RECENT shortages of petrol and diesel due to problems with supply to fuel stations have put the spotlight firmly on electric vehicles, already selling at their fastest pace ever.
However, the shortages have not solely been down to problems with supply, but part of an ongoing shift in patterns of usage. The number of petrol stations in the UK has fallen by nearly a quarter in the past years according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS).
Pilgrim Beart, co-founder and Chief Executive of DevicePilot, a software platform that helps EV charging businesses like PodPoint manage its large estate of EV chargers said that the fuel shortage emphasised that EVs are the future and fossil fuels are the past.
He said: “This is not a blip, it is part of an ongoing shift in patterns of usage. The rapid embracing of EVs is accelerating a shift in usage. Recharging cars at home overnight is the norm for users who can. Does this mean the end of today’s forecourts? Not yet. It will be a long time, if ever, before everyone can do this.
“Drivers with high mileage, or taking long trips, will always need rapid recharging. Today’s petrol forecourts represent valuable real-estate ideally-placed for today’s and tomorrow’s EV drivers.
“Becoming a leading EV nation should be a high priority, long-term objective for any government today. Thankfully, as a small, rich and densely populated country, the UK should be in a prime position to embrace EVs. We are on the right path already, but more needs to be done.
“We do not yet have the infrastructure required to take the lead in the EV revolution. Many parts of the UK are without the fast, functional EV charging points needed to make electric vehicles viable for everyday use. Intervention and investment is sorely needed. ”
Reliability is also a top priority. When charging points are too busy, broken or otherwise unavailable, it prevents travel and turns people off to the idea of EV charging. We need the industry to meet 99.99% reliability standards that people expect of petrol refuelling if EVs are to surpass combustion vehicles in the short term.”
It does appear that home energy providers are gearing up to drive faster electric vehicle adoption as part of their strategic push toward ‘net zero’ carbon for Britain.
That’s the view of leading advertising and car buying demand generation platform, Autovia, which has revealed that it is in talks with four of Britain’s leading home energy providers to connect them with EV buyers.
Autovia believes that by focusing attention mostly around EV charging infrastructure on roads, popular media commentary often misses the bigger picture. But, as the company’s discussions with major home energy players are revealing, EV adoption is a major strategic plank in winning the domestic electric tariffs competition and ultimately creating battery-powered homes.
Energy providers have approached Autovia because its motoring information brands – such as Auto Express, DrivingElectric, Carbuyer are a hub for millions of ‘EV-curious’ car buyers.
They want to be connected with those potential customers, along with hundreds of thousands who already own an EV, and better understand them via thousands of detailed profiles contained in Autovia’s Customer Data Platform (CDP).
Autovia says that the day is fast approaching when electric cars and home energy provision will become a bundled package as familiar to consumers as a smartphone and data plan is today.
Data from across Autovia’s content platforms and CDP reveal massive building momentum for EV adoption. Articles about electric cars and guides to currently available EVs are taking a rapidly increasing share of the company’s overall traffic of almost 100 million annual visitors and more than 250 million page views.
Even on it online platform, Buyacar.co.uk, which sells used cars only, the percentage share of searches for electric cars was 56% higher in September than during the same month last year.
Autovia also predicts the future widespread availability of ‘white label’ EVs, branded with the names of energy suppliers rather than car makers, as the electrification of motoring gathers pace.
Andy Oldham, Chief Executive of Autovia, said: “No one should underestimate the pace of change in our EV market and not just in terms of how many vehicles are being sold.
“What is now underway is a transformation of the market with some of the biggest names – never previously associated with cars – seeing an opportunity to win customers who will help them achieve a more sustainable business model.
“The SMMT revealed that September’s EV sales were the only bright spot in the worst new car month since 1998 and every one of those 32,721 EV buyers has a home that energy companies want to supply.
“For them, identifying tomorrow’s EV buyers is now a key strategic plank in their future business model, especially since the recent gas price disruptions that saw a number of smaller energy providers go to the wall.”
For energy companies the pressure is mounting to meet carbon reductions to ‘net zero’ and end reliance on fossil fuels. One ultimate goal is the battery-powered home and EVs are increasingly seen as a gateway to that ambition.
Oldham also noted that these developments confirm predictions in a 2019 KPMG report that a wide range of energy-related services, including power tariffs as well as charging infrastructure, solar energy devices, insurance and finance packages will be bundled at the EV point of sale.
KPMG argues that such bundled finance products will offset the high initial purchase costs of EVs for ordinary motorists, describing the electrified future as ‘a revolution for motor financing’.
Oldham said: “We will also see car choices influenced by different electricity tariffs in a way we never saw with brand choices of petrol or diesel, which opens the way to brand new ownership packages for electric vehicles.
“Our conversations with energy suppliers who want to be connected with EV adopters seem to be heralding a more complete transformation of the car market than most commentators predict and we are very excited to be part of it.”
New research by Peugeot reveals that electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle owners travel further in their cars over the space of a week than those driving petrol or diesel cars. In a study of 1,800 UK drivers, with a proportionate mix of electric, hybrid, petrol and diesel car owners, the manufacturer found electric and plug-in hybrid owners cover on average 109 miles in their cars per week, compared to just 88 miles per week for petrol and diesel owners.
Drivers of plug-in hybrid electric cars were found to make up the most miles in a week, covering on average 127 miles, while petrol vehicles travelled the least distance in a week, with an average mileage of 81 miles. Fully electric vehicle owners were found to cover 91 miles per week, just shy of the 94 miles covered by diesel owners.
The research comes ahead of the expansion of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), which will see only fully electric vehicles being exempt from paying Congestion Charges from October 25th.
Less than a fifth (18%) of petrol and diesel drivers told Peugeot they drive more than 200 miles on average in a week. However, the research showed that range anxiety is still a major concern for internal combustion engine (ICE) drivers thinking of making the switch to fully electric cars.
Over one-third (36%) of ICE drivers say the range of EVs is the biggest factor stopping them from making the switch, whilst electric vehicle cost (53%) and a lack of public charging infrastructure (43%) were other leading concerns.
Julie David, Managing Director of Peugeot UK, said: “Our latest research busts the myth that electric vehicles are only good for shorter trips. Fully electric cars cover more miles per week than petrol vehicles, and with the upcoming expansion to London’s ULEZ, driving an electric vehicle may become a practical option for even more drivers.
“It is also important to highlight that more drivers use their EVs to get to work and back, showing their real-world capability. Our latest models offer more than 200 miles of range, which is well within the weekly limits for the majority of users.”
