The idea of the public driving an electric vehicle over a traditional car seemed a very distant futuristic vision, but it’s happening right now! To establish the acceptance and popularity in EVs, we have created a guide that distinctly highlights EV growth, the convenience of owning an EV and how organisations and expanded infrastructure has definitely helped to support demand.
According to IEA Global EV Outlook 2020 report, 2.1 million electric vehicles were sold globally in 2019, surpassing 2018! The report also mentions that 2020 and 2021 will be the year that we start to see a more diversified menu of EVs, which will certainly push growing demand and create an even greater transition to eliminate and move away from harmful emissions. But it’s not just the general public who want cleaner air, it’s big corporations too such as Waitrose and John Lewis.
They recently announced their plans to end the use of their 4,800 fossil fuel vehicle fleet by 2030 and have also made plans to use 1,700 electric vans for deliveries in 2021. It is said to save an estimated 20,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year. It’s an exciting revelation, especially when taking into consideration the general public’s interest and growing investment into EVs as well.
With this driving demand, the growth of EV charge points has naturally improved too. The latest statistics issued by the Department for Transport suggest that EV charge points have multiplied nearly five times over in the last five years, with 18,265 public EV charging units made available in the UK. The convenience surrounding EVs is becoming quite apparent and we listed some of the positive reasons as to why:
- EV charge points can be installed in your garage or near your drive and depending on your journey, you could simply charge up at home before setting off.
- When it comes to the cost of home charging, it will vary, as it depends on the model of the car and your electricity tariff, but typically, a full charge may cost as little as £3.
- Therefore, your car could cost as little as 2p per mile to run and depending on its size, a home electric charging point can charge your car from flat to full anywhere between 1 and 7 hours, so you can simply just charge overnight.
- There are definitely more accessible charging stations dotted around the UK and to find them, you can just simply download the Zap Maps app.
- After the initial installation, you won’t need to make time to fill up, you can stay at home and save up to £1000 a year on fuel.
These incentives are reasons why EVs are growing in popularity and making the switch to electric easier than ever. The Department for Transportation have also recently proposed to add up to £1,500 to the cost of new petrol and diesel cars as a way to encourage a faster switch to EVs. This “feebate” system is certainly an effective way to drive and secure EV growth.
It is evident that the world is reacting, we are now starting to see a big change in public attitudes towards clean transportation and it is promising to see so much is being done to ensure that EVs remain on the up and the need for fossil fuel powered cars become a thing of the past.