As electric vehicles become more mainstream and more manufacturers launch new models, many of us are now considering buying an electric car. There are a wide range of benefits for drivers considering making the switch, but are you aware of all of them?
Many people are choosing to the make the switch to electric cars and are finding themselves pleasantly surprised by the cost of running one. Because while some electric models may have slightly higher starting prices than petrol cars, there are certainly financial benefits further down the line.
Electric car running costs fit into three different categories:
• Purchase cost (incentive and tax exemption/reduction)
• Owning cost (road tax exemption/reduction)
• Company car usage cost (BiK tax exemption/reduction)
One of the main ways that going electric could save you money is in re-fuelling costs. Today’s drivers are used to paying a lot of money to fill up even the smallest, most economical petrol cars – and fluctuations in the price of oil mean this cost can often be significantly higher. Charging an electric car, however, costs just a fraction of this.
There are several things that can affect the price of charging an electric car, such as whether you’re charging at home or in public, and how strong your electricity is. As a general guide, an overnight charge at home is the cheapest way to ‘re-fuel’.
There is an upfront cost for at-home charging unit. However, the government grant and subsidies for buying an electric vehicle can offset some of this, meaning you pay less. Charging at public units can be more expensive on an hourly basis, but this is typically because they have a much higher voltage and therefore can charge more quickly.
One of the greatest benefits of owning an electric car is that they are cheaper to run than a petrol or diesel car, all thanks to being powered by a battery. But have you ever wondered how bad these batteries are for the environment?
The manufacturing process of electric cars does produce more emissions than the production of conventional cars. This is because there’s a range of rare earth metals used in the construction of the battery. The extraction and manipulation of these rare earth metals contributes to their greenhouse emissions. Despite this, electric cars remain good for the environment because technological advancements and efficiencies in the industry will see those emissions reduce as electric cars become more mainstream.
As well as this, the EV battery recycling market is quickly growing, and the industry is also predicted to benefit from this. There’s an increased need for technological advances in manufacturing techniques and the process of recovering and reusing the valuable metals within batteries that have reached end of life. This helps to reduce the lifetime environmental impact of the manufacturing of batteries as there is a reduced reliance on mining and the production of new batteries.
Because most electric vehicles are purchased from new and include new technologies, they often appear more expensive in comparison to similar petrol or diesel models.
To help promote the uptake of electric vehicles and offset this cost, European governments have introduced several electric car grants and subsidies.
Electric cars produce zero exhaust emissions, which means they do not emit any harmful exhaust gases into the air. This can benefit the environment as exhaust gases can negatively impact various health conditions and also have an impact on climate change.
Aside from the obvious benefit of no emissions, electric cars are also more energy efficient than regular vehicles, which means they use their energy in a more productive way and require less energy to get you to your destination.
Many assume that the power of an electric vehicle is less than that of a petrol or diesel model, but in many cases this is untrue. Often, electric vehicles perform better than combustion engines in terms of power, torque and acceleration. They can also be found to handle better, as electric vehicles have a lower centre of gravity due to the heavy batteries mounted in the chassis.
Electric cars are also designed to be as efficient as possible, with fewer moving parts. There are generally three main components: the on-board charger, inverter and motor. This means there is reduced wear and tear and less stress on the motor, with fewer parts susceptible to damage.