An electric vehicle commonly known as an EV, is a vehicle that has an electric motor for drive and is powered by a battery and charged from an external power source. There are three main types of EV – pure electric (BEV), plug-in hybrid (PHEV), and range-extended (E-REV).

Most EVs have a range of around 250 miles but some EVs are now capable of ranges in excess of 300 miles and continue to grow.

There are already vehicles that can now fully recharge at rapid chargers (up to 350kWh) in as little as 20 minutes! But for the cheapest and most convenient charge, most people just plug in overnight at their home on a 7kW charger that takes under 10 hours to get you to full.

More information on charging can be found here. 

Over 80% of EV owners will charge at home, waking up to a full battery just like your mobile phone. If you’re on the road you can charge at one of the 37,000+ public charging connectors. Visit our Electric Car Charging Point Finder for a live map.

An EV costs about 4p per mile to fuel based upon the average UK electricity price (currently around 14p per kWh). So if you assume an electric car will travel 3.5 miles per kWh, to travel 100 miles would cost around £4.

Based on a typical electric car with a 60kWh battery and 200 mile range:

• Charging at home: Costs about £8.40 for a full charge.
• Charging at work: Many employers will install workplace-charging points and typically offer free access throughout the day.
• Charging at public locations: Public charge points at supermarkets or car parks are often free to use for the duration of your stay.
• Rapid charging: Rapid charging points like those found at motorway service stations and fast food outlets typically cost £6.50 for a 30 min session (Which should get you about 100 mile charge)

Getting a new car is a big decision and it’s important that you get the one that is right for you. This is especially true with an EV. If you’re new to electric vehicles there can be quite a lot to get your head around, which is exactly why we’re here to help. Speak to an advisor today who can help you get to grips with it all.

It’s simple and easy to get a home charge point installed. You may also be you’ll able to claim a government grant of £350 in the UK towards it. At EV Carshop we only use OZEV (Office for Zero Emission Vehicles) approved installers and make our recommendations based upon identifying the best products available according to your particular needs. Learn more about Home and Workplace Charging installs by clicking here. 

Yes, electric vehicles can be charged in the rain as proper covering shields and protective layers are applied to the charging plugs and charging stations which prevents any kind of sparks, current loss, water mixing or short-circuiting.

You’ll often hear about these two when discussing charging speed and battery capacity. We promise you’ll get your head around this very quickly once you’re an EV driver!

• kW stands for kilowatts and is a measurement of power. The higher the kW output of a charge point, the more charge you will be putting back into your battery over a set time.
• kWh stands for kilowatt hour. kWh is the term used for an EV’s battery capacity and how much energy it can hold. So usually the bigger the battery the further it can go!
• A kWh is a unit of energy equal to 1kW of power sustained for one hour. So a 50kW rapid charger for half an hour would dispense 25kWh of electricity.

Absolutely yes. To start, electric vehicles have zero tailpipe emissions meaning no nitrogen oxides (NO_x), carbon monoxide (CO), air toxics or CO₂ are released into the air when driving. 

To make the comparison between your petrol or diesel vehicle and an EV, you also need to consider the emissions associated with electricity generation and the conversion to miles within the vehicle. Figures from a 2017 UK Government study showed that petrol vehicles produce the highest carbon dioxide emissions at 211g per kilometre, while diesel vehicles emitted 179g. Comparing this to an electric vehicle it was found just 73g of carbon dioxide emissions per kilometre were produced. In addition, the generation of electricity supplied by the National Grid is producing less emission year on year due to the greater use of renewable energy sources like wind and solar. BEIS is now predicting that the Grid Carbon Factor will be as low as 41 grams CO₂e/kWhr by 2035, less than a quarter of what it is today which means your EV will get cleaner over time. Something a Petrol or Diesel vehicle will never be able to claim.

Even if a battery became no longer fit for use in the car, it can be recycled or given a second life as an energy storage unit for homes or businesses. Electric vehicles aren’t a magic wand that fixes the environment but they certainly represent positive progress if that’s something that motivates you (and honestly why shouldn’t it)

If comparing pure retail list prices then electric vehicles are frequently higher in cost (although battery production costs are coming down rapidly and will, in the not to distant future, achieve price parity with their Petrol and Diesel cousins) However, this is far from the whole picture when it comes to understanding the true costs of EV ownership. 

According to new research from car insurance specialist Direct Line, EV’s are already cheaper to own when compared to internal combustion cars over their whole lifetime. Finding annual tax, maintenance costs and servicing for electric vehicles were 49 per cent lower than for petrol models, with refuelling costs a whopping 58 per cent less!

Since electric cars have far fewer moving parts, they are generally easier and cheaper to maintain than petrol/ diesel cars. Maintenance costs for an electric car are around half that of petrol/ diesel cars; saving about £200 per year. In addition, EV’s use ‘regenerative braking’ in a lot of cases and this in turn reduces the need to use the friction brakes. Some EV drivers are reporting that brake discs are being replaced due to corrosion in excess of 100,000 miles before either the pads or the discs have worn out through use. This also contributes to less road dust particulates and cleaner wheels… win win.