Battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales grew throughout 2022 in the UK. Up until December accounted for a 15.1 per cent share of all car sales in the UK. This was up from a 10.6 per cent share for the same period in 2021. During November 2022, electric cars accounted for one in five cars sold in the UK.
This shows that the country is starting to transition away from petrol and diesel vehicles. That said, there are lots of stories and myths surrounding electric vehicles, most of which, are completely untrue. Below we bust the main myths and barriers that many put up against moving to a zero emissions electric vehicle:
1. Range Anxiety
Range anxiety remains the biggest reason why people won’t buy an electric car, yet improvements in battery technology mean it’s now a thing of the past. A lot of people won’t buy an electric vehicle because they’re worried the electric range might leave them stranded.
The reality is that many new pure electric cars will happily travel over 300 miles (483km) between charges. Some, including the Lucid Air and Mercedes VISION EQXX, have delivered over 520 miles (837km) and 620 miles (1,000km) respectively.
2. Limited Charging Infrastructure
A couple of years ago this might have been the case. Today, there are charging points in every British town and city. Many electric car owners have a home charger but for those that don’t or those who need to top on longer journeys infrastructure is continuing to grow.
As of November 2022, there were 36,752 electric vehicle charging points in the UK across 21,906 charging locations. This is set to continue to expand rapidly over the coming years.
3. Expensive to Buy
Not completely true. While an electric car may be more expensive than a petrol or diesel car on paper, the savings made in running costs more than make up the difference. Electric cars are getting cheaper with many manufacturers now offering zero-emissions vehicles that cost under £30,000.
There is also the option to lease electric cars. Companies like Elmoand GRIDSERVE, LeasePlan offer competitive all-inclusive options for long and short term leasing. This is a great way of driving electric without the huge cost of purchasing outright. Plus, there’s now a used car market emerging which helps to make EVs more affordable.
4. Expensive to Maintain
A lot of people are put off buying electric vehicles because they believe that they require specialist maintenance. In reality, this isn’t the case and requires far less maintenance and servicing than a traditional car.
There are far fewer moving parts and most electric powertrains are both sealed for life and utterly reliable. The only parts you’ll generally need are the usual wear items such as brakes, tyres and suspension parts just like a petrol or diesel car. EVs are actually far cheaper to maintain over their lifespan.
5. Rising Electricity Costs
Despite rising energy costs driving an electric vehicle will still be far cheaper than driving a petrol or diesel vehicle. Research from Volkswagen Financial Services UK (VWFS), suggests that owning an electric vehicle will still offer huge savings.
After the government regulator for the electricity and downstream natural gas markets, Ofgem, raised its energy price cap by 54 per cent, it has been estimated that electric vehicle owners may see their home charging costs rise by around £200 per year (depending on their energy tariff).
With the average UK electricity price now sitting at around 17.2p per kWh and under the assumption an electric car will travel 3.5 miles per kWh on average, to travel 100 miles would cost around £5 or 4.91p per mile.
Taking into account comparative petrol and diesel costs per mile, the same length journey would cost approximately £15 and £13 in a petrol or diesel car respectively. With these figures, the running costs of an electric vehicle will be around a third of the cost compared to petrol and diesel equivalents.
