With well over a million electric vehicles (EVs) now on the road and their production and purchase increasing by the day across the UK, it might seem that car owners are generally keen to get onboard with ‘clean’ transport. However, there are still some significant practical reservations that the driving public have about EVs, not least because of the work that needs to be done on the infrastructure supporting their use.
Almost 50% of the people we surveyed said they would consider purchasing an EV in the future, but they still wouldn’t choose one for their next vehicle. An additional 37% stated they would never want an electric car. The main concerns for both groups were cost and charging. Specifically, the cost of purchasing an EV, the distance it can travel and the availability of charging points.
With the government’s ever-nearing ban on the sale of all new petrol and diesel cars planned from 2030, EV cost and charging issues are a high priority for the industry and indeed the country. While here at CarTakeBack we’re not in a position to subsidise your next car purchase, or install you a free charging point! We can at least give you a realistic, current overview of these issues and point you to the best advice on the web…
Even in the last 12 months, the EV market has changed substantially. While the majority of EV models are still more expensive than their traditional-fuelled counterparts (according to AutoTrader by an average of 25%), with the Zero Emission Vehicles mandate requiring all UK car manufacturers to meet higher targets for new electric car sales, there are more affordable models being introduced into the market. Rather than the entry level EV cars being nearly twice the price of a petrol model, in some cases, we’re now seeing the difference reduced to a couple of thousand pounds. For example, a Dacia Sandero is available from just under £13,000 while the EV Dacia Spring can be purchased from just under £15,000.
The initial pay-out can still be a barrier to car buyers – there aren’t many of us with even a thousand ‘spare’ in our budgets! However, the relatively low running price means charging costs may be low enough to now balance out that difference on the purchase price.
The latest information to affect a potential new EV purchase is the increased vehicle taxes from April 2025. The first year of ownership will be charged at the lowest rate of £10, but from the second year EV owners will have to pay the annual standard rate of £190. Luxury cars, that cost over £40,000, will have to pay a higher rate of £410 for five years. The government website has all the information you would need on these latest rates of EV tax.
With the majority of people buying vehicles second-hand, there will of course be more EV options available on the market as time goes on. The ban on the sale of new hybrids has been extended to 2035 so there will be an even larger second hand market of these ‘bridging’ vehicles and they may be a more affordable and/or viable way to dip your feet into EV ownership.
If you are keen to move over to a brand new EV, make sure you keep an eye on scrappage schemes and the government subsidies that could make your switch more affordable. The majority of early schemes have now closed, but to meet the ZEV targets it’s likely there will be more supplements and grants made available over the next few years. Indeed, the government have announced they are continuing to back the sector with an investment of £2.3 billion to help the industry and consumers make the switch to EVs.
For now, there is still a grant available for people who are living in flats and rental accommodation – depending on a few factors you can get 75 per cent off the cost of buying and installing an EV charging socket at your property, up to a maximum of £350. Full details are available on the government website.
In Scotland, EV owners can also apply for a grant from the Energy Saving Trust, which will provide up to £250 of additional funding towards the cost of a home charge point. The most remote parts of Scotland will be awarded a further £100. Full details are on the Energy Saving Trust website.
If purchasing an EV outright isn’t for you, there are a growing number of options from leasing companies keen to satisfy the demand for greener transport.
As part of its Net Zero commitments, the Government set a target of installing 300,000 EV charging points, throughout the UK, by 2030, when new petrol and diesel car sales will be banned.
According to ZapMap’s latest figures, at the end of December 2024, there were 73,699 public EV charging points in the UK, across 37,011 locations. So that’s 5 years left to install 226,301 chargers to hit that ambitious but necessary target. ZapMap’s stats report year-on-year a significant increase in the number of charge points added to the network, with 7,496 installed in 2021, 8,803 in 2022, 16,602 in 2023 and 19,834 in 2024. (Those figures also take into account the charging devices that have been removed from the database.) At this rate of increase it’s not unrealistic that the government’s target could be hit, but it will require a significant ramp up in progress every year to sustain those figures, particularly as older chargers may also need replacing by the end of the decade.
(It’s worth noting that the number of charging devices doesn’t represent their capacity to deliver electricity. The majority of installed charge points are low powered devices, usually under 8kW, typically on-street chargers and those found in car parks etc. Rapid and ultra-rapid chargers only make up around 20% of total devices, but they account for roughly 60% of the total capacity.)
Undoubtedly, there’s still a lot of work to be done on the infrastructure supporting the use of EVs and as well as the number of charging points, EV owners have also suffered issues related to location, access and payment.
There are predictably over twice as many charges in the Greater London area than any other region, and nearly half of all public chargers are located in London and the South East. There are a noticeably small number of chargers in Wales, the North East and Northern Ireland. Outside of the extremes, the spread is relatively equal across the rest of the UK by region, but rural areas still have very limited access to chargers. It’s also been highlighted that a lack of rapid chargers on A-roads is a significant problem and issues such as planning permission are hindering progress.
Because of these factors, many drivers still fear being left without charge on long journeys, but there are several websites/apps dedicated to making your charging needs as easy to plan as possible. We like Zap Map, which gives easy-to-access, real-time information on charging point coverage and cost across the UK.
The same organisation gives a great overview of the country’s progress with regular updates on the number and type of public charging points.
Those who can afford to purchase a new EV, and may even be completely happy with the availability and ease of charging, still have concerns over the range current models can offer and the whole life of the battery.
The reason charging availability has remained such a significant issue is partly down to the physical distance one full charge can take you, otherwise known as an EV’s ‘range’ and the so-called ‘range anxiety’ EV drivers can feel. While there is still work to be done, these figures have improved massively over the relatively short time EVs have been available.
When we published the first version of this blog a few years ago, the average number of miles an EV could travel in a single journey was around 150, with the ‘top end’ Tesla S boasting over 400 miles on a single charge, which of course is still an impressive figure today! According to the SMMT, the average range of an EV is now 236 miles, which is three times the average distance driven in a week and also takes into consideration real life factors such as heavy loads, changing speeds, hilly terrain and bad weather, which manufacturers’ advertised range figures don’t.
If and when you choose an EV, while new battery tech is generally good, be sure to look into the real life range mileage figure and ensure it will suit the journeys you will be doing most frequently.
Every type of battery degrades over time. But rather than worrying your EV is going to mimic your mobile phone, you can be assured that, as long as they are treated correctly, most modern lithium-ion units are likely to last the lifetime of the car.
When EVs first entered the mass market many manufacturers specified an 8 year battery warranty, however, data so far has shown the majority of these batteries are outperforming that prediction. Manufacturers keen to offer extra reassurance to customers offered extended warranties on their EV batteries from between 100,000 to 150,000 miles. Most also include a maximum allowable capacity; so if their function drops below 70% during the period of the warranty, you’ll receive an automatic replacement. However, not all car models come with a clearly stated maximum degradation threshold from the manufacturer, so it’s worth checking this detail before making a purchase.
There are a few simple things you can do which will have a significant effect on battery life, such as avoiding charging beyond 80% or below 20%, which some EVs manage automatically. It is advised to avoid frequent rapid-charging and in general keeping your battery cool (a rare benefit of the UK’s climate!)
More good news is that EV tech is improving all the time and there is some great advice out there whether you’re looking after an older EV or a brand new purchase. We’ve also written a blog on charging and driving your EV efficiently.
Apart from the practicalities we’ve covered, some people’s concerns about EV adoption take them right up to the car’s end of life and the issue of recycling. The reality is that while the industry still has a long way to go, EV batteries can and are being recycled effectively. CarTakeBack provides a safe and effective EV recycling service to the whole of the UK, today.
We continue to invest in training our vehicle recycling partners in how to safely handle EVs and hybrids. We work with the innovative Faraday Institute, sit on several research boards to support and advise on future end-of-life EV developments, as well as having been selected as expert witness to the Environment and Climate Change Committee in Parliament.
Until fairly recently, lithium-ion batteries had to be exported to mainland Europe for recycling. The good news is that the UK now has a small number of facilities that can safely manage the main stage of processing these batteries – producing a ‘black mass’ material. This ‘black mass’ has to be further refined to be used in the manufacture of new EV batteries, but even more good news is that the UK also now has a company able to do that. CarTakeBack is working with the innovative companies involved in those processes as well as the new UK-based EV battery manufacturing facilities, which are under construction.
The progress we’ve seen, even just in the last twelve months, is great news for the whole industry and for members of the public concerned about the whole-life impact of EVs.
