In a society focused on reducing air pollution and emissions, one of the most prominent up-and-coming solutions is the mass adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). However, the general public largely lacks the resources necessary to make informed decisions on EV transition.

Electric vehicle fears

There are commonly discussed fears when it comes to purchasing an EV:

  • Range: There is a widespread fear that with an EV, drivers will get stuck somewhere with no charging ability.
  • Charging: The time required to ‘refuel’ an EV, the costs, and availability of home chargers is often unclear.
  • Cost: EVs have higher ticket prices compared to similar internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs).

These concerns are perfectly legitimate, but their relevance and impact to most people is minimal due to modern EV driving ranges, charge time requirements, options, and leasing packages.

The need for a personalised view when considering an electric vehicle

The only risk-free way to understand if an EV is truly suitable for a driver is by creating a granular, fully personalised view of the driver’s current vehicle use patterns and needs. Once an unbiased, driver-specific view of the above factors is presented, uncertainties are minimised and a clear view of the impacts of switching to an EV becomes clear.

Range

Nobody wants to be driving – perhaps on the way home from work, going to an event, or heading to the airport – to run out of charge and be stuck on the motorway.

What people often don’t realise is that modern EVs typically have a single-charge range between 200 and 300 miles. Simply put, if you drive less than 200 miles in any given day and charge overnight, you run almost no risk of running out of charge while out.

There are many drivers that do go beyond that mileage in a day. For some people, it’s an occasional overage, while for others, it’s a daily occurrence. This is where personalisation comes in. Drivers need to know how regularly they exceed daily EV ranges so they can understand their individual impact. In reality, most drivers don’t often exceed the full-charge range of an appropriate EV. Even for drivers that do regularly exceed an EV’s range, depending on where it happens, there is often a suitably located rapid charge point to top up the battery in the time it takes to sit in for a coffee.

The bottom line is that drivers need an unbiased view of their own travel to know if an EV suits their driving. There is no need to guess – a personalised overview will ensure that every decision is the right one and that there is a clear view of where, when, and how often range anxiety might be a problem.

Charging

Individuals would (rightly so) not want to purchase a new vehicle without knowing they could confidently refuel it.

Many homes are capable of hosting EV chargers, and these can often be installed quickly and easily and are sufficient to fully charge an EV overnight. Even if home wiring doesn’t allow for a charger, there are standard mains option to charge, albeit slower.

The number of public charge points is also rapidly growing (https://www.zap-map.com/statistics/), some of which are ‘on-the-go’, and some which allow overnight parking and charging. Many new charge points are rapid chargers, which can fully charge some EVs from empty in as little as 12 minutes, and most service stops in the UK host EV charge points.

Understanding personal daily mileage, hours parked at home, and how many charge points are in close range to long journeys takes the anxiety out of charging.

Cost

EVs often have larger price tags than ICEVs. However, to fully understand cost implications from an EV purchase, it is vital to understand the total cost of ownership (TCO) – the full vehicle cost over its lifetime including purchase, resale, fuel, maintenance, taxes, etc.

Only a personalised view can inform these numbers accurately. When fuel savings (electricity charge vs petrol), reduced maintenance requirements, lower taxes and emission zone charges, and rebates are accounted for, the TCO of an EV is often significantly lower, despite a higher ticket price.

This means that although the monthly cost of an EV (the actual vehicle) is higher than that of an ICEV, all the other lower monthly vehicle expenses often ‘cancel’ this increase, allowing many buyers to achieve cost savings from day 1.

With a personalised view of factors such as mileage, location, and electricity tariffs, it is possible to gain a fully independent and clear view of the achievable savings with an EV.

CleanCar is here to help

CleanCar has been built to tackle the unknowns described throughout this post. Our system uses high-frequency GPS data to gain a full view of vehicle used for each onboarded vehicle. Our proprietary algorithms and methodology take this information and translate it into unbiased recommendations for each of the focus areas above. We calculate EV suitability, tell you how often you will need to charge away from home, outline which vehicles best suit your needs, and provide full TCO comparisons between EV and ICEV options.

If your driving doesn’t fit the mould for a modern EV, CleanCar will also make that clear to you and tell you why. We are not partnered with vehicle resellers, but instead, provide the best recommendations across the full range of available EVs.

Whether you are an individual ready to make the move to electric, or you manage a fleet of any size and need help transitioning your vehicles in a risk-free, step-wise way, contact us today for a friendly conversation.