Electric Vehicles Guide

Nissan LEAF 2018

Electric Vehicle Guide: everything you need to know about electric vehicles (EVs) including how they can save you money, how they help to improve air quality, and independent reviews of all the EVs on sale in the UK.

Electric vehicles include pure electric vehicles (EVs), extended-range electric vehicles (E-REVs), and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs).

BENEFITS OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES

EVs have lower running costs (fuel and maintenance/total cost of ownership) than petrol or diesel vehicles
EVs have zero tailpipe CO2, NOx and particulates emissions at all times in the case of pure EVs, or have the ability for zero-emission running in the case of E-REVs or PHEVs
EVs are seen as a key solution to improve air quality
EVs are typically seen as a better driving experience than petrol or diesel vehicles

FINANCIAL INCENTIVES FOR EVS

EVs can benefit from a range of financial incentives including:

A UK government plug-in car grant: up to £4,500 for an eligible new electric car (with a zero emission range of over 70 miles); up to £2,500 for an eligible new plug-in hybrid (CO₂ emissions of less than 50g/km and a zero emission range of between 10 and 69 miles, or CO₂ emissions of 50 to 75g/km and a zero emission range of at least 20 miles, with an ‘on the road’ price of £60,000 or less); and up to £8,000 for an eligible new electric van
An OLEV home charge point grant: up to £500
The Workplace Charging Scheme also enables any business, charity or public authority to claim a grant of up to £300 per charging socket towards the cost of installing EV charge points
Reduced Benefit in Kind (BIK) rates for company car drivers; for 2018/2019, vehicles with 0-50g/km Co2 emissions have a BIK rate of 13%, vehicles with 51-75g/km Co2 emissions have a BIK rate of 16%
Reduced rates of Vehicle Excise Duty (VED). Pure electric cars (with 0g/km CO2 emissions) pay zero VED; vehicles with 1-50g/km Co2 emissions have a first year VED rate of just £10, and vehicles with 51-75g/km Co2 emissions have a first year VED rate of just £25.

EV TECHNOLOGIES

EVs include pure electric vehicles (EVs), extended-range electric vehicles (E-REVs), and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs).

Pure electric vehicles operate using an electric motor powered by a battery 100% of the time
Extended-range electric vehicles (E-REVs) operate as electric vehicles all the time, but a small engine can act as a generator for the battery if it becomes depleted
Plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) feature an electric motor powered by a small battery, and a petrol or diesel engine. PHEVs typically only have a short electric driving range, possibly between 20-40 miles (depending on make and model); the vehicle can operate on its petrol or diesel engine for longer journeys.

CHARGING AN EV

Most people charge their electric vehicles at home overnight using a home charge point. Grants are available for home charge points (see above). There is also an ever-increasing public charging infrastructure around the UK (there are more than 13,000 public charge points across the UK), with around 1,000 rapid chargers – many of them at motorway service stations (96% of motorway services have rapid chargers).

Some public charging points are ‘open access’ (free). But most belong to one of the main network providers. You may need either their contactless RFID card or mobile app, depending upon the provider.

There’s an agreed standard for the sockets found on the latest charging points – all now using the universal ‘Type Two’ socket.

MYTHS AND FACTS ABOUT EVS

There’s only a small variety of electric vehicles

The range of electric vehicles is increasing month by month, and this trend is set to accelerate over the coming years. Already there is an electric vehicle in most car body styles, there are increasing numbers of electric vans coming to market, and their are even electric trucks and buses.

Electric vehicles are expensive

Some electric vehicles are more expensive to buy than similar petrol vehicles, but electric vehicles have much lower running costs – typically around one-fifth of the running costs of petrol vehicles – so electric vehicles are typically cheaper to run on a whole life cost basis than petrol or diesel vehicles. And forecasts suggest that EVs will reach cost parity with petrol vehicles in the years to come.

Electric vehicles have limited driving ranges

Many electric vehicles had real-world ranges of around 80-100 miles over recent years, but real-world ranges are increasingly over 200 miles in the case of many pure electric vehicles, subject to individual make and model.

Electric vehicles are difficult to charge

Most electric vehicle owners charge their vehicles at home overnight using a home charge point. There is an ever-expanding public charging infrastructure, with rapid chargers at virtually all motorway service stations. There is also a government and industry push for inter-operability of charge points.

Electric vehicles aren’t good to drive

This is a common statement from people who haven’t driven electric vehicles. People who have driven electric vehicles have a very different view. Electric vehicles have instant responses when accelerating due to 100% of torque being available at all times, they’re extremely quiet, and very refined. Most EVs have their batteries in the floor, resulting in a low centre of gravity, and therefore excellent handling.