Error parsing XSLT file: \xslt\FacebookOpenGraph.xslt Mike Waters' Blog: 9 July 2008
Cookies on Businesscar

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Car website. However, if you would like to, you can change your cookies at any time

BusinessCar magazine website email Awards mobile

The start point for the best source of fleet information

Mike Waters' Blog: 9 July 2008

Date: 09 July 2008

Mike Waters is head of market analysis at Arval

With stories about the credit crunch and rising fuel prices dominating the headlines at the moment, alternative fuel vehicles appear to provide an attractive option. After all, Renault has announced that electric vehicles could account for a fifth of the total global car market by 2020.

Making the switch to electric

With stories about the credit crunch and rising fuel prices dominating the headlines at the moment, alternative fuel vehicles appear to provide an attractive option. After all, Renault has announced that electric vehicles could account for a fifth of the total global car market by 2020.

Governments across Europe are supporting electric vehicles and offering incentives for drivers to get one, in particular through tax breaks.

In its renewable energy strategy, the UK Government points toward the potential for electric cars as a way of hitting CO2 targets.

So, with this in mind, will we all be driving an electric car in a couple of year's time and is this the end for my diesel saloon?

Well, the answer is probably not. Modern electric vehicles are still a relatively new technology and as with any recent technology there are a host of issues to overcome before they become a truly viable option for the mass market.

In the past electric cars have struggled because they are not as practical as current alternatives and in many ways this is still the case.

For example, despite potential tax breaks and fuel savings, at the moment the initial cost of an electric vehicle is high. Apart from a few early adoptors, most people wait for the flaws in the technology to be ironed out and for the price to come down before purchasing.

There are also issues around practicality. Pretty much all of the electric cars on the market are small. While they are fine for trips around town they are not suited to the UK family holiday, a tip run or a trip to the airport to pick up the relatives.

At the moment there are also concerns around our infrastructure. If for example you want to take a trip from London to Liverpool, an electric vehicle would not make it without re-charging at least once. Where to do this would be a problem, plus re-charging would take at least a couple of hours, seriously adding to the duration of your journey.

At the moment hybrid technology provides a stepping-stone because it offers some of the benefits of electric with the petrol engine kicking in when electric becomes impractical. There is also a new breed of efficient, low emission petrol and diesel cars coming onto the market which provide some kind of compromise.

There is still a great deal of uncertainty around what the fuel of the future will be, although I am in no doubt that electric will have a role to play. The Governments' recently released Renewable Energy Strategy consultation talks about the possibility of powering large numbers of electric vehicles through the national grid, so the debate is starting to move.

As battery technology improves, which it will, it will become a more viable option, but at the moment my advice on vehicle choice is decide why you need the vehicle and purchase the one that best fits that purpose, which I guess could be electric.



Share


Subscribe