I returned my electric car – and I won’t be the last driver to do so

Back in the 2000s, Gordon Brown tried to get us all to buy diesel cars because they were supposedly “cleaner” than petrol. When that turned out to be appalling advice, millions of people were left with vehicles that instead faced the opprobrium of policymakers – punitive taxes and charges designed to get older diesels off the road.

Now, in their great wisdom, our lords and masters tell us that electric is the way forward, with some calling this week for new financial incentives to encourage people to buy second-hand models. Ignore them. Don’t buy an electric car, even if you just want one for short journeys. I was one of many to jump on the electric bandwagon and purchase one of these vehicles. I recently decided to return it.

Last year, electric vehicle sales accounted for more than 16 per cent of all car sales. This year, according to industry sources, some manufacturers fear that sales could plateau, or even dip. Gone are the days when they could guarantee a much higher profit margin on electric than diesel or petrol models. This is especially true at the higher end of the market.

The price of some of the more expensive electric SUVS has dropped by thousands in the trade guides. Tesla has imposed a 10 per cent price cut across the board, and there are rumours that a further eye-watering 30 per cent reduction is on the way this year. This enrages existing electric vehicle owners, who now worry that they’ve been ripped off. It also has consequences for the second-hand market. One dealer I spoke to has four second-hand electric vehicles on his forecourt and has had to cut the prices by a total of £40,000.

In addition, the increasing price of electricity means that running an electric vehicle isn’t the cheap promised land that it once was. If you charge your electric car at a motorway service station, the per-mile cost can now exceed that of a petrol car. Even the overnight homecharging rates have shot up. As the per litre cost of conventional fuel starts to come down, electricity prices have continued to rise.

Electric cars are being marketed as “the green ideal”. You’re encouraged to feel as if you’re doing the right thing by helping to save the planet. The trouble is that much of this appears to be marketing guff. If you buy one popular electric SUV, you basically emit 12 tonnes of CO2 just through the manufacturing process. For smaller petrol models, the equivalent can be just 2 tonnes. And much of the electricity used to power electric cars doesn’t come from renewable sources, either.

Consumers are also being put off by the creaking charging infrastructure. There just aren’t enough chargers in the places people want to use them. The Government has promised 300,000 new charging points by 2030, a tenfold increase on the current number. This means building 100 per day. The current average is 23. Need I say more?

Consumers who do their research are wondering whether hydrogen cars are the way forward, and are reading up on the attractions of synthetic petrol. This is a carbon neutral type of fuel that is compatible with internal combustion engines. If these develop as many think they might, the impending 2030 ban on buying new petrol and diesel vehicles could be rendered redundant.

We could be about to witness one of the biggest car market adjustments since the supercar crash of the 1980s. You have been warned.