Bodyshop – August 2019

car, and either enjoy driving it or need to
drive daily for work or for family and other
domestic reasons. Even with a ‘utopian’
no-car ownership solution, those cars that
are used by taxi companies and car share
platforms will still need somewhere to be
charged.

The map of London and the South East
shows that there are many thousands
of chargers freely available for use. On
average these are being used for only 10%
of the time and chargers placed in station
car parks, roadsides, hotel car parks,
service stations are not going to meet the
needs of many motorists who cannot make
the time to park at such locations or take
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already occupied.

1GELG˿ÐA?LRJWÐLMLCÐMDÐRFCÐCVGQRGLEÐAF?PECÐ
points even start to meet the needs of
heavy goods and passenger vehicles
(several hundred EV buses have been
delivered or are on order from companies
such as BYD and Optare; other EV HGVs are
in development, such as refuse trucks.)

The fastest growing sector of the UK car
N?PAÐGQÐT?LQÐÐWCRÐ?LWÐMNCP?RMPÐMDÐ?Ð̀ÐCCRÐMDÐ
vans has no option but either to continue to
use diesel or to consider a huge investment
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RMÐ?LÐ#4Ð̀ÐCCR ÐJRCPL?RGTCÐRCAFLMJMEGCQÐ

exist such as inductive charging but these

require investment of billions of pounds if

they are to be installed countrywide.

Conclusions

Until the charging dilemma has been

properly addressed, we can expect to see

limited take up of EVs other than from the

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outside of central urban environments

UFMÐA?LÐ?˾ÐMPBÐ#4ÐTCFGAJCQÐ?LBÐUFMÐ

have an easily accessible home charging

option. The other growth area will be in

public transport where regulators such as

Transport for London will seek to grant

franchises to operators using electric

buses.

Necessity is the mother of invention and

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likely to spur further research into battery

technology which may result in extended

range to the point where very occasional

charging will be a practical option. The

other solution will be super rapid charging

which will enable a recharge in minutes not

hours - however the power required for this

option would mean expenditure of millions

in cabling, local transformer upgrades and

the risk of reduced battery life.

The challenge remains but must be met

with further innovative solutions in battery

technology, user habits and charging hubs.

There is much to be excited

about in term of the UK EV

market:

• ÐEMMBÐ?LBÐEPMUGLEÐP?LECÐMDÐ?JJÐ
  EV products from most of the
  major manufacturers, such as
  Jaguar, Nissan, Tesla, Renault,
  and VW, soon to be joined
  UGRFÐNPMBSARQÐDPMKÐSBGÐ?LBÐ
  Mercedes


• Government grants available
  for EV car purchases (£3500,
  reduced from £4500 last year)


• Vehicles now have a useful range
  (up to 300 miles from the latest
  Teslas)


• Government grants available
  of £500 for domestic charger
  installation (net cost to the
  consumer of £279 from certain
  suppliers)


• $GL?LAG?JÐ@CLC˿ÐRQÐMDÐJMUCPÐ
  running costs - lower road tax
  and servicing


• EVs will provide access to city
  centres in the UK and EU where
  ICE vehicles are or will be banned

BODYSHOP AUGUST 2019 29