30 August 2021
9 Mins read

What To Consider When Buying An Electric Vehicle

With the petrol and diesel ban slowly creeping closer, fully electric vehicles are the future of our motorways whether drivers like it or not. In fact, a growing number of countries are mandating that in the near future vehicles sold within their borders must be electric. Many experts suggest that by 2025, electric vehicles will account for 30% of all automobiles sold globally. This forced change may be good for the environment but it is leaving a lot of drivers questioning what they need to consider when buying an electric vehicle.

Even though many drivers aren’t keen on the idea of switching to an electric vehicle just yet, the change is going to be inevitable one day. But many drivers don’t know what shopping for a battery-powered vehicle entails. The fact is that EV shopping is a somewhat different process than it is with a conventional petrol-fueled model. We have made a list of what to consider when buying an electric vehicle:

1) Fully Electric or Hybrid?

This is going to be one of the first decisions you’ll have to make. Plug-in hybrid cars are exactly what their name suggests: They’re hybrid cars that can be plugged into a charging point. Essentially, plug-in cars use two different powertrains, both of which can drive the wheels. Electric vehicles, on the other hand, are fully electric. This means that they don’t use any petrol or diesel. Even though electric vehicles have no backup engine to help you out when the batteries run out of power, they usually have more room for batteries. That means EVs offer a longer electric-only range than plug-in hybrids.

When making the decision between EV’s or hybrids, you need to take into consideration the range you’ll require. Pure electric vehicles can have a range of up to 325 miles (on average), with an average of 194 miles on a single charge. Hybrid vehicles come with a big battery and a petrol engine meaning that they can cope with long journeys without worries of whether there’s a charging station on the route.

2) Are There Any Incentives for EV’s?

In the UK, there is a range of incentives in place to help you to buy an EV. The UK government’s electric car grant is paid out by the Department for Transport’s Office for Zero-Emission Vehicles (OZEV). This grant is designed to make the transition to electric car (EV) ownership more affordable for more drivers across the country.

From the 18th March 2021, the government will provide grants of up to £2,500 for electric vehicles on cars priced under £35,000. The grant isn’t just available for residential drivers. If you own a business, buying the car in your business’ name allows you to write down 100% of the car’s purchase price against your corporate tax liability.

3) What maintenance is involved?

Electric vehicles are sophisticated pieces of equipment. This means that there tends to be a smaller number of moving parts in an EV compared to a regular car. With this in mind, if you want to get the maximum life expectancy out of the battery then there is still a level of maintenance required. Routine maintenance such as brake repairs can cost more on electric vehicles and if you break down it can cost a bit more to fix.

To get the most out of the battery you need to fully charge it and always plan ahead when it comes to leaving the car for extended periods of time. Completely depleting the battery and leaving it will result in a dead battery or poor performance.

4) Will you enjoy the experience of driving an electric vehicle?

Electric cars are incredibly easy to drive, and the reason for this is precisely because they’re electric. There are no gears to worry about, so you simply climb in, press the start button, select drive and away you go. In the UK, this will be a very different experience to conventional cars. Since an electric car delivers 100% of its available power immediately, for a new EV driver it can make higher-powered models feel twitchy until you get more comfortable with the accelerator.

No matter what type of vehicle you’re looking for, you’ll want to take a thorough test drive before signing on the dotted line. Taking on a new car, especially an electric car, is a big investment so ensuring that you’ll enjoy driving it is very important. Make sure that you feel comfortable driving it, you know how to operate its features and accessories.

An electric car or plug-in hybrid might not suit your lifestyle right now but with the regulations and laws changing so quickly, it’s likely that one soon will. In fact, it’s suggested that by 2030, electric vehicle sales are forecast to eclipse the sales of petrol-powered vehicles.

Although it’s still a completely unfamiliar technology to many people, the tech is improving every year. There is a huge range of reliable brands such as Tesla, Volkswagen, Nissan, BMW, Jaguar, Porsche, and even Vauxhall that offer a range of electric cars to choose from.