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Is the UK ready for electric vehicles?
The Government plan to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030. This includes hybrids and plug-in hybrids but it’s thought that hybrids may have an extended date of 2035. The deadline of 2030 was brought forward from 2040, to 2035 before this latest announcement. A £4bn investment plan into green energy has also been confirmed. This change is necessary if the UK is to achieve its target of carbon zero by 2050. The EU hopes there will be 30 million electric cars on European roads by 2030. But is the UK ready for electric vehicles?
The challenge for car manufacturers will be making enough electric cars to meet the increased demand. the providers of the necessary infrastructure need to ensure there are enough electric charging points. There is also the issue of EV battery disposal. Traditional lead-acid batteries are widely recycled, but the larger and heavier lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles need proper dismantling. They contain hazardous materials and can even explode if disassembled incorrectly!
Challenges for the growth of EVs
Sales of electric cars have increased to 7.2% of sales so far in 2021 which is up on 2020’s figure of 4% across the same timeframe. However, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said that despite the “ambitious targets” for the UK’s move to electric vehicles, there are still big hurdles to overcome. The main challenges facing the transition are:
The cost of electric vehicles
Shockingly there are only 13 electric car models that cost less than £30k so the cost of buying an electric vehicle is still a barrier to many drivers. There is a plug-in grant scheme from the Government for fully electric cars costing less than £35k which currently is £2.5k. This grant is predicted to last until 2023 or longer and to date, this has helped over one billion drivers. The cheapest electric car is the Seat Mii which starts at £22,800 before the grant is deducted.
Charging is a big challenge
The cost of charging
Public charging prices can vary depending on location, fees and the types of charger available. An investigation by What Car? showed that it could cost anywhere from £7.49 to £17.46 to charge a Renault Zoe electric hatchback to 80% capacity. The Department for Transport estimates that it costs around 1p a mile to run an electric car vs 10p per mile for petrol and diesel. This seems to only be the case when you are using an at-home charging point. In fact a National Audit Office report suggests that it can cost 78% less to charge at home rather than on the public network.
Availability of charging points
Experts warn that whilst there has been some progress in the increase of UK charging points, rural areas are being left behind in the transition. The uptake of the infrastructure has been highest where there are higher levels of traffic and affluence. The PAC report also voices concerns that local authority support for on-street residential charge points has been poor with funding not being used in this area. According to Zapmap, which lists every public charging station in the country, there are currently 23,873 charging points at 15,254 locations across the UK.
Choose Car Magic for electric, hybrid, petrol and diesel cars
At Car Magic, we’ve had some experience with electric cars like the Lexus ES 300h but electric vehicles are not yet a common visitor to our workshop in Chesham, Buckinghamshire. To see more of the cars we see regularly then see our blog and be sure to check out our customer reviews which go as far back as 2009!
For all your car body repair needs visit www.carmagic.co.uk to upload photos of your damage. You can call us from Monday to Friday between 9 am and 5 pm. Our expert team can give advice or arrange for you to pop in and see us at Wood View Farm, Hog Lane, Chesham.
Sources: whatcar.com bbc.co.uk
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