the sums DO add up. We’ve investigated the most common reasons given for not making the switch, to help you decide if you’re missing out.

‘ELECTRIC CARS ARE TOO EXPENSIVE’

It’s certainly true that EVs are currently more expensive than their petrol- or diesel-powered rivals, and that prices will fall as batteries become cheaper.

But around 90 per cent of the UK’s new cars are bought on finance, making the monthly payment the most important figure for most buyers. Research by WhatCar? magazine found dealers offering a Renault Zoe for £259 a month, and the Nissan Leaf for £307, based on a 15 per cent deposit and 10,000 miles each year over four years.

With no road tax or congestion charge for electric cars, and their ‘fuel’ bill typically around a quarter of what you’d pay for petrol, your running costs are likely to be much lower with an electric car. With fewer moving parts, servicing is also cheaper, and there are major tax breaks for company car users. Insurance can be more expensive, however, as EVs can be pricey to repair.

Some buyers may be tempted to hang on until EV list prices match those of conventional cars. But you may be missing out on significant savings on running costs in the meantime. And the Government’s £3000 plug-in car grant, currently applied automatically to fully electric cars, is set to end in April 2023.

‘ELECTRIC CARS DON’T HAVE ENOUGH RANGE’

The average British motorist drives around 20 miles per day, and 95 per cent of our journeys are under 50 miles. Most new electric cars now have a range of around 200 miles, and Kia’s moderately priced eNiro and Soul EV models both offer 280 miles. After driving that far, you’re likely to want to stop anyway. Kia says that a 100kW rapid charger will give you an 80 per cent charge from empty in 54 minutes, and even faster chargers capable of adding 100 miles of range to a compatible car in ten minutes are becoming increasingly common.

‘THERE AREN’T ENOUGH CHARGING POINTS’

Charging provider PodPoint says that 60 per cent of charging is done at home overnight, and 30 per cent at work. Another seven per cent is done at places where your car would have been parked anyway – at the gym, or at shopping-centre or train-station car parks. Just three per cent of charging needs to be done mid-journey, and many EV users report charging their car solely from their ‘wallbox’ at home. There have been criticisms of the public charging network, but it is growing rapidly, with more than 31,000 points available at 11,000 sites. The first of 50 ‘charging hubs’ is currently under construction in Braintree in Essex. And the Government now requires all new public chargers to be available to all users, with the option of contactless payment.

‘I DON’T HAVE A DRIVEWAY’

This is a significant issue for many potential EV converts, preventing them from safely running a charging cable from their property to their car and forcing them to use public charging. Recent data shows that over 90 per cent of us live more than five minutes’ walk from a public charge point. But research from PWC shows that 75 per cent of drivers can charge at home, and the city dwellers who are least likely to have a driveway are also more likely to have a choice of public charge points nearby, and cover lower average mileages, meaning they’ll need to find a public charger less often.

‘THE BATTERY WILL NEED TO BE REPLACED’

EV batteries will degrade over time and may need to be replaced. Most EV manufacturers offer a much longer warranty on their batteries than they do on the rest of the car: typically they’ll guarantee that it will retain 70 per cent of its charging capacity for eight years or 100,000 miles of driving, with some makers covering you for unlimited mileage. Once your car is out of warranty, the battery may need to be replaced. But Kia claims that three-year-old Soul EVs are showing only a one per cent loss of capacity, and older Teslas are reported to be retaining 90 per cent of their capacity after 100,000 miles.