Last year the number of electric cars registered in the UK was the highest on record with 190,727 battery electric vehicles – more than the previous five years combined.
With the ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars coming in in 2030, more and more car manufacturers are pushing hard to roll out new electric models.
The government hopes that these bans will put the UK on course to become the fastest G7 country to decarbonise cars and vans.
Manufacturers have invested billions of pounds into creating the new technology, and this has led to more than 40% of car models now being available as plug-ins.
This new technology has meant that most EVs can run for around 200 – 300 miles on a single charge making the choice of an electric car more appealing to the public.
There are some government backed incentives to make the transition to an electric car more affordable.
The Department of Transport subsidises the purchase of an electric car costing less then £32,000 by £1,500.
They initially subsidised electric car purchases by £4,500 but have drastically reduced the amount.
Currently, the government is also offering a grant of up to £350 towards the cost of installing a home-charging plug point as long as it’s officially approved, but this ends on 31 March 2022 for private homeowners.
After this date, the grant is aimed at encouraging EV uptake for people in apartment blocks, social housing and rental properties.
Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said: “It’s a confusing message.
“It’s a massive ambition to get the entire market to move to meet net zero by 2030/35. We would argue you need to use every lever at your disposal.”
In 2021, the best-selling electric cars were:
The Tesla Model 3 came out on top beating the second placed Kia Niro by more than double in sales.
It’s a compact, executive saloon, roughly the same size as the BMW 3 series with three versions to choose from and it is one of the most convincing electric cars on the market hence its popular appeal.
The standard range plus model does 0-60 in 5.3 seconds but can do 267 miles on a single charge.
The North West of England has seen a big increase in electric car ownership last year, with 214 per cent more owners than in 2020.
The research completed by LeaseLoco found that the uptake of EVs had more than tripled in the region, up from 7,005 to 21,993 between July 2020 and July 2021.
However, the ratio of plug-in vehicles in the North West to standard public chargers in the area shows it has one of the lowest availabilities in the UK with just one standard public charger for every 49 plug-in vehicles.
This is significantly lower than London who have one standard public charger for every 10 plug-in vehicles.
According to Which.co.uk all new homes and buildings such as supermarkets and workplaces as well as buildings undergoing major renovation will be required to install EV charge points from January 2022.
The government says that this will lead to 145,000 extra charge points being fitted across England every year in the run up to 2030 and hopes the new laws will ‘make it as easy as refuelling a petrol or diesel car today’.
Is an electric car for you? Things to consider:
• The average distance you drive per day – the current electric cars operating range is 200/300 miles on a single charge.
• Charging options – charging overnight on a driveway or garage can cost as little as 5p per kWh compared to an average daytime electricity price of approx. 17p per kWh
• Total cost of ownership – although from the outset EVs are more expensive, it can work out as little as 4p per mile to run an electric car over three years. The average diesel car costs around £1300 per year in fuel to drive 10,000 miles the cost of electricity for a similar EV is about £400 and that is a yearly saving of £900
• Battery life and maintenance – manufacturers state their batteries are good for up to 100,000 miles, but EV batteries will degrade overtime causing them to hold less charge.
• Less stress if we have another fuel shortage!
