Monthly Archives: October 2023

UK electric car sales risk falling further behind after Sunak U-turn, analysts say

Country already trails well behind Europe and PM’s backtracking on climate policies could widen the gap

The UK has fallen well behind the rest of Europe in the growth of electric vehicle sales and risks falling further back after Rishi Sunak’s “screeching U-turn” on its climate policies, according to industry analysts.

UK sales of electric vehicles grew by 31% in the 12 months to July, one of the slowest rates of growth in Europe, according to data analysed by Cornwall Insight and the law firm Shoosmiths.

The research revealed the UK’s electric vehicle (EV) growth rate fell well behind the near 61% increase in sales across the 27 EU nations. The report blamed a lack of public charging infrastructure in the UK, and warned that the government’s decision to delay a ban on the sale of new combustion engine vehicles could shake investor confidence.

The prime minister announced plans to push back the ban on new fossil fuel vehicles from 2030 until 2035 as part of a significant watering down of the government’s key climate policies designed to help Britain become net zero by 2050.

The unexpected U-turn has led to confusion among carmakers and electric vehicle infrastructure investors by raising uncertainty over how soon British drivers will make the switch to electric options. This could further delay expansion of charging networks, according to the report.

Read more: TheGuardian

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Most efficient electric cars

We crunch the numbers on the electric cars on sale today to see which come closest to hitting their advertised figures

Plenty of electric cars have impressive claimed range figures but managing to achieve them is another story. With the increasing number of EVs to choose from, buyers are hunting for the most energy-efficient electric cars to really make the most of their batteries between charges.

Electric car efficiency is measured by calculating its miles per kilowatt hour used, shortened to mpkWh. For example, a Volkswagen ID 3 with a 77kWh battery would require an efficiency of 4.5mpkWh to achieve its officially rated 347 miles of range.

Tesla Model 3 Unveil (Image: Tesla)
Tesla Model 3 Unveil (Image: Tesla)

A vehicle’s efficiency is affected in several different ways, with aspects such as weight proving to be a key factor in positively or negatively impacting range.

The Audi Q8 E-tron, for example, is powered by a 106kWh battery, but weighs a staggering 2585kg, meaning it can deliver only around 2.9mpkWh.

Larger, SUV-style electric cars are also usually impacted more by drag, which reduces their range compared with sleeker, more aerodynamic sports cars and hatchbacks.

The range and efficiency of electric cars are also heavily influenced by the weather conditions and outside temperatures. Warmer temperatures mean a battery’s chemical reactions can occur faster and offer higher range, whereas colder weather requires more energy, reducing range.

Read more: Autocar

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Why delaying the ban on petrol and diesel cars won’t slow UK’s shift to electric vehicles

The UK has delayed its ban on the sale of new cars which burn petrol or diesel in internal combustion engines (ICE) from 2030 to 2035.

In some ways, this is no surprise: the original plan was to ban them from 2040, a deadline brought forward by the previous prime minister, Boris Johnson, in 2020. The new delay, confirmed this week by Rishi Sunak, had been rumoured in August.

But the decision still sends a confusing message from Sunak’s government, particularly for carmakers who on average take six-to-seven years to develop new vehicles, and need time to invest in new factories and train workers, as well as make the cars themselves.

For these manufacturers, certainty is key to their business. If they gear up to produce an all-electric fleet and suddenly buyers still want ICE vehicles and they haven’t produced enough, they will have stockpiles of unwanted cars which may have to be sold at a loss.

However, the good news is the switch to electric vehicles (EVs) is already well under way in the UK. Research suggests it may now be unstoppable – regardless of what the government does.

How new technologies replace old ones

Any new technology follows a cycle of adoption that is difficult for government intervention to interrupt. The exception is for fast-acting bans, which attempt to immediately remove products deemed dangerous or harmful from a market.

Read more: TheConversation

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Van drivers reckon they could save nearly £3,000 a year – by switching to electric vehicles

Over half plan to go green within the next two years – and six in ten feel it will give them a good opportunity to do business with a more socially conscious clientele

Britain’s “white van men” are going green – with millions eyeing up an electric vehicle or a plug-in hybrid, according to research.

The average van driver reckons they could save more than £2,720 a year in fuel by moving away from petrol and diesel – and 55% predict they will be behind the wheel of an electric vehicle within the next two years.

Cllr Dermot Bambridge and Facilities Manager Stephen Wright

Six in ten also believe that driving an EV could even open up new opportunities to do more business with a socially conscious clientele.

A spokesman for GRIDSERVE, which commissioned the poll of 500 van drivers to highlight its Sun-to-Wheel EV charging solutions, said: “It’s great to learn today’s van drivers are also following the trend, and switching to electric.

“Vans are vital to the everyday running of the UK, delivering parcels and getting tradespeople to their next job – so it is essential this group sees the benefit of going green, and is adopting the technology.

“These drivers are a key part of the electric road revolution, and will make a huge impact as more and more switch to cleaner vehicles. Our calculations estimate that switching the UK’s fleet of vans to electric could save 15 million tonnes of CO2 every year.”

Read more: Mirror

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Electric cars approach ‘tipping point’ as battery prices plummet

‘The death of the internal combustion engine is near,’ says energy analyst

The cost of batteries fell by nearly 10 per cent in August, taking them past a key milestone that is seen by energy analysts as a “tipping point” to supercharge the transition to electric vehicles.

The price of lithium-ion battery cells, which power everything from smartphones to the International Space Station, fell below $100/ kilowatthour (kWh) last month – a 33 per cent drop from March 2022 and an 8.7 per cent month-on-month drop.


Energy analytics firm Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, who compiled the figures, noted that battery pack prices need to reach $100/kWh for electric vehicles to reach price parity with fossil fuel-burning vehicles.

“Decreasing cell prices could allow [manufacturers] to sell mass market electric vehicles at comparable prices to internal combustion engine vehicles, with the same margin, improving the attractiveness of the EV transition for both consumers and automakers,” said Benchmark analyst Evan Hartley.

“Falling cell prices are of particular concern for companies investing in cell production outside of China, particularly when there is already concern surrounding the profitability of factories in regions such as Europe.”

The drop in price could also have implications for other technologies, the report noted, including for solar and wind installations that need to store excess energy during periods of overproduction.

Read more:

UK EV market entering ‘new phase’, says SMMT

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has said that the UK electric vehicle (EV) market has now left the ‘early adopter’ phase.

The trade association stated that the UK EV market is now “entering a new phase” as it is anticipating the clean mobility solution to reach an almost 18% market share by the end of 2023.

EVs in the UK have been growing in popularity due to a number of incentives and legislation, particularly the 2030 ban on the sale of fossil fuel powered internal combustion engines (ICEs).

The result, according to SMMT, has seen more than 800,000 EVs registered – a staggering 21-fold increase since 2018 when it had a market share of 0.7%.

The electrification of fleets is said to be “leading” the transition, SMMT said, but the end of private consumer incentives is currently undermining mass market demand.

Highlighting this issue, the trade body’s research shows that two thirds of drivers want to go electric but are being held back by lack of incentives and infrastructure. However, when drivers do adopt an EV, nine in 10 state they would “never go back” to a conventionally fuelled vehicle.

One of the biggest issues in the adoption of EVs cited by SMMT is affordability and uncertainty regarding the availability of a nationwide charging network.

Read more: Current+

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Octopus Energy to double the export rate of its EV tariff

Octopus Energy has confirmed that it will almost double the export rate of its electric vehicle (EV) tariff ‘Octopus Go’ to 8p/kWh.

The export rate for Octopus Go, which provides cost-effective overnight charging for EVs, was previously priced at 4.1p/kWh for exported electricity via the company’s Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) tariff.

Copyright: maridav / 123RF Stock Photo

But through the introduction of the new export tariff ‘Outgoing Fixed Lite’, those customers with solar panels and an EV will now receive 8p for each kWh exported back to the grid via vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology. Octopus stated that the use of this tariff could see an average household make an additional £66 a year.

“Octopus Energy is the number one EV tariff provider for a reason. Thanks to our customers and their EVs helping balance the grid at night, we’ve continued to unlock savings to pass on to our greenest customers. Octopus Go customers with solar panels will now earn twice as much money for the energy they export back to the grid – it certainly pays to be green,” said Rebecca Dibb-Simkin, chief product officer at Octopus Energy.

Last week, Octopus Energy announced a number of initiatives to support EV drivers, including a new 15p per kWh export tariff, and a community energy EV charging partnership with Co Charger.

Read more: Current+

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As prices fall, two thirds of global car sales could be EVs by 2030, study says

LONDON, Sept 14 (Reuters) – Spurred by falling battery prices, electric vehicles could hit price parity with fossil-fuel models in Europe in 2024 and the U.S. market in 2026, and account for two thirds of global car sales by 2030, according to new research.

A report by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) on Thursday predicts battery costs should halve this decade, from $151 per kilowatt hour (kWh) in 2022 to between $60 and $90 per kWh, making EVs “for the first time as cheap to buy as petrol cars in every market by 2030 as well as cheaper to run.”

Batteries are expensive and account for around 40% of an EV’s price tag, a cost that has so far made them unaffordable for many consumers.

But those prices are steadily coming down as carmakers invest in new battery chemistries, materials and software to make more efficient EVs, RMI senior principal Kingsmill Bond told Reuters.

According to RMI’s analysis, the rapid growth of electric models in Europe and China “implies that EV sales will increase at least six-fold by 2030, to enjoy a market share of 62% to 86% of sales.”

EV sales in the European Union jumped almost 61% in July versus the same month in 2022, accounting for 13.6% of all car sales.

The European Union aims to ban the sale of new fossil-fuel models from 2035.

Read more: Reuters

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Chinese electric cars will reduce UK emissions but what about rivals here?

The UK is facing a dilemma: should it fight the rising imports of Chinese electric cars with big new tariffs, in the same way the EU has threatened to do this week? Or should it allow them to continue? Keeping open to the imports in would make it easier for the UK to hit its goal of no new petrol and diesel cars by 2030, and it would make electric cars cheaper. But the UK car industry could be damaged.

The British car industry is showing off its green electric future at a Bedfordshire racetrack, and behind the marques, some familiar, some less so, there is a new force.

China is cornering the market in electric vehicles.

 

After a rough start, Tesla’s sales in China are booming. It may soon manufacture in Shanghai for the world’s biggest EV market

A friendly man from Chinese firm BYD shows me the Atto.

“We’re really proud of this car,” says Mark Blundell. “It’s new to the market, and packed full of technology. In simple terms we can pack 50% more battery into less space.”

The car’s interior is inspired by a gym. It has a heat pump as standard, vegan leather, and strings on the door map-pocket tight enough to “get a tune out of”. The display screen on the dashboard rotates at the press of a button.

For now, hands should still be on the steering wheel, though China expects to be ahead of the game on autonomous driving too.

And the all important battery life and range? Impressive.

Read more: BBC

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Is faster always better when it comes to EV charging?

22kWh home chargers slash your charging time, but for home use they might not be worth the hassle

Power matters when it comes to charging electric cars. Generally, the more Watts, the faster the potentially tiresome business takes place.

Renault ZOE

The fastest public car chargers offer up to 400kW, nearly 130 times the power you get from a three-pin socket at home. It’s enough to fill even the largest electric car batteries in record time. A long range Hyundai Ioniq 5 for example, on a 350kW charger, can get from 10% to 80% in around 18 minutes. That’s nearly 14 miles of added range every five minutes.

Of course, if you can, it’s vastly cheaper and more convenient to charge your electric car at home. But home chargers, which use alternating current (AC) rather than the direct current (DC) of rapid public ones, are much slower. Getting a full battery is typically an overnight affair.

The slowest home chargers run at 3.2kW, though most are 7.4kW which is about the same power as your home cooker circuit. These will fully charge a car like the long range Ioniq 5 in a rather pedestrian 11 hours or so.

Faster, 22kW AC home chargers are available, though. They sound appealing and can potentially slash your charging time to a third. But is the mindset of maximising your charging power at home a fallacy? Should you buy one? Probably not, and here’s why.

Read more: T3

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