THE LOWDOWN ON BUYING AN EV

Electric vehicles (EVS) are becoming an ever-more common sight on UK roads.

Developments in battery technology, high-performance models such as Tesla’s Model S P90D, and an increasing number of charge points around the country have all helped them become more widely accepted in recent years. In fact, a new forecast by Go Ultra Low predicts EVS will account for half of all new car registrations by the year 2027.

This is all well and good, but if you’re considering splashing your hard-earned dosh on a new EV, what sort of things should you be thinking about before taking the plunge?

As with anything that runs on a battery the question of how to keep it charged will always rear its ugly head. While EV charge points are nowhere near as common as petrol stations, more and more are cropping up.

According to Zap Map, there are roughly 4,000 public charge points around the country. In the past month, 330 new connectors have been added to these, bringing the total number of connectors in the UK to just under 11,500.

As EVS become more widely adopted, the infrastructure to keep them up and running will no doubt expand to keep up with growing demand. For now, though, it would pay to keep tabs on where your nearest charge points are.

This might sound like a strange thing to bear in mind, but you will need to think about the availability of offstreet parking around your house. Why? Because when your EV is parked up for the night, chances are you’ll want to plug it in to charge.

If you don’t have a garage or driveway, running an extension cable from your front room to the other end of your street will quickly become tiresome.

If you’re in the market for a new car, cost to buy is going to be an important factor. EVS are subject to the Government’s Plug-in Vehicle Grant, which can help take up to £4,500 off the price of an EV.

How much money you get relies on how much carbon dioxide your car produces, and how far it can travel on electric power. Conveniently, pure electric vehicles produce no tail-pipe emissions, so you won’t have to worry about that.

According to the Energy Saving Trust, the majority of current EVS have a range of about 100 miles. This is usually fine for dropping the kids at school or heading to and from work. If you’re in a job that requires you to travel the country on a daily basis, though, you might find you tire of your electric car’s limited range rather quickly.

While EVS may be a bit pricey to buy or lease, they are significantly cheaper than their petrol-powered contemporaries to run. Firstly, you won’t have to pay any Vehicle Excise Duty due to the fact that EVS emit no CO2. Secondly, according to Go Ultra Low, running certain EVS costs less than 2p per mile, while traditional petrol cars cost 12p per mile.

Finally, as EVS have fewer moving parts than cars with combustion engines, they can last a significant number of road hours longer between maintenance checks. As there are fewer moving parts, there is also less to go wrong. That being said, batteries only have so much life in them, and will need replacing altogether eventually – a process that is likely to cost a pretty penny.