Monthly Archives: July 2022

Drivers urged to switch to electric cars as fuel prices continue to rise – ‘Much cheaper!’

July 15, 2022Buying/Leasing, News, Reviews and Comment, UncategorizedRepost

DRIVERS have been urged to switch to electric cars amid the rising fuel prices. An expert has told Express.co.uk that EVs are “significantly” cheaper to run than petrol and diesel alternatives.

Quentin Willson, an ex-Top Gear presenter and the founder of FairCharge, told Express.co.uk that the overall costs of running an electric car are much cheaper than those of a combustion car. The TV presenter also claimed that the second-hand values of EVs are going up.

The latest RAC Fuel Watch indicates that drivers will have to pay 191.10p for a litre of petrol and 198.96p for a litre of diesel.

And, with that in mind, it comes as no surprise that motorists might think about switching to battery-powered vehicles.

Research carried out by Next Green Car showed a growth of 74 percent in registered electric cars since 2020.

On top of that, the number of electric vehicles bought in the UK in March alone was higher than during the entirety of 2019.

It’s Time to Go Green!

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GRIDSERVE Electric Highway charging sessions triple following multimillion-pound upgrade works

July 14, 2022Charging, GRIDSERVE, News, Reviews and Comment, UncategorizedRepost

In the year since GRIDSERVE acquired the Electric Highway, the number of charging sessions has tripled while the energy supply has quadrupled.

Proposed Electric Forecourt (Image: GRIDSERVE)

The average charge time on the network has also decreased, with this in line with the faster charging installed by GRIDSERVE, which began upgrading the network in March 2021.

Reliability on the network has also improved over the past year, with the network now having 99% uptime and a goal of raising this further.

Additionally, the electric vehicle (EV) charging network said that accessibility has improved, with contactless payment now ubiquitous across the network, having been previously unavailable at legacy chargers.

Each Electric Super Hub also includes at least one extra-wide accessible charging bay for every 6 EV charging spaces, while all 3 connection types (CCS, CHAdeMO and Type 2 for AC) are available across the network.

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Electric vehicles are currently the fastest selling fuel type, says Auto Trader

July 13, 2022Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, UncategorizedRepost

Electric vehicles are currently the fastest fuel type to sell, taking an average of just 27 days, compared to 33 and 35 days for used petrol and diesel cars respectively.

According to Auto Trader, they also top 10 fastest selling used cars this month, with 70% being fully electric. The top seven are EVs, with the MINI Electric, Tesla Model 3, MG MG5 and the Hyundai IONIQ 5 all sharing June’s top spot, each taking an average of just 24 days to sell, ahead of the current national average of 31 days.

Just three traditionally fueled cars made it onto the list, but in contrast with this time last year, none are diesel powered.

In June 2021, seven of the top ten were diesel, two were petrol, and one was a petrol hybrid – not one pure EV made it onto the list. The highest ranked EV in June 2021, was a Kia Niro, which came in at number 86.

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This Record-Breaking EV Shows Electric Cars Could Soon Dominate Racing

July 12, 2022Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, UncategorizedRepost

The Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK is rapidly becoming a key event for electric cars, but this year was particularly momentous. An EV has broken the record for the legendary hillclimb, which had stood since 1999. Called the McMurtry Spéirling, it shows how close electric vehicles are getting to rendering fossil fuel obsolete even at the performance pinnacle of four-wheel technology.

The previous official Goodwood record was set in 1999 by a McLaren MP4/13 Formula 1 racecar driven by Nick Heidfeld. This was the car that had won the Formula 1 Championship in 1998 in the hands of Mika Häkkinen, so its performance credentials are without question. It’s also telling that an unofficial run by the all-electric Volkswagen ID.R in 2019 also beat the McLaren’s record, but rain on the official Sunday race meant that it couldn’t repeat its prowess in Qualifying during the actual race, so its speed doesn’t stand in the record books.

The McMurtry Spéirling is certainly a unique vehicle. When I first encountered it at the Salon Prive show in London’s Blenheim Palace in 2021, I initially thought it was a Batmobile-inspired toy car aimed at children. But a long chat with the Managing Director of the company made me realize its intentions were entirely serious. The Spéirling has been designed to overturn all the myths about electric vehicles for racing, creating a series car that can go up against the best fossil fuel-powered cars and win.

It’s Time to Go Green!

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BMW i3 Production Ends After Nine Years And 250,000 Vehicles

July 11, 2022BMW, Electric Cars, i3, News, Reviews and Comment, UncategorizedRepost

It’s the end of the (assembly) line for the i3 after being in production for nine years at the Leipzig plant. Since its launch in 2013, the electric hatchback has been produced in just over 250,000 units, delivered in more than 74 countries around the world. BMW calls it the best-selling EV in the premium compact segment, but let’s keep in mind it was also offered with a range-extending gasoline engine from the Motorrad division.

The i3 allowed BMW to attract new customers to the brand, especially in the model’s early years when more than 80% of buyers made a switch from other automakers. Its electric drive has served as the backbone of the fifth-generation eDrive technology, which is being used to this day. The powertrain has been adapted for the MINI Cooper SE, which went on to become a huge commercial success for the Oxford-based marque.

To properly mark the quirky hatchback’s epilogue, BMW created the i3s HomeRun Edition limited to 10 cars. All come finished in a Frozen paint from the Individual catalog, representing a first for the model. These vehicles are finished in either Frozen Dark Grey or Frozen Red II and ride on 20-inch wheels with a double-spoke configuration. Inside the cabin, the limited-run model gets Vernasca Dark Truffle leather upholstery combined with a leather-wrapped instrument panel.

It’s Time to Go Green!

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Electric Vehicles: how green became the new black

July 8, 2022News, Reviews and Comment, UncategorizedRepost

EVs haven’t always been cool but now they’re bonafide celeb magnets. Just ask Kylie Jenner

Electric vehicles used to be, well, let’s just say they weren’t cool. The first EV you were aware of was probably a milk float. Not exactly a cutting-edge ride.

In the 80s they got arguably even less cool, thanks to vehicular duds like the C5, brainchild of British electronics pioneer Clive Sinclair and one of the biggest embarrassments in contemporary tech. Intended to be a one-person car, it was basically an electric-assisted pedal tricycle that failed to capture the public imagination. Just 5,000 of the 14,000 made were sold ‒ Sinclair lost £7m of his own money.

Other similar ideas bombed in the 1990s (Chrysler’s TEVan, anyone?), hampered by a lack of range and speed. By the turn of the millennium, electric cars still carried such an unfashionable aura of quirk that even celebrity endorsement ‒ usually a rubber stamp of cool ‒ failed to make sales soar.

Indeed, stars who did choose electric were even derided. USA Today described Mel Gibson’s love for his EV as “a wee bit unhinged”. The Daily Mail called Tom Hanks’ Scion XB an “ugly, teal green monstrosity”, while Jeremy Clarkson said Kristin-Scott Thomas’ beloved G-Wiz was “like walking, only less comfortable”.

It’s Time to Go Green!

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Best electric cars… for a car enthusiast

July 7, 2022Audi, e-tron, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, UncategorizedRepost

With the age of electrification upon us, can we agree on one thing? Cars we covet are about more than the roar of a perfectly balanced straight-six cylinder engine, the rasp of an exhaust and the rise and fall of a rev counter with every gearshift.

Interesting, desirable cars that will have enduring appeal to a car enthusiast also encompass innovative engineering, thought-provoking design, an interior that makes you and your family feel good about life and technology that meets your requirements.

It’s sometimes said that the acid test of a good car, one that stirs all the right emotions as well as cold, hard logic, is when you find yourself instinctively looking back at it as you walk away. As the switch to electric models gathers, er, steam, we pick the best electric cars on sale.

Hopefully, for those petrolheads poised to take the plunge and start researching which is the best electric car, this selection will plug you into something that keeps you, well, enthusiastic about cars.

It’s Time to Go Green!

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Government urged to alter salary sacrifice rules for lowest paid

July 6, 2022Buying/Leasing, Electric Cars, UncategorizedRepost

EV salary sacrifice and fleet management specialist, Fleet Evolution, is calling on the Government to amend the rules governing salary sacrifice and the lowest paid, as the current laws discriminate against the very people they are designed to protect.

Vauxhall Corsa-e (Image: Vauxhall.co.uk)

Under the existing rules, no employee can enter into a salary sacrifice scheme for assets of any kind, be they cars, bikes, pensions or healthcare, if by doing so the arrangement takes their take-home pay below the National Living Wage (NLW).

The NLW is the statutory minimum wage rate that must be paid to workers aged 23 and over. It currently stands at £9.50 per hour, a standard that came in from April this year and was up from £8.91 in the previous tax year.

The intention is to protect the lowest paid workers, ensure they have a minimum standard of living and prevent them from getting into financial hardship.

However, argues Fleet Evolution founder and managing director, Andrew Leech, the rules which were designed to protect the lowest paid are ironically hurting the very people they were intended to safeguard.

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InstaVolt opens its first ultra-rapid EV charging hub in Wales

July 5, 2022Charging, InstaVolt, News, Reviews and Comment, UncategorizedRepost

InstaVolt has opened its latest ultra-rapid electric vehicle (EV) charging hub at the Rhug Estate, in Wales.

The site, which sits on the A5, includes eight ultra-rapid 120kW InstaVolt chargers, boosting EV facilities in an underserved part of Britain. According to a report from the Department for Transport in April 2022, Denbighshire has an exceptionally low ratio of EV charging devices to its population.

“As electric vehicle usage continues to rise, there is a significant desire for rapid charging points across Wales, to address the regional disparities that exist within the EV charging network,” said Adrian Keen, CEO of InstaVolt.

“Our work with the Rhug Estate fills an urgent geographical need for rapid EV charging, and we’re pleased to expand our footprint in the region with our first InstaVolt hub in Wales.”

The site has been opened ahead of the summer holiday period, with the companies anticipating increased demand due to staycations. It sits three miles west of Corwen, where traffic from Manchester and Chester meets the main A5, making it a strategic location for those visiting West Wales.

“It is great to be going live with our car charging points by InstaVolt, we have been asked by customers every day when they will be live so there has been a great deal of anticipation around the opening!” said Lord Newborough, owner of Rhug Estate.

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GRIDSERVE and Moto unveil 17 new EV chargers at Electric Super Hubs

July 4, 2022Charging, GRIDSERVE, News, Reviews and Comment, UncategorizedRepost

GRIDSERVE and Moto have unveiled 17 new electric vehicle (EV) chargers across two sites, as they continue to roll out their Electric Super Hubs.

Six 350kW-capable EV chargers have been installed at Moto Severn View and 11 at Moto Heston, with both sites chosen to help expand the charging options of those travelling between London, South Wales and the South West.

All of the new chargers have been designed to include both CCS and CHAdeMO connectors, to accept contactless payments and to provide at least one extra-wide accessible charging bay for every six EV charging spaces.

Just about to finish at Cherwell (Image: T. Larkum)

Real-time status updates will be available for the chargers on a myriad of EV charging maps, the companies said, including on Zap-Map.

In 2022, GRIDSERVE and Moto have added 53 high power chargers across six new Electric Super Hubs, including chargers in Thurrock going live in May, and Exeter, Burton-in-Kendal and Swansea in April.

“GRIDSERVE is continuing its multimillion-pound investment in the GRIDSERVE Electric Highway charging network with the launch of its fifth and sixth Electric Super Hubs delivered so far this year,” said Toddington Harper, CEO of GRIDSERVE.

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