Reasons to switch to an electric car

It’s been something that has been playing on my mind for a while now – the fact that I would really like to trade in our family car and switch to an electric car.

We live in Greater London, on the Heathrow Flight Path with planes flying overhead all day every day. The latest comparative statistics on air pollution across the London boroughs show that Richmond Upon Thames – the borough in which we live – is a whopping 66% over the European legal limit. OK not as bad as the 100% that the City of London, Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, and Camden are struggling to breathe with, but still absolutely unacceptable nonetheless.

The shocking air quality in and around London is no secret. It’s a calamity.

Because of the terrible state of play, this has to be a no-brainer time to switch to electric – we can all do our bit in combating the out of control levels of omissions in the capital. There are various factors supporting that notion, for example, the fact that the government is providing grants to reduce the cost of purchasing an electric car, providing up to £4,500 towards the cost of a plug-in vehicle.

Another factor which has perhaps put me off before is the worry of how we would charge an electric car at home. Well, the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) provides the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme which offers £500 off the cost of purchasing and installing a new home chargepoint. A huge help there.

Previously, the number of models of electric cars on the market was pretty limited. It felt like it was a  Toyota Prius, or nothing. But now other car manufacturers are waking up to the need to provide electric cars as an option. For example, now there is the Nissan Leaf, the Kia Soul, and the BMW i3. Moreover, car manufacturers are starting to see this as a potentially lucrative business and so are working on electric cars that can go further, cost last and accelerate further – good news for we, the people!

Now let’s talk cost savings. You don’t have to be a genius to work this out – there is a lot to be gained in terms of cost savings by switching from a petrol to an electric car – potentially over £900 a year. Just think what else you could spend that on.

Finally, charge points are generally becoming much more accessible. Before, I would be really nervous that you  would only be able to drive for a certain amount of time before you run out of power and then….big uh oh. Thankfully, there are a few companies out there who are working hard to provide more chargepoints like the NewMotion Charging Stations across the UK, and that’s good news everyone wanting to switch to electric….like me!

Are you thinking about making a switch to an electric car? What are your reasons for doing so? Please do share in a comment below.

*This is a collaborative post 

 

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