Range anxiety. Cited in a study by Kwik Fit as a key stumbling block by 35% of drivers who were unwilling to make the switch to an electric vehicle. The creeping fear that an electric vehicle might run out of power, leaving you stranded, alone and awaiting rescue, is clearly a potent obstacle to electric vehicle uptake.
While the fear induced by range anxiety is not entirely unfounded, the facts of modern electric vehicle range and British driving habits, suggest this level of reticence is undue. Modern electric vehicles can cover 300 miles on a single charge; when set against the average 8.6 mile drive undertaken in England, range only becomes an issue on very long drives.
Even on long drives actually running out of charge is extremely rare. In 2020 of 13,000 electric vehicle breakdowns attended by AA patrols, fewer than 4% were because the car had run out of charge. On major English roads you are never more than 25 miles from a rapid charger, and modern electric vehicles are intelligent enough to automatically devise routes which take charging into account.
When held up to the light of day, range anxiety should not serve as the major impediment to electric vehicle uptake that it clearly is. But fear and anxiety are emotive responses borne out of the unknown, the fear of fear itself can prove much more potent than ration and reasoning. Electric vehicles remain an emergent technology, and no one wants to open themselves up to further stress and anxiety when driving can be a stressful enough experience already.
Drivers are not just concerned about a batteries’ range, but also its longevity, with 26% of drivers unwilling to make the switch to an EV citing the need to replace the battery as a major concern. While prices to replace an EV battery can be astronomical, worries around degradation represent another outsized barrier to EV uptake not borne out by facts.
The proliferation of mobile phones, laptops, and other battery powered appliances with limited battery lives, and even planned obsolescence, have implicitly taught consumers that batteries degrade quickly. EVs however operate on a different form of battery from household appliances, with modern lithium-ion technology found in EVs degrading at a rate of ~2% per annum. This means that after a decade of standard use, an EV will retain 80% capacity - coincidentally the point to which manufacturers recommend charging the battery to, in order to prolong its lifespan.
Extended warranties of 8 years or 100,000 miles have become industry standard, a liberal offering as the average British driver now covers just 6553 miles per year. EV manufacturers are striving to constantly improve battery technology, but are not doing enough educate the public about what current generation batteries can do.
EV uptake is increasing dramatically year on year, demonstrating a 92% increase in new registrations from 2020 to 2021, but in 2021 battery electric vehicles still only made up 11.6% of new registrations. This points to one of the great intangible psychological impediments to any technology early adoption; that it will be obsolete in a few years. That’s why at mycardirect we take this final anxiety out of going electric through our ultra-flexible car subscription service.
Car subscription operates on flexible short-term contracts, ranging from as little as a month rolling, up to two years, with prices decreasing on longer contracts. This means your EV will never be more than two years old, and will always enjoy the benefits of the latest technological innovations. The flexibility of car subscription also means that your fleet can be as agile as your business. Unlike traditional leasing or hire purchase agreements, these contracts are flexible, and you can cancel or swap to a different vehicle any time as your needs change. So if your business isn’t ready for an electric fleet (and the 2% benefit in kind paid on EVs), you can switch back to internal combustion.
The modern working world has changed immeasurably in the last two years; subscription gives your business the agility to flex and mothball your fleet at will, so if your business is faced with further disruption, you won’t be laboured with a fleet of company cars gathering dust, unwanted and unused.
To learn more about the benefits of car subscription and electrifying your fleet stress free, visit https://mycardirect.co.uk/