Buying an electric car

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Buying an electric car

Why is there such little choice?

Electric vehicles offer an environmentally-friendly, quiet and potentially cheaper alternative to cars powered by an internal combustion engine (usually petrol or diesel), so why isn't it easier to buy one?

Electric cars are not easy to buy because very few are currently being manufactured. Electric vehicles need expensive batteries and those that are built are produced in such small numbers that they cost more to manufacture than petrol and diesel-engined cars. And up until recently the popularity of the few electric cars that were on the market was hampered by poor performance and limited range.

Despite the fact most of us drive fewer than 30 miles a day on average, 'range anxiety' is said to put many people off the idea of owning an electric car that may need to be recharged after 50 or 60 miles.

As major car manufacturers like Nissan, Renault and GM start to sell mass-produced electric cars, the performance of electric vehicles will improve and their price will eventually drop. In the early days of mobile phones the handsets were heavy, gave poor reception and cost many thousands of phones. Mobiles are now so inexpensive, the cheapest models are almost disposable and we have grown used to charging them overnight. It is likely we will learn the same habits where electric vehicles are concerned.

Is an electric car for you?

The electric cars on the market today make environmental sense for motorists wanting to drive the greenest car possible and offer financial and PR benefits to businesses.

If you charge your electric car using electricity bought from one the of the energy producers that 100 per cent renewable sources, then your motoring will be as environmentally-friendly as is yet possible. And businesses that operate in London can save many thousands of pounds in congestion and parking charges buy operating an electric car or van.

Electric cars make most sense in urban areas where exhaust emissions and noise have a detrimental effect on people and where traffic speeds are slow. Greater Manchester has an average traffic speed of 12.1mph, Leicester 13.6mph, London 14.6mph, West Yorkshire 14.6mph, Merseyside 14.9mph, South Yorkshire 15mph and the West Midlands 15.5mph (Road Statistics 2008: Traffic, Speeds and Congestion).

At present most electric cars will not generally be suitable for those who need to travel distances greater than 50 miles.

As electric car batteries tend to be large, current electric cars tend to be small and so would suit those who have difficulty parking or those who need to carry fewer passengers.

Advantages of electric cars

Electric cars are in environmental terms 'probably the best car option around especially if the electricity it uses comes from renewable sources'

  • Cheap to run and generally lower maintenance costs (No oil changes, no filters and even the brake pads last far longer than in conventional cars if they are fitted with regenerative braking)
  • Zero emissions from the car itself
  • Extremely quiet
  • Exempt from the London Congestion Charge
  • has zero road tax
  • electric cars also enjoy parking benefits in some areas in London

Disadvantages of electric cars

  • Generally low top speed (although electric cars can have surprisingly quick acceleration, so they can keep up with city traffic without any difficulty).
  • Current electric car batteries mean limited range and lengthy recharging times so they are not suitable for long journeys.
  • High upfront cost. The Mitsubishi i-Miev is expected to cost £38,000 – three times the price of a petrol-powered equivalent car
  • The current crop of electric cars appear to suffer greater depreciation than conventionally-powered cars

If you have decided you want to buy an electric car, congratulations, you are what is known by car manufacturers as an 'early adopter' and your commitment to the technology at this stage is not only likely to encourage others to do the same, but help justify government spending on infrastructure such as a nationwide network of recharging points.

Use this guide to compare the vehicles currently on the market. The next step is to contact the manufacturers or distributors themselves – as is often the case with small businesses, those we spoke to while compiling this guide were passionate about their work and keen to be of help.