Still thinking of ‘Geoff’ when you hear ‘EV’?
With just two seats (garden chairs), a top speed of 15.4 mph (slower with the lights on), and a range of just 20 miles, Geoff was a somewhat trailblazing electric car built in 2009 on the BBC’s Top Gear in an attempt to create an electric car that was better than the Riva G-Wiz. But not all electric cars are like Geoff, and people might be surprised at how far you can go on a single charge.
The petrol crisis has shown just how much we all worry about getting from A to B. Few of us have escaped the recent chaos at petrol stations. When the press screams ‘fuel crisis’, it’s natural for all of us to experience a bit of range anxiety. But this feeling can impair our judgment: we have all seen the images of people queuing, causing gridlock, stranding key workers and imperilling essential services. The rise in demand for fuel and lack of increase in traffic levels tells us that not all those people queuing actually need to fill up.
The petrol shortage has also led to a spike in people looking at whether they should switch to an electric car. Electric cars have moved on a bit in the 12 years since Geoff hit the roads, so we thought we would investigate the most common question we are asked about electric cars: do they go far enough, or are electric cars still just a bit too Geoff?
At New AutoMotive we believe in data-driven decisions; that is, decisions made on the basis of facts and evidence. So let’s forget the anxiety-inducing headlines and look at the data. The most comprehensive source of information about how much people use their cars is the MOT database. Every year, when cars get their MOT, the mechanic takes a reading from the odometer and records how many miles are on the clock. This is fed into a big database, which the DVSA makes available to the public. From looking at the annual mileages of 19 million cars, we can tell that the average British car does 117 miles per week. (That’s likely to be a bit lower in reality, since occasional long trips will pull up the average.)
Source - NewAutoMotive Database
In fact, if we look at the median mileage, which is 117, we can see that half of all drivers do less than 117 miles per week. How does this compare the range of EVs on sale today? According to official data, the average range of EVs coming onto the market in 2020 was 222 miles. That means the average Brit would have to recharge their EV just once a week.
Top Ten Most Popular EVs in the UK so far in 2021
Data on range comes from the Vehicle Certification Agency, except for VW ID.3, which was obtained on VW’s website. All ranges are measured according to the WLTP standard. Where several values are listed, this reflects the availability of larger or smaller battery options.
When we look at the top ten most popular electric models sold in the UK so far this year, all have similar ranges, showing that both high end cars such as Teslas and Jaguars and mass market cars, such as Nissans and Kias, have ranges that suit people’s driving habits.
The lesson from the data is clear: the only thing we have to fear is range anxiety itself. Electric cars are growing in popularity because there are models that suit drivers’ needs. People who make the switch enjoy savings of up to three quarters of what they used to spend on fuel, and the majority of Brits can charge an EV at home, cutting out any need to make a trip to the filling station. They also enjoy a better driving experience and the peace of mind that they are doing their bit for the environment too. That is why Brits drove 1.6 billion miles in electric cars last year. So the next time you see a car with a green number plate, forget Geoff and ask yourself whether you should make your next car an EV.
