A quarter of motorists misunderstand the range capabilities of ULEVs, with 16% believing electric vehicles are unable to travel 50 miles without recharging. Yet the research also shows that more than a third of drivers said the furthest they drove in a single journey during 2014 was 80 miles or less.
Go Ultra Low claims pure-electric vehicles are able to travel up to 100 miles on a single charge and other plug-in ULEVs boasting up to 700 miles’ range.
The survey reveals
- There is widespread lack of understanding about the speed at which the batteries in ULEVs can be recharged. Nearly 50% of drivers were unaware of rapid-charging facilities that can refuel a vehicle in 30 minutes.
- Almost one in ten wrongly believe that electric cars cannot be driven on the motorway, while nearly one in 20 think it’s dangerous to recharge them in the rain.
- More than one quarter of motorists are of the opinion that ULEVs are more expensive to run than a conventional diesel- or petrol-powered car. This opinion is considerably higher among men (32%) than women (25%).
- Go Ultra Low says, despite falling fuel prices in recent months, the cost of fuelling a ULEV remains far cheaper than a petrol or diesel vehicle, being as little as 2p per mile, compared to around 12p per mile for a typical petrol or diesel car – representing a saving of £660 a year for the average motorist.
- Thanks to CO2 emissions of less than 75g/km, all ULEV vehicles are exempt from road tax, yielding potential savings of around £850 compared to the average car on the road over a five-year period.
Read our story on Ultra-Low Emission Vehicles (ULEVs) to find out more
