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Electric Car Revolution and Public Charge Points

In the wake of a new decade, the electric car market has quickly growing with interest in electric vehicles now becoming a firm consideration in new car buyers’ minds.

Electric cars during 2020 had a combined market share of 19.4% based on new car registrations (SMMT).

2021 to date has seen this rise to 38%, so there is no denying that electric vehicles are becoming more popular among car buyers. This increase is also likely to have come about due to the amount of new electric vehicle additions to the market during 2020.

Electric cars have come a long way in recent years and the amount of new electric models introduced into the market shows the growth popularity.

In 2020 alone, here at Perrys we welcomed a range of electric vehicles, including the Ford Kuga, Ford Puma and the Vauxhall Corsa-e.

The Ford Kuga self-charging hybrid, which was launched in late 2020, comes equipped with an efficient 2.5 litre engine that is designed to recapture energy that would usually be lost from deceleration.

The Kuga also comes as a Plug-in Hybrid, utilising two sources of energy - from the power transferred using a charge point and the power generated through regenerative braking. For those making shorter trips, the Plug-in Hybrid is the ideal option, especially if you are wanting to reduce driving costs.

The Vauxhall Corsa-e, an all-electric car from one of the most popular car brands here in the UK, is just at home in the countryside as it is in the city.

With low monthly running costs and a range of up to 209 miles, the Vauxhall Corsa-e is bigger than ever before, with a redesigned exterior, ideal for small families. The interior is first class, with plenty of boot space to utilise.

Are electric cars a real consideration when buying a new car?

Perrys recently created a poll on their Facebook account asking customers that, as Boris Johnson has pledged investment in Britain's electric car charging network, with the aim that no electric vehicle owner should be more than 30 miles away from their nearest charge point, would this encourage them to go electric. A whopping 65% voted no claiming “It’s too far. I hope we see more serious investment and development of hydrogen powered cars. Once infrastructure for electric cars improves and prices reduce, will be much more interested.” Other claimed that you would simply have to have a home charging point and could not rely on public charging stations.

Are the number of public charge points a real issue?

The Department of Transport has released data on Electric Vehicle Charging Device Statistics. Perrys have looked at this on a regional bases to see which locations have a good or poor number of vehicle charging points in areas around their dealerships. The key takeaways from the reports are the sheer growth of charging points around the UK.

Since 2015, the number of public charging devices has grown by 241%, with a 31% increase from 2019 to 2021 (to date). With the number of available charging points being a main consideration when deciding whether or not to invest in an electric car, the increase in charging points can easily be correlated with the increase in electric car sales.

Looking specifically at the Kent region, Maidstone has the most public charging points closely followed by Canterbury. Despite being 6th on the list for number of charging points, Folkestone and Hythe have the most rapid charging points per 100,000 people. The table below shows the total number of public charging points by location and also how many of these points are rapid charging devices. (source: Department of Transport / Zap-map.com).

Public Charge Points

 

Rapid charging devices are, as the name suggests, a more powerful unit that can charge your car to 80% in less than an hour (depending on your car’s model and battery capacity), with a kW of between 25-99.

Ultra-rapid charging points, which provide 100kW+, have also been rolled out but at a slightly slower pace, although 2020 saw the largest increase in ultra-rapid charge points year-on-year since 2016.

It is important that when investing in charging points, the government keeps a good ratio of rapid and fast charging units. It is clear that most people need convincing to buy electric, the quicker the charge times the more interest can be built. Slow, home based charging points have been removed from this data as these are more suited to overnight charges at home.

Based on projected growth, there’s going to need to be considerable investment in charging points. London has pledged to add 50,000 EV charge points which is a good step.

An investment of £16.7bn is said to be required for the EV charging infrastructure to ensure the UK is ready for the ban on internal combustion engine models by 2035. As part of that target, 1.7 million public charge points are required by 2030 and 2.8 million by 2035, meaning we can expect to see a good increase of public charging points year-on-year.

If purchasing an electric or hybrid car is something you are considering, you might want to look at installing a home charging point, so you don’t have to rely on finding public charge points. The Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS) provides grant funding of up to 75% towards the cost of installing electric vehicle charge points at domestic properties across the UK.

Home charge points make it much more accessible for you to charge your electric vehicle from your own home, either overnight or on a weekend when you are less likely to be using your car.

If you are considering investing in an electric vehicle, speak to the knowledgeable team here at Perrys who would be happy to talk you through your option, as well as what charging options are available. Electric vehicles encompass any vehicle that is powered by electricity of some description, whether that is a plug-in Hybrid, pure electric or Hybrid, so let us know your circumstances and we will recommend suitable options for you.

Written by Perrys | 5 min read
07 Apr 2021