Going Green: Driving home case for more electric vehicles

​In a word, no. There’s overwhelming evidence that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that EVs are far better for the environment than petrol and diesel cars.

Let’s look at some of the myths surrounding them though. There are claims the ranges aren’t great, which is rubbish. I own an electric vehicle and they have an average range of around 200 miles, some even have 300 mile ranges.

Considering the average car journey in the UK is a mere 8.4 miles, it doesn’t make sense to suggest range is a problem.

Some people claim there are issues with charging points but there are more electric vehicle charging point locations in the UK than there are petrol stations.

There’s an amazing app called Zap Map which tells you not only your nearest charging point but also whether it’s in working order or not.

Many sat nav’s in EVs will let you know when they need to be charged and will direct you to a charging point too.

Rapid charging points are becoming more common across the UK and there’s an ever-expanding second-hand EV market too so switching from your old car to an EV doesn’t have to be as expensive as you think it might be.

With councils across the UK taking London’s lead and installing air pollution zones, all-electric cars are exempt so you can drive an EV many places in the UK at zero cost, where it could cost you a lot more to take a petrol or diesel car there.

Electric vehicles are much lower maintenance than their petrol or diesel counterparts when it comes to keeping them in working order as there are no gears or oil to change.

There are air quality warnings in some cities across the UK at the moment as the warming temperatures have meant the pollutants in the air emitted by petrol and diesel vehicles are more potent, which can exacerbate conditions like asthma.

There are zero emissions from EVs though so more people adopting them means cleaner air faster.

Then there’s the age-old battery issue, there are claims that lithium batteries are combustible – yes they are but a car fire in a diesel or petrol vehicle is going to be a lot worse as they’re more combustible.

A very well known celebrity recently cited his dislike of EVs for environmental reasons despite being an early adopter of the technology.

However, the research he was using to back his opinions were very old and funded by a car manufacturer.

Anyone in a position of popularity has a responsibility to make sure what they’re saying is correct because we tend to listen to celebrities so what they say should be truthful.

EVs are the future and they’re not going anywhere, anyone who says they’re worse than petrol or diesel cars is simply wrong.