Whether it's a family car for practical purposes or a sporty number to impress your friends, choosing a new vehicle is always an exciting time. It is also a sizable decision that requires a great deal of thought. An additional wrinkle to bring into your decision-making is whether to go fully electric with your next car.
Let's address the elephant in the room before we go any further – electric vehicles (hereafter referred to as EVs) are often costlier than their fuel-powered counterparts. There is a multitude of reasons why this investment is worth making, however. Let's review the benefits of embracing the EV revolution when you next upgrade your drive.
Futureproofing
Electric cars may not be the dominant force on the UK's roads just yet, but this will change. Interest in EVs is at an all-time high, with up to over 10% of new car registrations in the UK during 2020 being electric. That may not sound like much, but from tiny acorns mighty oaks can grow.
We also need to consider government targets here. By 2030, constructing and selling new fuel-powered cars will be verboten. This will be a significant step toward eventually eliminating all petrol- and diesel-guzzling vehicles from the roads. Investing in an EV now is a way to protect your roadworthiness for a prolonged period.
Environmental Impact
Of course, one of the biggest reasons to switch to an EV is the environmental impact. This is well-covered ground, so we're going to keep this very simple – replacing just one traditional car with an electric alternative reduces CO2 emissions by 1.5 million grams. Making the change to an EV protects the planet without any need to sacrifice your ability to drive.
Cost Efficiency
We did discuss upfront that an electric car likely to cost more than a fuel-powered counterpart. There is no avoiding that, and we're not looking to pull the wool over anybody's eyes. Despite this, however, electric cars remain fiscally prudent.
As discussed, the government aims to convince more people to switch to electric driving. As a result, grants are available to EV adopters that offset some of the investment expense. Car Charge Go will be delighted to talk you through these in more detail – just get in touch.
Latest and Greatest Models
Once upon a time, electric cars were seen as a niche. Conventional wisdom claimed that anybody aiming for an EV would have to break the bank for a Tesla or compromise and pick up a hybrid such as a Prius. These days, every major manufacturer in the automobile industry is happily aboard the EV train, from Audi to Zinoro.
Unrestricted Access
Do you plan on driving overseas in the future? If so, and you're hoping to take your own car, moving to EV is highly advisable. Countless major cities in Europe and beyond have begun introducing low-emission zones, refusing entry to vehicles that emit CO2 and other hazards. If you're driving an EV, you'll have complete access to tour any part of the continent without needing to take an unplanned detour.
Parking Convenience
As well as access to cities all over Europe, EVs can also take advantage of unique parking spaces in some areas. It may be as simple as parking your car in a charging port, taking advantage of a little additional juice before setting off again. Equally, it may be a space reserved for EVs to encourage more motorists to make the trade. Either way, specialist spots will spare you the frustration of circling a busy car park for hours.
Power Up at Home
Given our business model at Car Charge Go, we could be considered biased here. The convenience of charging a car at home was what inspired our company, though.
We were tired of the constant need to refuel our traditional vehicles. It felt like a race against time every time the 'low fuel' came on while driving on a motorway or anywhere else with limited access to petrol, and the ever-varying price points of local garages could take us off-guard.
With an EV, life is simple. Charge up at home and plan your journey according to the battery power of your vehicle. Take it from us – you will not miss consistently pulling into petrol station forecourts.
Quiet Operation
This is the first, but by no means the last, time we'll point out that EVs do not require a combustion engine. One of the reasons this is significant is the noise the engine of an EV makes – namely, practically none.
Fuel-powered supercars often receive praise for their near-silent, purring engines, but that's par for the course with an electric motor. You'll be free to enjoy your journey without cranking up the radio or GPS to deafening volumes to compete with an engine.
Automatic Transmission
Is this a positive? We guess this depends upon your perspective. It's worth noting, though, that as CVs do not have a combustion engine, there is no need to change gears while driving. That means that all EVs are essentially automatic transmission – considerably easier in stop-start traffic.
It may take a little adjustment to comfortably move from manual transmission to automatic, as the oldest habits are the hardest to break. We're confident that you'll soon come to enjoy having one fewer task to trouble yourself with while behind the wheel, though. Naturally, your car will also benefit from less clutch control.
Less Maintenance
Finally, consider how much time you spend maintaining your car and keeping it on the road. In addition, think about how much those regular trips to the mechanic cost you. A half-service here, a full service, there the occasional tune-up and patch fix … it quickly starts to add up.
The absence of a combustion engine (yep, we're still banging that drum) in an EV means fewer moving parts. As a result, your car is less likely to require regular maintenance. On average, EVs are around 50% cheaper to keep on the road than traditionally fuelled cars. Who doesn't love the idea of saving time and money?
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