I used to play a game while on one of my favourite walks. I would go up onto a footbridge over the nearby A465 and time how long it took for an EV to come past. Back in 2022 I would frequently be waiting for 10-15 minutes , then only seeing one car pass. I repeated this about 3 weeks ago and rather than counting how long it took for one EV to pass, I had to amend the test to how many EV’s would pass, in the 5 minutes I was counting I saw 10 vehicles which included 2 vans.
I know that this is not a scientific test, but it does show that we see more EV’s on UK roads today than we did 3-5 years ago. Try it yourself when driving how many do you see?
I believe that the general public are pretty savvy when it comes to cars. If it becomes more economical to switch to a particular fuel type, despite what naysayers may argue, people will switch.
Now more than ever the oft trotted out myths against EV’s are beginning to fall on deaf ears… EV’s are too expensive- now not true both for new or second hand cars…. The infrastructure’s not there yet - do you not see the huge numbers of chargers being put in, open your eyes (back in 2017 only 8 years ago there would likely be only one, not very reliable 50kW charger at a UK service station…. When we stopped at Rugby Services on the M1 recently I lost count after 15 250kW chargers and just plugged in and went for a break!) ….EV’s catch fire all the time - how many times have you seen an EV in flames because of an internal battery or motor issue with your own eyes, compared to the last time you saw a ICE car on fire? EV’s price depreciate faster than ICE cars - that may have been true several years ago when EV’s were admittedly over priced, but today their depreciation is in line with ICE. Also if you lease or PCP your EV and give it back at the end of the term, you haven’t lost any money at all!
There will be ups and downs along the way, however, I can only see the percentage of EV’s on UK roads continuing to increase over the next 10 years…..watch this space.
