Electric Cars - It's about Education!

New research published by Go Ultra Low has revealed that there remains much work to be done to clear up ongoing misunderstandings about pure electric cars, particularly the benefits around performance, charging and cost.

Underestimating electric car performance is commonplace. Nearly half of us think a petrol or diesel car accelerates quicker than a pure electric, even though, in many cases, the opposite is true. For example, the 2018 Nissan Leaf accelerates from 0-60mph in just 7.4 seconds!

Cost is another area where more understanding is required with around 25% of the country under the impression that, over the lifetime of the car, maintenance costs are higher for pure electric cars than they are for petrol or diesel, when in fact a pure electric can cost around 70% less with savings estimated to be around £650 a year in tax and fuel.

More information about charging an electric car is also needed with most people believing that costs over twenty pounds to fully charge a pure electric car. In reality charging at home could cost as little as £3.64 but then over a quarter of the population don’t realise it is possible to charge an electric car through a charge point installed at home! Mind you, home charging aside, there are around 17,000 charging points in the UK with rapid chargers at more than 96% of Motorway Service Areas. This means that the UK now boasts one the largest rapid charge networks in Europe.

As for the choice of electric cars available to potential buyers, most think there are relatively few electric car models to purchase with nine being the number commonly identified. There are actually seventeen pure electric cars available to choose from. This, together with the factors mentioned above, explains why the current number of electric cars on the road estimated to be 40,000 (with 6,000 pure electric cars having been registered in the first six months of 2018 alone).

We’re sure you’ll agree that there are some really fascinating insights here from Go Ultra Low, a collaborative campaign of vehicle manufacturers, government and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Here at pluginsure we’ll do our best to communicate the benefits of electric cars to the wider world – and, of course, try to offer you a great deal on your electric car insurance!