HAPPY NEW YEAR ! - IS IT TO BE A NEW ELECTRIC ROAD AHEAD?
January is a time we all look forward to our collective new year and 2022 is looking like a pivotal year for many fleets and drivers after experiencing so much disruption, over not just the previous year - but since Covid started early in 2020.
From one ‘variant’ to another The transition from internal combustion engine vehicles to electric vehicles might not be a virus but it is certainly spread- ing like one! And similar to the Covid variants it’s not something we can ignore.
Of course we all know we need to go electric at some point before 2030 - but is 2022 that time? Should YOU go for it?
Charging at Home... YES, it’s a no-brainer If you have off-street parking available - the savings for running EVs on energy vs fuel are significantly lower.
In December’s issue, I provided a detailed breakdown comparison in fuelling costs based on a daily shift of 220 miles - revealing that EVs worked out less than a third of diesel. However for those with a a lower average daily mileage of around 110 miles, the cost benefit becomes even greater.
E.G. Charging on a domestic low peak tariff of 5.5p per kW between 12-30am and 5-30am would enable a nightly top-up of just £1.92 to cover those daily electric miles - compared to £14.50 for diesel at £1.50 per litre for cars doing around 50 miles mpg. Over a year (48 weeks @ 6 days) this would work out at £4,176 on diesel but just £553 on electric... so around eight times cheaper!
Of course many people still consider EVs as more costly to buy, but that’s now a myth with suitable SUV / estate EVs having around 240 real world range available for very similar cost to diesel equivalents.
Key Tips: The key things to consider when choosing an EV should be: • The efficiency of the EV ... NOT just the battery size.
So ~ What is ‘Efficient’? To highlight efficiency: there are now suitable EVs costing around £20K with c.240 miles range from a 60kW battery. The cost, density and efficiency of batteries is improving every year - but this is currently what you might consider ‘efficient’ or ‘economical’ for an EV. By comparison - there are several premium SUV EVs with 90kW batteries capable of going not much further - around 270 miles - focused more on speed and performance to justify their price tags over £60K.
Performance and Drivability The thing is - ALL EVs have sprightly performance due to
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maximum torque being available at all times - so even at c.£20K they’re capable of 0-60 in a little over 7 seconds, so not exactly slow. They’re also a joy to drive, smooth and silent. Having no gears and with regenerative breaking, they can also provide a virtually one footed driving experience, which is far more relaxing around town in stop-start traffic.
Time is Money Another key thing to consider is the range of an EV compared to your daily requirements and the dwell-time that might be required to charge during working hours... The more miles per day you drive - especially over 200 miles means possibly factoring in dwell-time while charging. This can be more problematic if public charging infrastructure is required due to availability, reliability and convenience of location but if your EV has 220+ miles range you wouldn’t need much longer than 15 minutes to top-up 50 miles on a rapid charger.
Another Tip here: • To not let the battery get too low if possible (below 20%) and not to spend too long charging (topping-up higher than 80%).
This is due to the batteries which charge optimally, at full speed - in a sweet spot of around 60% of their total capacity - in part to protect the durability of the battery over time. This is also important with EVs already having demonstrated their batteries durability over time, and believable - as manu- facturers do give generous warranties on these.
Is 2022 the year to go electric? Some points to consider:
• Punitive CAZs rolling out over large areas for non- compliant cars
• Many councils are currently offering large grants to help HC and PH drivers upgrade their vehicles – once the money runs out these grants will no longer be available
• Rapidly increased urban infrastructure (taxi/PHV only) being achieved in major cities
• Total cost of ownership savings • Benefits to our environment
Could 2022 be THE time to switch for you?
If you’re considering options re: EVs and charging solutions, get in touch, we can help you avoid headaches (£££)... Article supplied by Tim Scrafton
THE CONNECT CONSULTANCY CONSULT
DESIGN SUPPLY INSTALL
The UK’s leading independent electric vehicle infrastructure consultancy 0161 635 6553
hello@theconnectconsultancy.com
JANUARY 2022
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