Electric vehicles

Reality: EVs do cost more to buy outright but, in many cases, have a lower cost over 4 years.

According to recent industry estimates, an EV can save £176 in running costs for every 1,000 miles driven. This means it can cost as little as 2 pence a mile to run an EV when charging on off-peak electricity. This is compared to over 20 pence per mile for petrol and diesel. As EVs have far fewer moving parts there’s also less maintenance to be done.

There are tax incentives in place for owners of EVs, including zero road tax and favourable company car tax rates. These can save some drivers over £2,000 per year. All this means that the market for more affordable zero emission vehicles is growing rapidly.

As of May 2022, 24 models are priced under £32,000 compared to 15 at the same time in 2021.

With production costs reducing, some forecasts show that some EVs could be the same price to purchase as a petrol or diesel car.

Reality: 99 per cent of car journeys in England are under 100 miles. This means most drivers needs are easily met by an EV.

For those travelling further, there are over 20 models available with a quoted 200 plus mile range. There are also some new electric cars coming soon with a range of over 300 miles, enough to get from Exeter to Leeds.

With battery prices having fallen to 80 per cent of what they were in 2010, continued price decreases in 2021 and further drops forecasted in the long term, we expect to see more EVs available with greater range.

Reality: there are well over 10 million EVs on the world’s roads already. There is no evidence to suggest their lifespans are any different from a petrol or diesel vehicle.

Most EV batteries have warranties of around 8 years (or 100,000 miles) but are expected to last much longer, and their lifespan continues to improve. EVs are in daily use across the UK’s roads as taxis and in other high mileage roles.

The government has committed £330 million to the Faraday Battery Challenge (FBC) to support the research, development and scale-up of world-leading battery technology right here in the UK, including pioneering work on improving battery lifespan.

Reality: existing regulations ban the disposal of EV batteries to landfill and incineration. Car manufacturers are obligated to take back EV batteries free of charge and ensure they are treated at permitted facilities that meet the required recycling efficiency standards.

As the number of EV batteries is increasing, the government are reviewing existing regulations to strengthen them, and their £330 million Faraday Battery Challenge aims to increase the ability to recycle EV batteries to 95 per cent by 2035, increasing the amount of minerals, like lithium and cobalt that can be extracted and reused.

The government wants to create a circular economy for EV batteries to maximise the economic and environmental opportunities of the transition to zero emission vehicles.

Reality: not true, EVs have to comply with tough technical rules prior to entering the market, including crash and electrical safety. This means they are safe to drive and charge in a wide range of weather conditions.

Drivers should take the usual precautions by:

• following the manufacturer’s instructions
• only using the correct charging cables
• checking the EV and cable are not damaged

As with any vehicle, drivers should also consult the owner manual for guidance on the maximum depth of water a car is safe to drive through.

Reality: like all other cars, electric vehicles need to be ‘type approved’ to tow a caravan or trailer. An increasing number of EVs are coming to market with this capability.

A caravan or trailer towed by an EV can also display a green number plate. When an EV is being towed by another vehicle at higher speeds and longer distances, many manufacturers require that they must be towed with the wheels off the ground. This is also the case for any automatic petrol and diesel vehicles, so this is not a new challenge for vehicle recovery companies.

If an EV breaks down and is in immediate danger (for example, when in a live traffic lane), it can be towed slowly a short distance to a safe location to await further assistance, just like any other vehicle.

Reality: research has found that the UK has one of the most extensive rapid charging networks in Europe.

As of January 2022, there are 54 charge points in Luton available to the public. Industry statistics show that there are over 31,000 public charge points available across the UK, a significant increase from 7,211 in 2017. There are also more than 5,800 rapid chargers. We expect continued, accelerated deployment of public charge points. On average, over 600 new chargers are being added to the UK’s road network each month, of which over 100 are rapid.

Today, a driver is never more than 25 miles away from a charge point anywhere along England’s motorways and A-roads.

Most drivers charge at home and we expect to see this trend to continue. There are nearly 900,000 plug-in vehicles on UK roads and evidence suggests that those with off-street parking can meet the vast majority of their charging needs at home while their vehicles are parked.

Reality: most charging will be done at or near home overnight. However, some new cars can charge up 200 miles in as little as 20 minutes - the time it takes to enjoy a cup of coffee.

Potential charging speeds have increased by a factor of 5 in the past few years as businesses have started to focus seriously on EVs as the future of road transport.

Reality: the Government want to ensure that lack of access to off-street parking is not a barrier to realising the benefits of owning a plug-in electric vehicle.

The On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS) is available to all UK local authorities to provide public charge points for their residents without access to private parking. This year, £20 million is available under the scheme to ensure more local authorities and residents can benefit. The scheme has supported over 150 different local authorities to fund more than 11,000 charge points for residents who do not have off-street parking.

In March 2022 the government announced a £450 million local EV infrastructure (LEVI) fund to deliver a step-change in the rollout of EV infrastructure focussing on providing for households without off-street parking and the £950 million rapid charging fund (RCF) aims to future-proof electrical grid capacity at service areas on motorways and major A-roads to prepare the network for uptake of zero emission cars and vans ahead of need

Rapid charging hubs and electric forecourts (equivalent to current petrol or diesel refuelling) are emerging as further options for EV drivers to recharge. Charging at workplaces is also growing. The government has supported the installation of over 26,000 workplace charging sockets as of April 2022.

Reality: all regions in the UK have seen increases in publicly available chargepoints in the year to April 2022.

In addition to the ORCS scheme, the government has also supported the installation of chargepoints in residential buildings and workplaces across the UK, including rural areas, through the EV Homecharge Scheme (EVHS) and the Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS).

The government will also be providing additional funding to install charge points for small accommodation businesses, which are disproportionately found in rural areas. This will help boost destination charging across the UK in such locations.

Reality: EV users should expect a reliable public network wherever they drive in the UK. Having chargepoints out of action is inconvenient, frustrating and can be unsafe. However, according to Zap-Map, 9 out of 10 charge points are working at any point in time.

The government are working to ensure that all consumers have a positive experience using the public charging network and any poor performing charge point operators are held to account, mandating a 99 per cent reliability standard for rapid charge points in the UK and a free round the clock helpline for people struggling to charge.

Reality: The government will lay legislation later in 2022 to mandate payment roaming, which means chargepoint operators will have to work with each other to ensure that consumers can pay without having to download an app each time you use a different charging network.

This will also support the business sector to electrify their vehicle fleets. Legislation in 2017 to ensure all new and replacement public charge points must offer standardised connectors (plugs).

This means that the vast majority of EVs can charge on the entire UK public charging network the notable exceptions are the Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi Outlander, which can charge at over 95 per cent of public charge points.

As manufacturers are increasingly standardising their connectors, government has no plans to intervene in the vehicle market.

Reality: since 1990, the government have reduced greenhouse gas emissions in our electricity system by over 70 per cent. Taken together, renewables and other low carbon generation, such as nuclear, currently provide over 50 per cent of our electricity.

The government continues to support the deployment of low carbon and renewable technologies to deliver a cleaner greener system at least cost to consumers and that maintains a secure supply of electricity.

Our plans could see 95 per cent of our electricity come from low carbon sources by 2030. By 2035, all our electricity will come from low carbon sources, subject to security of supply.