The government is laying out the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) as the path for us to follow, as it sets about fulfilling its pledge to ban petrol and diesel car sales by 2040. However, there are obstacles in the way that prevent people from considering the switch. One of the biggest appears to be the lack of a public charging network. High insurance costs are also proving to be a barrier for many.
Plugging in
According to a report by the RAC Foundation, 80% of EV owners have access to charging stations at their own homes. In addition, 93% of them use the public charging network. Concerns are now growing that, as the number of electric vehicles rises, this network is going to prove a big problem. For example, in June this year, 13% of charging points were out of action. The lack of standardisation of connectors and charging protocols could also result in problems for some EV users.
Another problem is that rapid charging points – at 50KW and above – are crucial for drivers using their electric vehicles for long journeys. However, these same points are useless for plug-in hybrid vehicles if they can only charge at 3.6KW.
Quantity not quality
The RAC Foundation report highlights that part of the problem is the Department for Transport’s commitment to quantity rather than quality when it comes to EV charging points. This has resulted in a network that is “unattractive to use and unsuitable for the next wave of EV customers.”
As more and more companies announce they are working on electric vehicles (Dyson is the latest to throw its hat into the ring), the government needs to put far more effort into improving the infrastructure for these vehicles. This is essential if it wants to have any chance of fulfilling its pledge to ban petrol and diesel cars by 2040.
Easy access
Currently, filling up your car with petrol or diesel is something that we hardly need to think about. There are frequent garages with the facilities that we need. This needs to be replicated with the public charging network. Garages nee to offer the right charging stations in the right locations – along with the right tariffs. If drivers are to be persuaded to switch to EVs, they need adequate, widespread and reliable refuelling locations – not the prospect of queues every time they are lucky enough to find somewhere to charge up.
Insurance adds to EV woes
According to Compare the Market, the lack of EV infrastructure isn’t the only problem facing people who want to switch from petrol or diesel vehicles to more environmentally friendly models. New data shows that they will also face considerably higher insurance premiums for their new electric vehicles.
According to quotes on the comparison site, the average premium for an electric vehicle stands at £1,070. That’s a whopping 45% more than for the average petrol or diesel vehicle, which comes in at £740. The reason given for this is that the repair of electric vehicles is more expensive, especially if the battery is damaged in an accident.
What is most worrying is that the government – and, indeed the car industry – seems to have thrown all its weight behind electric vehicles as the way forward. There is a huge lack of other options. Despite this, public uptake remains slow. Of the two million new cars sold this year, just 4.6% of them have been alternative fuel cars. There’s still a very long way to go when it comes to winning the public over to the idea of electric vehicles.
What’s stopping you from embracing electric vehicles? Is it the high insurance cost or issues relating to charging? Let us know by leaving a comment.
Living in rural Wales distance and access to the charging network is my main concern. I am considering a Smart Electric next year with a new fast charge, but driving distances for work I don’t want to be tied into a queue on my way to a client.
I would like my next car to be an EV, but range, limited charging points and now, apparently, high insurance costs is forcing me to rethink.
I already drive a Tesla Model S, I have 200 miles in the “tank” every morning from overnight charging. More than adequate for daily use. Long distances are catered for by the supercharger network, and 50kw Chademo public network points. Charging at your destination is becoming increasingly common (less 3kw and more 7kw) too. It is fragmented, but it works…
My insurance isn’t any more expensive than my 6 series v8.
I do wonder how people living in urban terraced housing with on-street parking will fare when it comes to overnight charging. Will there be a charging point outside each house?
I have an electric car and the lack of super chargers stops me using it to go to Cornwall, I live in West Sussex. Also, super chargers in Cornwall, apart form Exeter, do not exist! I am unable to use a square pin charge at my destination so we use a petrol car!
But of course Exeter is in Devon and too far to then travel to stay Ives and back!
I want electric but live in a town house. No possibility of home charging. In Brighton we have very few public charge points, about 18. Some are in NCP car parks. Am I going to pay and park to recharge my battery every night?
The nearest Tesla supercharger is in Crawley 25 miles away. I am going to have to buy another petrol propelled car. Until there is a method for us city boys to recharge EV’s they are never going to move off.
Worth talking to your MP methinks! she should have a good mandate to get the council working on this.
Lack of charging facilities is my main issue, when you look at turnaround times at Petrol stations you can see the problem.
As usual the Government makes rash announcements and expects the public & industry to sort it out. Insurance companies see a great opportunity to increase premiums.
I looked at the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV 4 years ago as I tow a caravan. At the end of the day it isn’t suitable for serious towing due to lack of power with depleted batteries on hills. The other key point for caravan users is how do we charge the vehicle on the public network? theirs no provision for this as yet and the allocated spaces currently available are too small and
charging leads not long enough. Is the Governments intention for us not to use caravans in the future therefor jeopardizing a massive manufacturing industry in the UK.
What about the fuel used by power stations to supply the electricity needed? How is that environmentally friendly?
Agreed that electricity has to be produced from somewhere as petrol and Diesel have an environmental impact to produce. If we want any fuel it costs the environment . However living in a town the emissions from petrol and diesel are far more harmful
This is already an outdated argument. CO2 emissions from the national grid have been slashed over the past couple of years and renewables now make up 25% of electricity generation. The picture is even better in Scotland, where over 50% of electricity comes from renewables and the last remaining coal-fired power station was shut down last year. Charging at home from solar panels makes the electricity even greener since it all but eliminates transmission losses. And, as Tony has already said, think about the amount of electricity that is used to refine oil into petrol and diesel.
Renewable energy, wind, solar, tidal and solar.
You cannot be serious!
yes but the problem with that is the sail could be knocked off every time you went through a tunnel. Neither is there any sun for solar panels. But seriously Carol, the idea is to get polluting vehicles OFF the roads so we dont breathe in the pollutants directly. The pollution from the power stations will blow out to sea and kill all the fish, not us.
Renewables produce less than 15% of our current needs.. assuming the wind blows. Give m,e your costings for the massive increase in infrastructure to cater for all these electric vehicles.. and who pays?
It is not friendly, there are large losses of power in the generation plant and in the National Grid. Only a fraction of the energy in the fuel burned in a power station is useful power at the other end. In a car there are further losses in charging the battery.
All this does is move the pollution elsewhere – good for the planet????
Hopefully by 2040, I’ll be able to pick up a 2nd hand EV for around £2,000???…because that’s all I can afford (and could easily pick up a petrol or diesel at that price). If prices are still sky high just to buy an EV like now, then I’ll be out of the car market.
As conventional vehicles come off the road, charging points will be common in parking areas and fuel stations will be few and far between. The whole problem will be reversed, increasing the speed of decline of combustion engine vehicles. (Time to get rid of your valuable classic car!)
By 2040 I’ll be past driving (95) and my present car will have fallen apart, as a pensioner where do I get the money for another??
What about the fuel used by power stations to supply the electricity?How is that environmentally friendly?
If you charge the vehicle overnight a big percentage of the power is wind generated
25% of the power overnight is supplied by Drax that uses mostly Biomass and at peak demand some coal
Which produces more co2 than a coal fired station… This excerpt is taken from a Biofuel site..
“Burning wood emits similar levels and a similar range of pollutants as burning coal, albeit smaller
quantities of certain pollutants (mainly sulphur dioxide and mercury) and greater quantity of others
(such as Volatile Organic Compounds and, generally, small particulates, i.e. PM2.5).
The largest volume of air pollutants are oxides of nitrogen (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), small
particulates (PM10, including PM2.5) and sulphur dioxide (SO2) (as well as carbon dioxide, which
affects the climate rather than public health when emitted at rates typical for power plants). Burning
virgin wood also results in a wide range of other pollutants. These include Antimony, Arsenic,
Cadmium, Chromium, Copper, Dioxins and Furans, Lead, Manganese, Mercury, Nickel, Polycyclic
Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), Selenium, Vanadium and Zinc.”
So not much change in pollution levels there then is there? Arnt “small particulate” the Politicians favorite whinge at the moment?
ha! and how much subsidy do we currently pay people to have these wind farms on their properties…? or is that not “real” money in EV world?
Am running my third Leaf & hardly use my ICE vehicle now as 120mile range is adequate for most journeys. When I have the next model in 2018 it will have about 160 range which makes using it without having to worry about public charging even easier.. Its just a decision… If you want to argue against one its easy to persuade yourself not to even consider it. Try cycling sometimes & start breathing in the fumes from ICE vehicles & then you’ll be grateful for the occasional non exhaust car around…! There’s lots of spare electricity at night & solar panels (already one million roofs installed in the UK!) will continue to grow & produce more environmentally friendly ‘juice’. The range for EVs will steadily increase with battery developments over the next couple of years & in 5/10 years I’m guessing that a third of new cars will be EVs – Hopefully charging points will be sufficient by then : TESLA are the clever ones by siting their charge points in strategic locations & they are still expanding that network. If I could afford a Tesla Model X wouldn’t need to keep 2 vehicles ! For me the Insurance is the same as for any other car : Servicing is £99 p.a. Happy days…
There is a problem in the installation of EV charging points, especially in main cities such as London, where the utility network is already overstretched. It would mean that the network will need to be re-enforced at great cost in order to accommodate the extra power required to serve the charging points required. This is a similar problem when a new development site applies for a new main supply from the utility companies, to be presented with a hefty bill, running into million of pounds. This is what is driving the costs of properties up yet alone having to deal with the upheaval of the road closures and disruptions in accommodating the upgraded network infrastructure cabling.
It is obvious that the government hasn’t thought this through and as usual, it is expected that the public foot the bill for their mis-management just as it was when they promoted the use of Diesel vehicles not long ago.
Will the different companies have a standard across the board plugs/power out put or will they recognise your car if of a different make and charge a different price. How long will it be that road tax will be implemented to recover the loss and the London charge be changed. This London charge is technically fraud as its called a “congestion” charge but two cars exactly the same make model etc but one is LPG the other unleaded the LPG is exempt. So it is a “pollution” charge. Just a technicallity.
I have the Mitsubishi PHEV, unfortunately I couldn’t go all electric as the vehicles are not big enough to carry my tools and equipment. I would like to see more charging points and if commercial vehicles go to EV they would need them.
EVs are absolutely fine for short-distance trips. But if you have a son or daughter at university three hundred miles away they are useless, so back to the diesel. One could have two vehicles but it will double the insurance and will double the road tax (if you think that EVs will be exempt from road tax for very long I would suggest you think again). The answer to the occasional long-haul situation has to be a radical rethink of the car pool and car hire systems. But for businesses, whether cars or vans, I can’t see electric ever being a viable alternative.
I have owned 2 LEAF in the past 2011, 2013 and both have had batteries which degraded around 6-12% a year due to higher internal battery resistance over time. Maybe this explains the low resale value as the dealer suggested a 30Kwh battery replacement is almost the same price as the used resale value of the car. So it’s more cost effective to replacing my older Leafs rather than have battery replacement in turn sending these otherwise good cars to the scrap yard which offends all my environmentally conscious sensibilities!
We changed our small petrol car, just before the Road Tax changes came in earlier this year. Now retired, we have a very small annual mileage and only use it for short local trips. So we decided to buy electric and charge it at home.
That is until we visited local car showrooms. Without exception, we were told the electric cars were not yet ready for general use and we would be wasting our money by buying one. So we bought another petrol car.
I’ll translate what they said. ” Electric cars don’t really need servicing as such so dealers are not ready for general sales and they would losing money selling one” So they sold you another petrol car..
electric cars are not suitable for most people and never will be –the idea that they are cheap is a joke
you pay a monthly charge to use charge points ,then when the batteries need changing its £6-8000 –now do the maths how much fuel can you buy for that ?
I am in the motor trade have been for 40 years
long way to go before they will be a sensible alternative to ICC vehicle
most fo the pollution in cities is coming from old buses+taxis –they are perfect candidate for LPG as there is lots of space underneath for tanks and they know exactly how far they will be going everyday
they been using gas powered catapillar d9 diggers in gold mines in SA for 40+years -so they could breath
if it works in a mine –then it is the obvious simple solution to the pollution in cities NOW
or make them all battery powered !! NOW
Don’t forget the pollution caused by all those exhausted battery units.
All those 100% recyclable longer average life than a car battery units.
Drivers have enough costs to maintain their vehicle. Lack of public charging and high insurance costs will most definetly reduce drivers from switching to electric vehicles.
My insurance is 200 cheaper. Might be the extra breaks EVs have, lower centre of gravity making roll over less likely and the ability to get out off trouble at low speeds due to more instant torque than a diesel or petrol
Insurance no different to last car, just had MOT done £27.50 – 3rd service done with the MOT £133.70 main dealer. I think somebody is trying to scare off people from changing to electric cars. Most cars will only take the charge they are intended to take/set to take ie 6 amps hr 10 amps hr or higher, my charger is 32 amps at home but the car takes 6 amps or 10 amps charge it does not matter how power full the charger is the car will only take what it needs and no more.
But I’d love to know how much you paid for your vehicle, and how much it cost to set up a charging point at home, and how much your insurance actually is per year?! These are the real costs.
Don’t bother about electric soon it will be outdated other exciting means of ways to power car will soon be upon us Electric charging point everywhere that will be unused Electric is not the answer
Could you elaborate on the other exciting ways?
Hydrogen?
I cannot get my car within 25 metres of my home. How am I to charge my electric vehicle? If the local authority put in charging points nearby the local ‘wildlife’ would, if possible, steal the cables, failing that they would just disconnect them and throw them on the ground. If you do not have secure off street parking then the electric car is not an option
I live in a small rural village in the back of beyond called “York” (sarcasm intended). I have always driven a basic VW Polo which I find suitable for my normal upto 70 mile round trips and town driving. The car is affordable and nippy enough to park easily and I would not want anything bigger, but I also don’t want a tiny little car as I need a decent sized boot. I don’t want an expensive, superbly powerful up market car. As I have solar panels on my roof and a suitable off road parking area near to my electric meter box, a year or so ago I researched electric vehicles and found nothing at all that matched these criteria. The golf, leaf etc are too big, the eUp and smart car are too small. The BMW i3 is the right size but very expensive with too many fancy features. I decided to go to the local car dealers in York to test drive the i3 and the eUp to see if they were worth further consideration. I was astounded by the responses I got.
VW – “Sorry, we don’t stock electric cars. If you want to test drive an e-Up you’ll have to go to Sheffield”. I’d also have to take it to Sheffield for a service every year. No thanks.
BMW – “We don’t stock electric cars”. So I asked for a brochure. The girl behind the desk replied rudely that they hadn’t one and that I would need to go to Newcastle, then showed no further interest in talking to me. If that is the way a prospective customer is treated, I won’t be buying a BMW.
It may be that there are now suppliers nearer to York than Sheffield and Newcastle, but I won’t be considering an electric car for a while because as far as I am aware, the size and price issues are still the same. All I want is something the size of a Polo, reliable, affordable and with a range that will cover 70 miles comfortably in the worst conditions so that I can do everything I usually do without worrying if I am going to get home. I’d like to be able to have it serviced locally, as I do with my petrol car now. This can’t be an unusual set of requirements, can it?
I am supprised VW dont do an e-Polo, but the Chevy Bolt, Fiat 500e, smart forfour or Renault Zoe should be about the size you are looking for
Thanks, I will have a look at those.
I wouldn’t want an electric vehicle, give me a good old fashioned internal combustion petrol engine! Are EVs really more environmentally friendly when you take into consideration the manufacturing of the batteries? What about charging every EV up over night, how environmentally friendly is that? Where’s the electricity going to come from? What about all the people who have to park on the street? Are the pavements going to be littered with charging cables? This is like every other government decision, it hasn’t been thought through. It’s just another knee jerk reaction!
On the one hand the government are touting so-called SMART metres to cut our use of electricity at home and on the other hand promoting electric cars, which will need to be charged up at home. The electric companies stand to make a killing out of this!
Batteries need to be more efficient and smaller/lighter. Every time its coming close to a recharge, call into a garage, pull out the old one and slot in a new. Could be 3 or 4 different sizes/charges dependent on the car. Cars would have to be redesigned of course. It need not take any longer than filling up with petrol and going into the kiosk. It wont happen.
But it’s a very good idea!
and I’m still waiting for the government to explain how people who live in flats or who have no driveway are going to be able to get their vehicle charged overnight. Anyway why am I worried. By the time this all comes in I’ll be in a rest home or 6 feet under.
My car is not just used as a means of getting from A -B, but is also used to tow our touring caravan too and from holiday destinations. As the Diesel engine has high torque at lower revs, and has a higher MPG, that is what we use, although it is rated euro6. There are no electric vehicles that could even tow the smallest trailer, let alone a caravan, 300+ miles. I use 300 miles as that is how far I get before having to fill up with diesel. Also, hybrid cars that are rated to tow are far and few between, and are petrol, so low torque and would cost a fortune to tow anywhere. Living in Yorkshire, the battery’s would be flat after the first up hill encounter, so not very practical. And why is the attack just on cars. Look at all the crap trains, buses and lorries kick out.
I live in a city with very many victorian houses with only on street parking,
I wrote to my MP and he said there would be on street charging points, I can not see charging points being installed on the pavement outside every house without off street parking.
What about the hazzard of many charging cables from charging point to car for people to trip over, or having the cable unpluged in the night.
Pure battery electric cars will never be an option for single vehicle owners, limited range and lack of charge facilities being the key obstacle. Hybrids have a future with low polluting petrol engines. The real breakthrough in air quality improvement will come when all public transport in towns and cities is electric including taxis, and this is achievable now. Phase out all private diesel transport and real progress will have been made.
I totally agree. The first target should be public transportation – buses, coaches, lorries, taxis, even planes and trains. They are the biggest villains.
Since the government not too long ago encouraged people to buy
low emission
diesel cars I will be keeping mine untill it is ready for the scrapyard. The idea that we can all drive electric cars is a joke. How are those who do not have driveways supposed to charge their cars without driving to a charger and waiting around for half an hour or more to get enough charge to get to work. Untill the cost of electric cars and insurance for them is reduced and battery range and charging facilities improve the only sensible alternative to petrol and diesel at the moment is a hybrid.I’ll only buy a EV when the UK changes to driving on the right hand side like the rest of Europe!!!
Who the hell wants to be like the rest of Europe?! And that goes for the Euro too. Vive la difference!!
When is the government going to realise that petrol and diesel cars are cheaper than electric cars to buy, once they get that sorted people will start buying electric cars
I really don’t understand why the Gov’t thinks that the general public wants to move over to using electric cars. Until they change the method of generating electricity, all their talk us just so much hot air. This is because in excess of 50% of our electricity is generated by fossil fuels, creating far more pollution than all the cars currently use between them. i personally would not even think about an electric car until the problems of range are solved. My diesel currently gives me 600 miles from a full tank (60 Ltrs) and I wold not even consider a change until the EV can guarantee at least 500 miles from a full charge. In addition there will have to be a far larger number of recharge point than there is at the moment. If the green lobby really wants to be taken seriously then the hugely polluting vehicles need too be addressed and that means aircraft. An Airliner creates more pollution in just getting off the ground than a car does in a year. Are all these anti polluters willing to refuse to fly because the aircraft is too polluting? I somehow doubt it, so until they are they should just shut up. The government (Of all parties) are just pandering to the EU and the anti fuel lobby without any real idea of how they are going to solve the almost impossible problem of supplying sufficient power points. It will be just like the internet all over again Major cities will be ok but those of us who really need cars because we live out in the sticks can just go and whistle for it. If they really want to be serious about the problem just BAN cars from all cities completely then charging points will only be ended in homes, parking will cease to a problem as will inner city accidents. Just imagine all the costs that will be saved then. While they are about it they can force all buses, coaches and trains to be electric as well and I haven’t even mentioned Lorries.
All the points mentioned are valid charging points etc but no one seems to mention the range which is useless unless you are prepared to fork out 80k plus also let’s be practical the government want to get cars off the roads which will end up with the public paying higher taxes to make up the shortfall
There are a lot of issues for me. An electric car would have to give me the same range I currently get ie about 300 miles on a tank. Every petrol station would have to have at least one charging point so that “filling up” could be as easy as it is now – more charging points if queuing ever became a problem. The charging would need to be extremely swift. The cost of “filling up” would have to be considerably cheaper than it is for petrol; after all, petrol has to be physically transported to the filling stations, adding a great deal to the cost. Electricity doesn’t. I would hope the production costs would be cheaper too. Most of our oil has to be imported and undergo transformation to turn it into petrol. Electricity should be home produced. The method of production would have to become cleaner and more efficient too; otherwise we will find ourselves in no time at all swamped entirely by fossil fuel fallout.
How often do you drive 300 miles without a pit stop for coffee/bio break ? And is that pit stop up to 30 minutes long? An EV will charge from 20% to 80% in 30 minutes even on todays’ first generation chargers at motorways and does that whilst you are away on your rest break. A full charge at home on my early EV costs me £2.50 and that gives me 100 miles. That’s the equivalent of 50 miles per litre.of petrol, or 225 mpg. Considerably cheaper than even an oil burner – as you desire. Anyone with a daily commute of up to 80 miles return, and with the ability to home charge needs to look a bit closer at the economics involved. That same commuter EV can also do long trips using the Rapid chargers but more expensive EVs are around that have a range of 300 miles in any case. The ancient myths surrounding EVs need to be set to rest as they are based on very old information. Its like someone saying they wont have a mobile phone because they weigh 3kg and are the size of a brick with a battery life of 20 minutes. Technology moves on – opinions need to keep up.
I think the first problem to tackle is the lorries and the public transport in the major cities. They are the ones who create the most pollution. Bring in legislation to force all lorries, buses, coaches, taxis to go electric in the cities, or be banned. That would be a major way forward. If it works in the cities, the repercussions should spill everywhere. If these major perpetrators find reasons and excuses to reject the changes, then it is never going to work anywhere.
I have had electric cars for 2 years. Both 2nd hand ( £5k and £7k) I live in the North West of England, I have never charged at home although I have a charge point available. The infrastructure for charging is adequate for now with expansion of the system increasing rapidly. The worst problem I face is petrol and diesel vehicles parking at the spaces reserved for EV users.
Now is the time for EVs. The range for each of mine is about 70 miles and is not usually an issue.
EVs are more fun to drive in my opinion.
70 miles would not get me to work and back, let alone the mileage I need to do from Hospital to hospital…
Even though across the globe the effort of car producers increased, UK market seems to be not attractive enough for them. Taking Tesla model 3 as an example – production for right hand drive is planned as the last step. Understandably as UK market is just a small part of their aim. For those of us, thinking about “greener” cars, prices along with low range holding it all fairly back. It would be great if Vauxhall start production of EVs as it is planned for Opel…
We all agreevents prices are to high but the sting in the tail some have missed isomething the price it cost to replace the batteries when they wear out I did hear it could cost upto £3000 . Which is another reason I would not buy one fancy going to a garage been told your batteries are faulty and been hit with a massive bill that woUldale defo be a ouch
Batteries have an 8 year warranty. And in any case there are many taxi EVs that are well over the 150k miles mark already. The battery fail issue that you fear does not exist.
I hardly recognised the article as applying to my ownership of a LEAF. Although the initial purchase price is slightly higher than for a similarly sized fossil fueled car mu fuel costs are less than a quarter of the diesel it replaced. The Insurance was nearly £60 less, and VEL £30 less.
When I travel longish distances I normally have choice of where to charge up, making use of rapid chargers at M/W service areas , public car parks and Nissan Dealers.Charge time gives me time for a coffee, and a toilet visit .The number of rapid chargers has rocketed, with more coming on line every day.
With the long warranty I have NO worries about the batteries, which incidentally are showing no signs of failing
My next car will be an EV. I would recommend it to anyone .
My electric car insurance was roughly the same as my last diesel car. I expect the difference between the average prices noted in this article is more to do with the age of the vehicles. EVs being newer vehicles.
The public charging network is good near me. I’ve never had to que or wait. Some are broke sometimes tho.
Public charging near me is…. well lets say I have spotted more unicorns.
Electric/hybrid cars are much more expensive.. take stupidly long to charge up compared to my diesel. On checking the insurance I could insure a 3 series BMW cheaper than a Honda Hybrid. Add to this the cars are more expensive to buy and come the day what the hell are we to do with all the scrap batteries?
Electric..? Im waiting to see what the politicians come up with in 10 years time to wean us off electric and onto some other fuel… another buy new car, scrappage, Pay lots of VAT scam.
Living in rural Wales distance and access to the charging network is my main concern. I am considering a Smart Electric next year with a new fast charge, but driving distances for work I don’t want to be tied into a queue on my way to a client.
I would like my next car to be an EV, but range, limited charging points and now, apparently, high insurance costs is forcing me to rethink.
I already drive a Tesla Model S, I have 200 miles in the “tank” every morning from overnight charging. More than adequate for daily use. Long distances are catered for by the supercharger network, and 50kw Chademo public network points. Charging at your destination is becoming increasingly common (less 3kw and more 7kw) too. It is fragmented, but it works…
My insurance isn’t any more expensive than my 6 series v8.
I do wonder how people living in urban terraced housing with on-street parking will fare when it comes to overnight charging. Will there be a charging point outside each house?
I have an electric car and the lack of super chargers stops me using it to go to Cornwall, I live in West Sussex. Also, super chargers in Cornwall, apart form Exeter, do not exist! I am unable to use a square pin charge at my destination so we use a petrol car!
But of course Exeter is in Devon and too far to then travel to stay Ives and back!