Everything You Need To Know About Electric Cars

With electric cars becoming increasingly popular, we could be seeing the beginning of the end for petrol and diesel cars.

But are electric cars providing everything they set out to?

We all know that electric cars help reduce the level of pollution, but only as long as the electricity used to power the cars is sustainable and renewable, such as wind or solar energy.

Being able to plug your car in and charge it up – rather than take it for a pricey trip to the petrol station – seems a preferred option, but what else do we need to know about electric cars?

Charging An Electric Car

So far, the large majority of electric car owners are also home owners who have off-street parking where they can safely and securely plug their car in overnight. For those living in terraced streets or apartments charging is not so simple.

Manufacturers are envisioning charging points to become ubiquitous at workplaces, shopping centres, railway stations, hotels and cinemas in the future. As well as the inclusion of rapid chargers that could potentially charge a car within 30 minutes, available at motorway service stations allowing for longer journeys.

Battery Life

Although a lot of people have trepidations about the longevity of the battery life, most mass marketed electric cars have a range of 100-150 miles before the battery runs flat with some of the top end vehicles, such as Tesla’s electric sports models, being able to travel 334 miles before needing a recharge.

In the UK it is rare that a car journey reaches 100 miles, so a single charge would easily be enough to achieve any journey. Longer distances can be achieved with the use of a hybrid motor where a petrol motor can come in to play to power the engine after the battery has run out.

Expected technology for the future should extend the battery life to be able to manage 400 miles within a decade. In the future of used cars, electric may be a great option.