i

Electric Cars, Vans and Bikes

Copyright © 2023 Jeff Allan & Maddie Cottam-Allan

All rights reserved.
ISBN: 9798750122585
Edition 7

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 Electric Cars, Vans and Bikes

DEDICATION

for
Professor Sir David McKay
whose book “Sustainable Energy - without the hot air”
was my inspiration.

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 Electric Cars, Vans and Bikes

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments ix

1 Introduction 1

2 Driving an Electric Car 3

3 Economics 5

4 Are You Saving the Planet? 8

5 Lifetime Considerations 13

6 Safety 16

7 Assessing Your Needs 18

8 Hybrid Cars 23

9 Buying or Leasing a New Car 27

10 Buying a Used Car 35

11 Charging at Home 42

12 Driving Long Distances 49

13 Driving Abroad 55

14 Electric Vans 57

15 Electric Bikes 59

16 Hydrogen Cars 62

17 History 66

18 Future Trends 70

19 Sprints Hillclimbs Speed Trials and 72

Drag racing
20 Getting Further Information 75

About the Author and Illustrator 84

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thanks to my family - Amanda, Jenny, Ben, Jamie and Maddie for

putting up with my obsession with electric cars and hydrogen
trains.

I am most grateful to my mentor Professor Brian Mellitt for kindling

my interest in electric traction.

I am indebted to Maddie who has simultaneously brought humour

and art to the book.

Thanks also to the many people who, largely by means of social

media, have contributed to my knowledge. They are too numerous
to mention but I must except Lynne Woolliscroft whose advice on
economics deserves special acknowledgement.

I am grateful for proof/beta-reading carried out by Penny Harrison.

Lastly, I would like to thank Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton

and Hove for permission to use the copy of the photograph of
Magnus Volk to be found on page 67.

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 Electric Cars, Vans and Bikes

1 INTRODUCTION

I started writing this book in 2016. I have now updated and

expanded it in 2023. Much has changed since 2016 - there is a
much better understanding by the general public for the need to
do something about emissions to halt or preferably reverse
climate change. This is in no small measure due to heroes such
as the Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg. The youth
of today are taking the lead in pointing out the need for action.

Changing from a diesel or petrol car to an electric or hybrid

undoubtedly reduces emissions but you can reduce them still
further as explained in the chapter “Are You Saving the Planet?”

The government has set a target of 2030 for the elimination of

new petrol or diesel cars in the UK. It may surprise readers that
progress since 2016 is on target in 2023. (See “Getting Further
Information” chapter).

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This book tries to explain how you can drive an electric car.
Please enjoy the new found freedom of driving an electric car. You
do not have to read the book sequentially nor do you have to read
everything in a chapter.

If you are reading this book, you have a pioneering spirit. If you
drive an electric car you are a pioneer.

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2 DRIVING AN ELECTRIC CAR

It takes a while but gradually you realise how archaic a petrol or

diesel car is. The rst thing you notice in an electric car is that
there is no engine to start. You do not have to worry about the car
stalling. Unlike a manual gearbox car, you will note there is no
clutch and typically only two gears or directions - Drive (forward)
and Reverse. For those of you who have a smug face at this point
because you are used to driving an automatic, there is even a
difference here. An automatic still has multiple gears and you will
know when it changes gear because there is a slight change in
acceleration and you will see the RPM of the engine change. An
electric car usually has only one forward gear. An electric car is
capable of going from zero speed to top speed in one gear (in the
case of my Tesla, top speed is limited to 155mph).

There are more bene ts. The car is extremely quiet. So quiet,
indeed, that manufacturers of new electric cars have added a
noise at low speeds to warn unwary pedestrians. The car is clean.
It is amazing how much smell there is when lling a petrol or
diesel car with fuel. Some will be surprised to nd that avoiding
the need to ll up at a petrol station is a bene t. What about the
problem of charging an electric car? There is more detail later but
for most people, it is possible to charge effortlessly at home or
work while the car is not being used.

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The battery is heavy but placed very low down. This makes an
electric car particularly stable when cornering.

When you take your foot off the accelerator, it will slow the car
down, like a petrol or diesel car in a low gear. Unlike a petrol or
diesel car an electric car also uses the energy needed to slow it
down to recharge the battery! When you press the brake even
more energy is fed into the battery. This means less wear on the
brakes (and therefore lower maintenance costs) and you are
saving energy.

If you want the heating or air conditioning on while you are sat
stationary in the car, there is no need to worry about polluting the
air nearby as you would with a petrol or diesel car.

Most electric cars are safer in an accident than their equivalent

petrol or diesel equivalent.

So are there any disadvantages? If you have to drive a long

distance, then you may need to charge the car partway through
the journey. If your electric car has limited range this can increase
the journey time signi cantly but if you have an electric car with a
good range, for example a Tesla, this break in driving is likely to be
needed in any case to refresh the driver as well as the car.

Most people do not notice that a petrol or diesel car uses more
fuel in the winter than the summer. The difference with an electric
car is more marked. You may easily have less than 2/3 of the
range in winter that you have in summer. As long as you bear this
in mind when selecting your electric car, this should not be a
problem but it does catch out a number of new drivers of electric
cars.

You will not be alone driving an electric car but you will one of a
small number. However, at the time of writing, in the UK around
17% of new cars are battery electric. In Norway this is close to
100%. Electric cars are getting more popular in Britain. It is dif cult
to move more than a few hundred yards in a large city without
spotting an electric car.

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3 ECONOMICS

It will surprise many readers of this book to nd that running a

battery electric car is usually cheaper than running an equivalent
petrol or diesel car. You need to take into account all the costs of
running a car: Initial cost of car minus nal sale price of your car,
or leasing cost, fuel costs, vehicle tax cost, Bene t In Kind (BIK)
cost (where applicable), insurance cost, servicing cost, MOT cost
(where applicable), interest on any loan needed for your car,
congestion charge (where applicable), low emission area charge
(where applicable). All prices in this book are referenced to
February 2023.

Let’s consider each in turn, starting with capital or leasing costs. If

you buy your car, whether new or used, you need to consider the
up-front capital cost. Battery electric cars are generally a higher
cost than an equivalent petrol or diesel car, however for new
battery electric cars, the government provides a grant to reduce
the purchase price of new low emission cars. This used to require
the consumer to apply for it but it is now applied for by the dealer
so the grant should already be included in the purchase price. It
does not harm to ask the dealer if the grant has been deducted
from the purchase price!

If you live in a at, you can get a grant of up to £350 to have a

home charger installed and this applies to a new car or a used car

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(see “Getting Further Information” chapter). Some manufacturers

offer to install a home charger as part of the deal of buying an
electric car. Battery electric cars used to depreciate appreciably
but now it is usual to nd that battery electric cars depreciate less
than their petrol or diesel car equivalent, so you may nd the
difference between the price you paid at the beginning of
ownership and the sale price at the end is less than for a petrol or
diesel car. With regard to leasing costs, these are a little higher for
electric cars rather than petrol or diesel but as time goes by, less
so.

I would like to give a practical example to demonstrate fuel costs. I

drive a Tesla Model S. I have therefore chosen an equivalent
petrol car - a Jaguar XF to provide a comparison. My annual
mileage is around 10,000 miles. I know that my Tesla consumes
0.361kWh (kilowatt-hour) per mile. My electricity bill shows that I
pay £0.321 per kWh. Therefore if I charged my car fully at home, it
would cost £10,000*0.361*0.321 = £1,159. In fact I often charge at
Tesla superchargers for long journeys. These are free for me as
my Tesla was one of the rst and free supercharging was provided
for the life of the car! Another factor is that I have solar cells on the
roof of my house so in practice, my fuel costs are a fraction of the
above amount.

Now consider the equivalent petrol car, a Jaguar XF with a 3 litre

engine has a fuel consumption of up to 44 miles per gallon. A litre
of petrol costs about £1.64 today and there are 4.6 litres per
gallon. Therefore an annual mileage of 10,000 would cost
£10,000*1.64*4.6/44 = £1,714.

With regard to vehicle tax, my Tesla Model S has zero vehicle tax,
although it must be taxed every year. A Jaguar XF, if it was a
similar age, would be charged £265 per year. Vehicle tax for petrol
or electric cars varies according to the type of car but generally
the vehicle tax for a battery electric car will either be zero or less
than for an equivalent petrol car. Vehicle tax for alternative fuel
vehicles including hybrids are not zero after year one but will be
less than for petrol/diesel equivalents.

Bene t in Kind (BIK) applies to when a car is provided as part of

your work as a bene t. This is the tax which you pay for that

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bene t. BIK rates are complicated to work out but generally

electric cars attract lower BIK rates.

Insurance costs are broadly similar for all engine types.

Servicing costs are lower for electric cars because there are fewer
moving parts. Despite having driven over 100,000 miles in my
Tesla, it still has the original brake pads and discs. Interestingly, I
used to have my Tesla serviced once per year but when I
contacted my Tesla dealer recently, I was told they don’t bother
with an annual service and instead just x things when they go
wrong!

MOT test is the same cost for cars, regardless of engine type.

Interest on loans is not affected by the engine type, although it will

vary considerably dependent on where you get your loan.

Battery electric cars qualify for a 100% discount from the

congestion charge in London but you have to register for that
exemption and there is a registration fee of £10 each year. The
exemption is expected to be withdrawn in December 2025. (See
“Getting Further Information” chapter).

Battery electric cars qualify for the 100% cleaner vehicle discount
in the London Ultra Low Emission Zone at present but it is
advisable to check if you plan to drive in London regularly.

So far the costs I have described are personal costs but there are
costs to society associated with driving a car, whether electric,
diesel or petrol in terms of effect on climate change, the planet’s
limited resources and harm to health of the general public. These
are covered in the next chapter “Are You Saving the Planet?”

In summary, fuel costs, vehicle tax, BIK, servicing costs,

congestion charge London Ultra Low Emission Zone costs are
either zero or much lower for a battery electric car than a petrol or
diesel car. Capital costs may be higher for a battery electric car
but depreciation may be less. Individual cases need to be
considered but generally the running costs of a battery electric car
should be cheaper than the equivalent petrol or diesel car.

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4 ARE YOU SAVING THE PLANET?

If you want to save the planet, don’t buy a car, not even an electric
car - walk instead. If you need to travel further, use a bicycle (See
“Electric Bikes” chapter). If you need to go further still, use a
sustainable form of public transport, for example a full or
substantially full electric train powered from renewable sources
such as wind, hydro or solar. (See “Getting Further Information”
chapter).

However, for some, a car is essential, particularly for those with

reduced mobility or living in a remote area. Furthermore, many,
like sel sh me, cannot resist the luxury and enjoyment of a car.
Therefore the real question to be asked is “Are you treating the
planet better by using an electric car rather than a petrol, diesel or
even a hydrogen powered car?” The simple answer is YES, but it
is a complex issue which I will try to explain. There are people who
will say no but these are all too often people who have a vested
interest in exploiting fossil fuels or current automotive technology.

One important point if you live in a city is that you are saving lives
by driving an electric car rather than a petrol or diesel car because
there are no carcinogenic tail pipe emissions. It is a sobering
thought that more than 40,000 people a year die an early death
from air pollution in the UK. Contrast this with less than 2000
deaths per year from road accidents in the UK.

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Let us get back to the question - “Are You Saving the Planet?”.
There are two elements to consider - emissions (especially carbon
dioxide), and material resources. It is necessary also to consider
the manufacture of the car, the use of the car and the disposal of
the car - so called cradle to grave. Let us start with energy.

Energy is needed to extract the raw materials to make any car,

namely to transport the raw materials to the factory, to
manufacture a car, to transport a car to the dealer, to prepare a
car for a new owner, to deliver a car to a new owner. All this
energy is needed before an owner of a new car has driven the rst
mile. Volkswagen claim to achieve net zero on car production but
for other manufacturers, this energy may not be solely from
renewable resources. Therefore some emissions, especially
carbon dioxide but also others will have been produced. How
much energy? Does an electric car need more energy for these
processes?

Consider the vehicle part manufacturing and assembly process.

This is where the majority of the energy to manufacture (and
scrap) a car is used. It takes around 9400 kilowatt hours (kWh) of
energy to turn raw materials into a nished petrol or diesel car
(see “Getting Further Information” chapter). An electric car needs
up to 50% more energy due to the manufacturing of the battery -
around 14000kWh, but these gures need to be considered in the
whole lifecycle and are reducing all the time. The gure given here
is a conservative, high value. The energy of 14000kWh would be
enough to power my electric car 40000 miles. The energy used to
run my electric car for a lifetime of 100,000 miles would therefore
be just over 2.5 times the energy to manufacture it. In other words
the increased energy to manufacture an electric rather than a
petrol or diesel car is signi cant. This means that for an electric
car to be better than a petrol car or a diesel car in terms of carbon
dioxide emissions, the generation of electricity used to run an
electric car must produce less carbon dioxide emission than that
produced when running a petrol or diesel car. However most
electric cars have a lifetime much longer than 100,000 miles. I am
hoping for 300,000 from mine over 30 years.

The carbon dioxide emissions for an electric car are dependent on

the fuel mix of the electricity generation. In Norway, for example,

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virtually 100% of the electricity is produced from renewable

sources - mainly hydro-electric generation, thus close to zero
carbon dioxide emissions are produced when driving an electric
car in Norway. Due to the high volume of electricity produced from
nuclear power in France, train journeys within that country
produce little in the way of carbon dioxide emission. At the other
extreme, in China, at present, a large percentage of the electricity
is produced from coal which produces large quantities of carbon
dioxide. In fact, and this is a most signi cant fact, if your electricity
is generated by coal, you may produce less carbon dioxide by
driving a smaller petrol or diesel car than an electric car! If you are
reading this in China, please consider buying an electric car for
two reasons - rstly you will not produce tail pipe emissions which
will clog the atmosphere in your city, secondly China is rapidly
changing the fuel mix of electricity, reducing the need for coal and
increasing the use of renewable fuels to replace dependency on
coal. The same can be said at the time of writing for USA, India,
Japan and South Korea. The UK mix is improving rapidly too - In
2020, 43% of UK power came from renewables. As of midnight on
10th June 2020, Britain had no coal- red power generation on its
grid for a full two months - the longest period effectively without
coal since the Industrial Revolution. You can nd information on
the UK daily mix, the effect of changing the mix and the annual
fuel mix for each nation. (See “Getting Further Information”
chapter)

Consider this simple calculation. My Tesla has required an

average of 354 Watt-hours of electricity per mile in the last seven
years/ 100,000 miles. As I write, the national grid is producing 169
grammes of carbon dioxide per kilo-Watt hour. Therefore my car
will produce 169 multiplied by .354 grammes of carbon dioxide per
mile, which is 60 grammes of carbon dioxide per mile if I power it
from the national grid. My Tesla is a fast, 2 tonne, comfortable 5
seater car. For comparison, a similar size diesel Jaguar car, a 3
litre turbo charged XJ Luxury produces nearly 300 grammes of
carbon dioxide per mile. Note that if it had been a petrol rather
than diesel engine it would produce even more carbon dioxide.

Smaller petrol or diesel cars produce less carbon dioxide but

equally so do smaller electric cars running on national grid
electricity.

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In the UK, based on present electricity generation fuel mix, use of

an electric car will produce less carbon dioxide and associated
emissions than an equivalent petrol or diesel car, providing the car
is used for a reasonable lifetime (in excess of around 50,000
miles) before being scrapped.

You can improve the situation further by tting solar cells to your
house roof - my solar cells have produced more energy than I
have used in my car. If I ran my car exclusively from the energy
produced from my solar cells, the car would release no carbon
dioxide during use.

There are other emissions. Electric cars tend to be heavier than

petrol or diesel cars so tyre wear is greater, however the electric
brake systems in electric cars means that they produce less brake
dust than petrol or diesel cars. The issue of tyre and brake
emissions is a serious one for city dwellers in particular. Electric
cars are approximately similar to petrol and diesel cars in this area
and therefore it can be expected that this remaining signi cant
health problem will need attention, even if we all eliminate tail pipe
emissions by changing over to electric cars. (see “Getting Further
Information” chapter)

Let us now turn attention to use of material resources. In the early

1950s, a car was predominantly made of steel, with a small
amount of aluminium, rubber and Bakelite (an early form of
plastic). Cars now, whether petrol, diesel or electric utilise more
exotic materials - platinum, for example is used in catalytic
converters for petrol cars. More aluminium is used to reduce body
weight and plastics abound. The numerous electric motors in a
petrol car for heating and ventilation, windscreen wipers, starter
motors, electric seats and tailgates utilise other resources such as
copper and magnetic materials which an electric car will typically
use in even greater quantities for the motors that drive the wheels.
This is before the extra resources in batteries are considered. If
our planet is not to be denuded by the production and use of cars,
then recycling at the end of car life is paramount. Recycling of
steel has been dealt with for some time. Recycling of rarer
materials is also being resolved, (see “Getting Further Information”
chapter).

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Recycling of electric car batteries can begin by electricity

companies utilising remaining electric storage capabilities. This
needs explaining. When electricity is generated for domestic use,
it has to be used at the time of generation because of costs and
problems of traditional methods of storage such as pumped water.
A used electric car battery will have diminished range for the
electric car but may still be used together with other used car
batteries by electricity utilities to store solar electricity generated
during the day and released from the used car batteries in the
hours of darkness when people want to cook, heat and light their
homes. A used electric car battery can be given a second life
before being taken apart for recycling its constituent parts (see
“Getting Further Information” chapter).

At the beginning of the chapter a hydrogen powered car was

mentioned. A hydrogen powered car using a fuel cell (which
converts hydrogen into electricity) produces no tail pipe emissions,
but presently has less than half the ef ciency of a battery powered
electric car.

There is interest in this technology as a replacement for diesel

engines in the area of trucks and railway engines where the
reduced ef ciency compared to battery in electric trucks and
railway trains is tolerated due to the short range, heavy weight and
high cost of battery electric alternatives. However battery
technology is catching up and we are already seeing battery
electric trucks.

In conclusion, in the UK, an electric car will produce less carbon

dioxide emissions than an equivalent petrol or diesel car providing
it is used for a reasonable lifetime mileage to offset the increased
energy needed to produce it. Emissions other than tail pipe
emissions (tyre and brake dust) are as much of a problem with
electric cars as petrol or diesel cars and remain a health concern.
The increased use of more exotic resources than steel in modern
car design, particularly electric cars needs particular attention to
recycling at the end of life. In other countries the calculation will be
different, depending upon the sources of electricity in that country
(as per Norway/China, referenced above.)

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5 LIFETIME CONSIDERATIONS
The good news is that there is no clutch or gear box to wear out.
Furthermore, the electric motors and controlling electric system
(power electronics) used in electric cars are considerably more
robust than petrol or diesel engines. They are likely to outlive the
rest of the car. Brake wear is less than on other types of car too
because electric cars have a regenerative brake. This means that
(as mentioned previously) the electric motor in an electric car acts
like a brake when the foot is taken off the accelerator and also (for
some cars) when the foot is placed on the brake. The energy
produced is fed into the battery slightly extending the range. This
electric braking action means conventional brake pads and discs
last longer. My electric car shows little sign of brake pad or disc
wear in over 100,000 miles of use.

The bad news is that the large weight of the battery typically
means that electric cars are heavier than an equivalent petrol or
diesel equivalent and therefore tyre wear may be more (but not
much more).

If anything does go wrong with the motor or battery, replacement

can be expensive. The need for replacement is unlikely, unless
associated with accident damage. Otherwise the motor is likely to
last much longer than the equivalent for a petrol or diesel car. This
is because there are fewer moving parts (there are no pistons,

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crankshafts, gearbox, camshafts, injectors etc.). The only wear in

an electric motor is on the bearings, but even this is much less
than the wear on the bearings in a petrol or diesel engine. There is
no gearbox but there is a reduction drive. The reduction drive,
because it is constantly engaged, is not under the same stress as
a variable speed gearbox that would be found on a petrol or diesel
car. The reduction drive is likely to outlive the rest of the car.

Due to the high level of taxation on petrol and diesel oil, fuel
(electricity) costs should be less. This may not be the case if you
are dependent on charging stations away from home on a
frequent basis if you have to pay a fee to use them. (See
“Economics” chapter).

Battery life is dif cult to predict. Over a long period of time,

batteries deteriorate. As a result, the range reduces, but it is for
the car owner to decide when a battery needs replacing - If the
owner is willing to tolerate a reduced range then the battery can
continue to be used. One driver may feel the need to replace a
battery with a reduced range of 90% compared to the range for a
new car. Another driver may be willing to allow it to reduce to say
70% before replacement. Eventually a battery will expire, but not
without warning of considerably reduced range. Battery life is
typically measured in full cycles i.e. charging to 100% and
discharging to 0%. One battery manufacturer quotes 1500 full
cycles. This seems to be an alarmingly small number. However
electric car manufacturers typically prevent drivers from
discharging to 0% and some prevent charging to 100%. This
extends the number of cycles that can be used considerably. I
would estimate that 1500 cycles could easily correspond to
200,000 miles if care is taken. There are a number of actions
which a driver can take to extend battery life. These include:

(As for any rechargeable battery)

1. Do not leave the car at full charge for any lengthy period. (Most
electric cars have a facility to charge it to a particular % - 80% is a
good gure to charge it to, if you are leaving it for a while).
2. Charge the car before it has fallen below 20%.
3. Do not leave the battery for extended periods of time in a state
of low charge.

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and
4. Charge often either at home or work (or both) rather than
charging regularly at the higher rate obtainable from high speed
chargers. This is because charging regularly at the higher rate will
shorten the life of the battery due to the extra stress placed on it
while charging at this rate.

However there will be times when you need a full charge and you
may nd your journey forces you to use the battery until the
charge is less than 20%. Occasional use is not a problem.

To give some indication of a typical time period for the life of a

battery - When I bought my Tesla the battery was guaranteed for
eight years (with unlimited mileage). Nissan currently offer ve
years or 60,000 miles, whichever comes soonest. Battery prices
fall with time in any case so by the time you need a new battery,
say 15 years or more, the price of a replacement battery should
be much less than the original cost.

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6 SAFETY
It may be surprising to learn that most battery electric cars are
safer than the equivalent petrol or diesel car. Even more
surprisingly it is due to the battery. The battery is a structural part
of the car and strengthens the car providing better protection in a
crash than an equivalent petrol or diesel car. The Tesla model S
was the rst car to achieve 5 stars in European NCAP safety
ratings. The tests have got stricter since then but Tesla
consistently scores 5 stars (see “Getting Further Information”
chapter).

Although a battery electric car has the potential to give a lethal

electric shock, there are many safety features which prevent this
from happening. It is for example perfectly safe to charge your car
while it is raining. Nevertheless it is advisable not to use a high
pressure hose to clean your car when it is charging.

To ensure this inherent safety, a home charger should be installed

by an electrician quali ed to t electric chargers. Also cables
should be replaced if they have suffered physical damage.

Fires in electric cars receive far more, and unfair, press attention
than res in petrol or diesel cars, even though they are far less
likely to occur. Fires in either type of car are dangerous for
different reasons. Therefore if you suspect a re while in a car,

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maybe due to a burning smell, smoke or worse still ames, the

advice is the same - leave the car immediately and move a safe
distance away before calling the emergency re service. A re in a
petrol car is likely to lead to an explosion once the re reaches the
petrol tank.

A re in an electric car is different. You need fuel, oxygen and an

ignition source for a re. The problem with a battery re in an
electric car is that it is likely to produce a continuous ignition
source if the battery is damaged. Therefore the re brigade may
have to monitor an electric car for up to 24 hours after putting the
re out for that reason (see “Getting Further Information” chapter).

Safety considerations for hydrogen cars are different and are

covered in the “Hydrogen Cars” chapter).

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7 ASSESSING YOUR NEEDS

Size of the boot, number of seats, height, length, width, colour,
price are all familiar factors that are considered when choosing a
petrol or diesel car, whether new or used. There are other similar
factors that may be considered and these all apply equally to
electric cars. However, it is rare that a consideration is the size of
the fuel tank for a petrol or diesel car but for a battery electric car,
range is a consideration uppermost in most people’s minds.
However it is not a good idea to select an electric car solely on
range considerations. A small battery car with a great range for
example may not be the best choice for a large family.

How can you determine what range you do need and whether a
low range is adequate for your needs? If you drive a petrol or
diesel car at present, one effective way is to use the phone app
EV8 Switch which is available for android phones and iPhone
phones obtainable from wherever you normally get your apps (for
example app store for iPhones). After you have installed the EV8
app, it will automatically monitor your travel by petrol or diesel car
and provide reports as shown below.

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The report below shows daily journeys - where you have been, the
start time, mileage and average speed. You can delete individual
journeys. For example it may pick up a bus journey, a train journey
or a car journey where you are being driven rather than driving
your own car or using another person’s car.

Report on daily journeys

Another report shows the total mileage monitored, the average

weekly miles, the average daily miles and the number of days that
data has been collected. It also shows data for individual days and
whether a short range, medium range or long range EV would be
suitable. For most people, even those making the occasional long

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journey, a short range EV is usually adequate, although for a long

journey it is necessary to charge during the journey (See “Driving
Long Distances” chapter).

Report on total journeys

Once you have established whether you need a short range,

medium range or long range car, the app shows new cars
available that meet these needs. An example of short range cars
is shown below.

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Report on new cars available

The report shown below summarises your journey types and how
much emissions you could reduce by switching to an electric car.

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Report on emissions

If you are going to buy a new or used electric car you also need to
consider charging at home (See “Charging at Home” chapter).

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8 HYBRID CARS
A hybrid car has two forms of power. A hybrid car normally has a
conventional petrol (or diesel) internal combustion engine and also
the components for a pure electric car - a battery and a motor/
generator. This allows operation either from the battery like a pure
electric car or by means of the petrol (or diesel) engine. They offer
long range from the petrol or diesel engine but use the battery and
motor/generator to reduce the amount of time the petrol or diesel
engine is needed, leading to quiet emission free driving when the
car is electrically rather than petrol or diesel engine driven and an
overall decreased fuel consumption compared to a conventional
car with just a petrol/diesel engine. The additional components in
a hybrid make it more expensive and heavier than a conventional
petrol or diesel car. It may be more unreliable due to the additional
complexity too.

The battery of a hybrid is typically charged when the car is braked,

but also by the petrol or diesel engine when the petrol or diesel
engine is being used to drive the car. Most recently built hybrid
cars allow you to charge the battery from charge points at home,
at work or at public charge points. This ensures you have a
charged battery before you set off and it is then not essential to
drive the car from the engine and does increase the opportunity to
drive the car under electric power.

When I rst started writing this book, I was in two minds as to

whether to include a chapter on hybrid cars as they are not pure

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electric cars. However I can see they are more likely to be

acceptable to current drivers of petrol or diesel cars than pure
electric cars, not least because you are not wholly dependent on
the battery being charged to travel long distances. Indeed you
could drive a hybrid car without even being aware that it has an
electric capability as most hybrid cars will automatically switch
between electric or petrol/diesel. They may be a good route
towards reducing dependency on fossil fuels for those people who
are reluctant to make the full switch to electric.

There are several different categories of hybrid cars ranging from

micro to full hybrid. A micro hybrid car will simply switch off the
engine if you are stationary at traf c lights and switch the engine
on when you want to move off. There is no capability to drive with
the electric motor alone but it does decrease fuel consumption
and reduces emissions when in stationary traf c. A large number
of modern cars have this facility and most drivers of such cars are
not even aware that they are driving a micro hybrid car. This is
often referred to as stop-start technology. At the other end of the
spectrum, a full hybrid car is capable of being driven by the
electric motor alone, typically when setting off, reversing and in
town for short journeys. Providing the battery has been charged
suf ciently, full hybrid cars will start off on the electric motor and
automatically switch to petrol or diesel when the battery is no
longer suf ciently charged. Some early hybrids did not have a
facility to charge the battery at charge points. The more recently
built hybrids have this facility and are known as “plug in” hybrids.
Some manufacturers have controversially used the lack of a plug
in facility as a selling point! They have been branded as “self
charging”.

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One of the most popular hybrid cars is the ubiquitous Toyota Prius.

A pair of Toyota Prius cars

The Toyota Prius is much favoured by taxi drivers in cities for its
low fuel consumption. It is also popular in London as it has been
exempt from the congestion charge. The early Toyota Prius was
without a plug in capability but more recently built ones have that
capability.

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The following is a list of other manufacturers of popular full hybrid

cars:

Volvo, Audi, Kia, Hyundai, Honda, In niti, Toyota, Skoda, Ford,

Vauxhall, BMW, VW, Lexus, Mitsubishi, Mercedes, Mini, Renault.

There are many other manufacturers. More exotic examples

include Ferrari and Porsche.

To conclude - A hybrid, even a micro hybrid, reduces emissions

and reduces fuel consumption when compared to a conventional
petrol or diesel car. A hybrid is typically more expensive and
heavier than a conventional petrol or diesel car. A hybrid is not
dependent on its battery being charged for long journeys so it has
that advantage over pure electric cars. However a pure electric
car has no exhaust emissions which a hybrid car does have when
the petrol or diesel engine is being used.

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9 BUYING OR LEASING A NEW CAR

The advantage of buying or leasing a new electric car rather than

a used electric car is that you will bene t from the latest
technology. This can be important as the technology is changing
fast, particularly the available range and driver automation.

The question most often put to drivers of electric cars is “What is

the range?”. The time is coming when that question will not need
to be asked. It is rarely asked about a petrol or diesel car and it is
a dif cult question to answer. There are various standards which
car manufacturers quote - EPA (The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency) is an example, NEDC (The New European
Driving Cycle) is another. The NEDC range is hopelessly
optimistic for real life driving.

Such standards are useful to compare one car manufacturer with

another but are not always indicative of the type of range you
might achieve practically. A more recent standard WLTP
(Worldwide harmonised Light vehicle Test Procedure) is supposed
to re ect more realistic ranges. Unfortunately, some car
manufacturers are getting wise to these standards and there have
been reports of some dubious values being quoted by
manufacturers.

Range is dependent on temperature, speed, type of use and will

therefore vary from driver to driver and time of year. I knew exactly
what the range of my used Nissan Leaf was for speci c conditions

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(under good conditions in the summer at a steady speed of 70mph

- about 80 miles) but I have only a rough idea of the range of my
Tesla as I never need to use the full range (which under the same
conditions is probably around 250 miles). Just to show how
meaningless the standards are for practical range, consider that
with the EPA standard a range of 250 miles might be shown and
for the same car a range of 310 may be given for the NEDC
standard. Nevertheless if you use just one standard, you can
compare the relative ranges of two cars. Interestingly the EPA
range for my Tesla is about right for a summer day driving at
70mph. This does not mean the EPA range is accurate - it is
intended to cover combined city and highway.

The effect of temperature is considerable. People who buy electric

cars are often disappointed at the very noticeable reduction in
range when the weather gets cold. It is not unusual to experience
a 30% reduction in range in freezing temperatures compared to a
summer’s day. There are several reasons for this - the battery is
less ef cient in cold temperatures and there is typically the extra
burden of heating which can be a drain on the battery.

Ideally most owners would like to buy an electric car which can be
charged when not being used, typically overnight at home and
have suf cient range to complete all the driving required during
the day or even better for several days. If this can be achieved,
this is better than a diesel or petrol car as you will not have the
inconvenience and the expense of lling up at a fuel service
station. If you have a long commute for example, it may be useful
to also charge at work. Increasingly, workplaces provide the
means to charge during work time. If you have a very long
commute, say in excess of 200 miles, you may charge on the way
at a high speed public charging point. This could take 30 minutes
or less but may provide a useful break to driving, particularly as
these are typically located at service stations or other similar
amenities.

The best way to nd out what is involved in living with a particular

new car is to try it out for a day, preferably a few days to see what
is involved. If it is your rst electric car you may not have a home
charging facility, it may be possible to charge it slowly from a

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domestic socket or remember to get the dealer to charge it fully

before handing it over.

The best time to try it out is in winter as range decreases

signi cantly in cold weather. If the range is suf cient for you in
cold weather it will be more than suf cient in the warm weather. If
you can only try it in the summer, then as a rough guide assume
your range may be a third less in the winter.

Another point to consider with range is that even if the car will suit
your everyday needs, you will also have to consider its use for
occasional longer journeys. If you want to go for a very long drive
and charge on the way at a public charging point, you may need
to prepare an app or apply for a charge card in advance or borrow
one from the dealer (see the “Driving Long Distances” chapter).
The reason for this is that while some public charge points accept
credit or debit cards at present, not all do. Your journey time will
be extended compared to a petrol or diesel car if you need to
charge on a longer journey. Even if you rarely travel on a long
journey, it is worth trying out a long journey on your trial.

There is now a wide variety of electric cars available. Virtually

every car manufacturer has an electric car product.

The following give some idea of the range of new electric cars you
can buy or lease. Very roughly, they are listed in terms of physical
size and cost. The smallest you might consider is a Renault Twizy.
This is a fun two seater which may be OK in the summer for very
short journeys if you want to be noticed but is not particularly
practical. A more practical two seater city car is the Smart car.

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Renault Twizy Smart Car

If you prefer a smaller SUV style car there is the MG ZS and the
Kia E-Niro.

MG ZS KIA e-Niro

Tesla do not advertise but provide the lion’s share of electric cars.
The company has now progressed beyond its millionth car. At the
bottom end (although more expensive than most other makes of
electric cars), there is the Model 3. This provides great value for
money compared to the other previous models of Tesla cars (and
other makes of electric car) as it has similar range to the more
expensive older Tesla models and the same level of automation. It
is about the same size as a BMW 3 series and is a conventional
saloon, not a hatchback.

The Tesla Model Y is a SUV style car of similar size to the Model
3. It is often considered the best family EV car in reviews.

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Tesla Model 3

Tesla Model Y

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Polestar is another popular family size hatchback.

Polestar 2

Volkswagen have a number of offerings from conventional

hatchbacks like the ID.5 to a new interpretation of an iconic
classic.

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VW ID.5

VW ID.Buzz

If you want an even larger electric car, a US style pickup, try the
Tesla Cybertruck, the GMC Hummer and the Rivian R1T.

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If you regularly travel long distances you may want to see what
chargers are available with your new car. The Tesla supercharger
network has been consistently the best in the UK and mainland
Europe. Until recently it has been available only to Tesla drivers.
Part of the network is available to other makes now but not all
parts of the network are available. Download the Tesla app to your
phone to use these chargers and see which are available for other
makes of car.

Tesla Superchargers being used by other makes e.g. Audi

The disadvantage of buying or leasing a new car compared to a

used car is depreciation. Furthermore, at present new electric cars
are more expensive than equivalent petrol or diesel cars.

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10 BUYING A USED CAR

Just because you are buying a used car, there is no need to buy a
wreck. Although electric cars, in modern form are still relatively
new, enough years have passed since their introduction for used
car sales to be well established now.

Buying your used car from a dealer will usually cost you more than
a private purchase, but in return you get a warranty and dealer
attention. There are dealers who sell a variety of different makes
of car including petrol and diesel cars. There are also specialists
who sell used electric cars (with expertise in a single make or a
variety of makes).

Finally it is possible to strike a bargain by buying privately. In this

last category you need to be aware of the Latin saying “Caveat
Emptor”. This translates to “Be careful what you buy, there is no
going back” - those Romans were very succinct. See “Getting
Further Information” chapter for examples of each type of vendor.

Electric cars depreciate, like any other car, so one advantage of

buying a used electric car is that the price is lower than a new
one.

Historically the reason for the large depreciation of most used

electric cars is that there has been only a small demand for
second hand electric cars as potential buyers have been nervous
about how long the battery will last. Some manufacturers have

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attempted to counter this perceived problem by leasing the

batteries. This has itself led to a further problem as buyers of a
new car are more willing to pay the price to hire a battery than
buyers of a used car. If you see a newer car for the same cost as
an otherwise similar older one, it is likely that the newer one has a
leased battery rather than one that has been fully purchased from
new. If you go for the newer car with a leased battery, you will
have leasing costs to deal with throughout ownership. Fewer
leased batteries are available now that the general public are
realising the batteries last a long time. The life of the battery is
covered in more detail in the “Lifetime Considerations” chapter.
Suf ce to say that battery life has proved to be far longer than
most people would expect. Batteries can fail in rare cases and
they can prematurely age - in Arizona there have been a few
problems with older battery technologies. However most batteries
gracefully degrade - their range reduces by a small amount each
year. It is usually a matter for the owner to decide when it needs
replacing. There is one advantage in buying a used car with a
lease battery - you can upgrade the battery and end up with the
newer technology for a fraction of the cost of a new car.

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There are a number of bargains to be had dating back as far as

2009. For a car this old, the range will be less than when new and
you should be aware that older cars, even when they were new,
had a shorter range than new cars available now. One of the
cheapest and oldest 4 seater modern electric cars available is the
Mitsubishi I-MiEV or its lookalike Citroen C-Zero or Peugeot iOn. T

Mitsubishi I-MiEV
For a little more money, a 2011 onwards Nissan Leaf can be
found. There are a number of alternatives if you can afford more.
For example, the BMW i3 is more expensive but still much less
than the price of a new one.

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BMW i3

The Renault Zöe has been a popular small hatchback car for
some time

Renault Zöe

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An even more expensive but long range luxury car option can be
found in a Tesla. If you are buying a used Tesla Model S or Model
X There are other bene ts - From April 2017, new Teslas costing
more than £40,000 require payment of vehicle tax, whereas earlier
ones do not (at this time). Furthermore an older Tesla can make
use of free charging from the Tesla network of chargers for
travelling long distances, whereas owners of new Teslas need to
pay for use of the chargers.

The Model S is a luxury, very large hatchback. The Tesla Model X

is a very large SUV. This can be con gured to t seven adults
comfortably.

Tesla Model S Tesla Model X

It is important to try to nd out what it is like to live with a car of the

type you are planning to purchase. If you are buying from a dealer,
you may be able to try it for a while, in which case the information
in the previous chapter about trialling a new car applies. However
if you are planning to buy privately, this is unlikely to be possible. I
would suggest that in this case you try to rent one for at least a
day or two to nd out what it is like. See “Getting Further
Information” chapter. Failing this try to nd out what the
experience of other drivers is by looking at owner group forums.
Most makes have one. Again, see “Getting Further Information”
chapter.

Buying a used Tesla gives you full access to the best fast charging
(supercharger) network that is available for charging on a journey.

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Before buying a used electric car it pays to try to establish how

well the car has been treated. A good service history, recording
regular servicing carried out in accordance with the
manufacturer’s recommendations is always a help.

However it is useful (but unfortunately normally very dif cult) to

nd out the following:
1. Is the car frequently charged to 100%? (Usually not good)
2. Is it charged often either at home or work (or both) rather than
being charged regularly at the higher rate obtainable from high
speed chargers? (A good thing),
3. Is it often driven until the battery is at/close to 0% (Not good),
4. Is it often left in a state of low charge? (Not good),
5. Is it frequently charged when nearly full? (Not usually good),
6. Is it left fully charged and not used for a while? (Not good)
7. Does it have a high mileage (more than 25,000 miles a year)?
(Not usually good),
8. Does it have a low mileage (less than 4000 miles a year)? (Not
usually good).

All of these factors affect the battery quality. Some cars such as
the Nissan Leaf, have a means of indicating the quality of the
battery (this is not the state of charge or percentage charged). On
the Nissan Leaf dashboard, where it indicates state of charge
(percent charged) and current range in miles, around the outside
is a number of illuminated graduations. There are 12 when new
and in the gure below, a 3 year old 50,000 mile example is
shown to have 11. The battery has degraded to the point where it
has lost one graduation. With that mileage and age that is a
reasonable degradation and does not affect the range very much
but if the same car had say only 8 or 9, it would indicate a harshly
treated car.

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Nissan Leaf with a battery state of 11 out of 12 graduations

Some service records will indicate how good the battery was at
the last service. If not, it might be worth phoning the place where it
was last serviced to nd out if more information on the battery
status is available.

The gure above demonstrates another point. The range for a full
battery is shown as 53 miles. This photo was taken at winter when
most recent journeys had been short. In summer with recent long
journeys, for the same car this would go up to 86 miles.

Lastly, one disadvantage of buying a used car is that the

technology is changing fast and one factor which is changing in
particular is the energy storage which is linked strongly to the
range available. For example, a top of the range Tesla bought
new a few years year ago, might have 85% of the energy storage
capability of one bought now.

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11 CHARGING AT HOME

There is no need to bring the car inside your house to charge it.
Indeed, it is wise not to do so for all sorts of reasons, not least tyre
marks on the carpets. Nevertheless, home charging is remarkably
easy to carry out in most circumstances. In many ways it is easier
than charging a mobile phone. For one thing, the cable connectors
are bigger and easier to t into the sockets.

Typically, charging at home is carried out overnight, so that the car

has maybe a full charge but certainly a higher charge the next day.
It obviates the need to ll up at a garage and even if your mileage
means you need to charge every night, this is still less bother than
lling up a petrol or diesel car.

A typical charging scenario is as follows - A button is pressed or a

lever pulled in the car to open a ap revealing a connector. This
may be at the front, at the side, or at the back of the car,
depending on the car manufacturer. There may be a need to open
a further ap as in the case of a Nissan Leaf, for example. The
charging lead from an installed charger is then simply plugged into
the connector on the car. Charging then happens automatically.
The following diagrams show how this happens for two different
cars - a Nissan Leaf and a Tesla. There are a few variations to this
procedure which can be identi ed in the manual for your particular
car.

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Pull lever to open ap (Nissan) Open further ap (Nissan)

Connector open (Nissan) Plug in lead (Nissan)

You can safely connect your charging lead, even in the rain. Every
type of charger is designed to ensure that no power can ow until
everything is safely connected. The chargers are also designed to
cut the power if a dangerous situation is identi ed.

Press button to open ap (Tesla) Connector open (Tesla)

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Plug in charging lead (Tesla)

Unplugging is even more straightforward but you need to check

the manual for your car to nd out the steps to unplug the car.

Some cars or apps for the car allow you to specify times to
charge, levels to charge to (for example to 80% of a full battery,
rather than to 100%) and times to heat or cool the car. The latter is
very useful to prepare the car for safety and comfort before you
get into it. It may also help with the range by ensuring the battery
is at a suitable temperature for highest ef ciency. If you heat or
cool the car while it is plugged in for charging then you will get a
much better range than if you set off and heat or cool the car after
you have set off. Setting different charge levels, for example to
80% rather than 100% is for extending the life of your battery. This
is covered in detail in the “Lifetime Considerations” chapter.
Typically an 80% charge would be used for short journeys or
occasional use while 100% would be used only for longer
journeys. Some cars allow you to choose the end time for the
charging. If you use this facility to coincide with the time when you
need to drive the car, it will warm the battery, making the car ready
for ef cient use. The instruction manual for your car will show you
if any of these facilities are available and how to use them.

To charge your car at home, you need three elements - the car, a
charger and somewhere - a drive, a garage or increasingly for

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ats, a designated car parking space - where the charging lead

can be run from the charger to the car.

Dedicated charging car park space at ats

This is a potential problem if you live in a at without the above

facilities or where there is no off-street parking. You can get a
grant for a charger for a at. (See “Getting Further Information”
chapter). There are a few ingenious solutions including running a
cable out of a window. Some enterprising Local Authorities are
providing chargers in lamp posts. See the “Getting Further
Information” chapter if you think this arrangement would help you.
If home charging is not practical then it becomes necessary to
either use public chargers or charge at work. Public chargers are
illustrated and covered in the next chapter “Travelling Long
Distances”. To all intents and purposes, charging at work is similar
to charging at home. Indeed the chargers are the same as those
available for charging at home. The difference being that it is done
during the day so that the car has increased its charge by the time
you are ready to go home.

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The most robust means of charging at home is to use an installed

charger, usually wall mounted. You need a quali ed electrical tter
to t one of these and depending on the power rating, you may
need modi cations to your domestic supply which a tter can
advise about. There are Government grants available for for
chargers at work if you want to convince your employer to t one
or more chargers. See “Getting Further Information” chapter for
details of how to nd these.

You can mount your home charger on an outside wall or, if you
have a garage, on the inside wall of the garage.

Two examples of chargers are shown in the diagrams below.

Two different makes of installed charger

I prefer to have a “tethered” charging lead. This means the

charging lead is permanently attached (tethered) to the charger
and therefore always available for use. Some people prefer an
“untethered” charger. This has a socket on the charger and a
separate charging lead which is either kept in the house or in the
car which needs to be brought out and connected for each
charging session. An untethered lead will allow for different plugs
that t in the car so if you have two cars with different plugs this
might be a better option than a tethered lead.

The charging lead needs to be compatible with the socket on your

car and that is why I have two - one for my Nissan Leaf and
another for my Tesla - since, as shown previously, these two cars
have a different design of plug that ts in the socket in the cart.

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Your tter can advise you on the charging lead connector to

ensure it is compatible with your car.

One of the main things you will have to decide is what power you
want for your charger. The more powerful the charger, the shorter
the charging time. People often choose a higher power charger
than they really need. The standard ratings are 3.7kW, 7kW, 11kW
and 22kW. The most popular at present are 3.7kW and 7kW.

You will need to check how quickly your car will charge at each of
these power levels and judge for yourself if this will be adequate. It
does depend on how big your battery is and how long you will be
at home, not needing to use the car. For example I manage to
charge overnight using a 3.7kW charger for my Nissan Leaf and a
7kW charger for my Tesla, (which has a much bigger battery). You
should not need to alter your house wiring signi cantly for a 3.7kW
or 7kW charger but if you really feel you need an 11kW or 22kW
charger, you will need a 3 phase supply. You also need to check if
your car can make use of the power if you go for a higher powered
charger. For example, my Nissan Leaf which is over nine years
old, cannot charge from a home charger at a higher rate than
3.7kW. Again your tter will be able to advise you.

You can now get cordless chargers whereby equipment is

installed under your drive or under the oor of your garage and
you simply park the car over it. The advantage of these is that they
do not need connecting as above and are not visible.

A very simple form of “untethered” charger is a portable charger. It

is a unit with a charging lead and connector which is portable and
can be carried in your car. It is typically supplied with the car. This
may be connected to an external domestic socket or a more
powerful arrangement using a special socket called a commando
socket as shown below in the diagrams. This arrangement is
mainly intended for emergencies where there are no nearby public
chargers and you are away from home. You also need to be
careful about protection from water ingress when it is raining,
although they are usually resistant to water to an extent. People
who prefer not to install a permanent charger charge their cars at
home using this arrangement.

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Portable charger using domestic socket Commando socket

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12 DRIVING LONG DISTANCES

Your journey may normally be such that you can drive ‘there and
back’ without charging, or charge at your destination, for example
when staying at a hotel which has something similar to a home
charger.

However if you do want to travel beyond the range of your car, you
will have to charge part of the way along your journey in much the
same way as you would need to refuel in a petrol or diesel car if
your fuel was insuf cient to get you to your destination and back.
This requires a little planning.

In the UK there are a number of high speed chargers, often at

motorway service stations suitable for charging reasonably
quickly. Typically a substantial recharge, (up to 80% of the battery
capacity) might take 30 minutes or less which is a good time to
have a coffee, have a nap or refresh yourself. The oldest type of
high speed charge point is a CHAdeMO type. This is a technical
term which comes from the Japanese meaning “Have a cup of
tea” - a good piece of advice. The CHAdeMO refers to the type of
charging plug for high speed charging. The more recent common
standard which applies to virtually every new car is CCS.

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The planning you can do is to check what chargers are available

on your route and whether they are working or not. There are a
number of apps available for a mobile phone. Zap map is one I
use. See the “Getting Further Information” chapter for suitable
phone or computer apps for planning. Equally your sat nav may
be able to let you plan your route and tell you where you can
charge en route. The Tesla sat nav tells you as you travel how
many bays are in use and how many are free at Tesla Super
Charging sites. Most new cars now have a built in app with
charger locations.

When my son and I drove from Land’s End to John o’Groats and
back, gaining a Guinness World record for charging time, we did
the bare minimum of planning. In fact when we got to John
o’Groats we found a high speed charger we did not know existed.
I am sure that most people who drive in a petrol or diesel car do
not check what garages are available en route to ll up. The
network of charging stations is so good these days it is not
absolutely necessary to plan with an electric car. However, if you
do not check availability, it is advisable to charge when you can in
case the next charging site is faulty.

Although the charging network is well developed, the means to

pay is not. Some charge points require you to obtain a charge
card prior to use, some use a phone app, which it is preferable to
set up before you leave. Increasingly some allow a credit or debit
card to be used at the charge point. At the time of writing there is a
substantial network of fast chargers in England operated by
Gridserve and their phone app will get you access to any of their
charge points. In Scotland, ChargePlace Scotland operate a large
number of charge points and give access to some in the north of
England too. ChargePlace Scotland operate through their charge
card, which you can apply for, or a phone app which you need to
register. There are other suppliers too. See the “Getting Further
Information” chapter for further details.

It is worth researching charging accounts to get the right one for

you. Some charge a monthly fee and are particularly useful for
people who frequently charge their car on a journey. However
others charge more per charge but with no monthly fee. I tend to
have accounts which do not have a monthly fee. In fact the

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chargers I use most frequently en route (apart from Tesla

superchargers which are free for my Tesla) are Gridserve ones.

When you need to use a high speed charge point, you need to
nd it rst. You may nd your sat nav can do this for you and may
suggest when you need to charge. If not there are phone apps
such as Zap Map, which can tell you where there are nearby
charge points. See the “Getting Further Information” chapter for
details of Zap Map and other similar apps.

Having found the charge point, you need to park your car so that
the charge point is close to where you plug in a charger cable on
your car. Each high speed charge point has its own cable so you
don’t have to be very close and importantly you will not need your
own cable.

Taking the Ecotricity charge points as an example, get out of the

car and approach the charge point. As you can see in the photo
below, the charge point has a prominent square computer code
which is read by the Electric Highway app when you point your
phone at the code. When the phone has successfully read the
code, the phone will prompt you to check if it has identi ed the
correct charge point, for example with the name of the motorway
services where the charge point is located. The phone app will
then request your credit card security code and direct you to the
screen which can be seen in the photo below. Other charge points
are similar but you need to place your card next to the card reader
on the charge point or use their phone app or credit or debit card
in a similar way to the Ecotricity one. There should be clear
instructions on the charge point together with a help number. The
instructions should indicate how you can pay.

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Ecotricity charge point

The screen will prompt you to press buttons to indicate which type
of charging you need - DC CCS for e.g. newer cars, AC for e.g.
Renault Zoë and DC Chademo for e.g. Nissan Leaf. It shows you
a diagram of the connectors. The connector on the left in the
photo above is for AC. The connector on the right is for Chademo
DC. The screen on the charge point will then prompt you to
connect your car, using the cable provided.

Open the ap on your car to reveal the place where you connect
cables to charge the car. This is described in some detail in the
“Charging at Home” chapter. As you can see on my Nissan Leaf,
which uses DC, there is a large connector on the left in the photo
below. The photo next to it shows the cover to the connector open.
You then insert the cable plug as shown in the third photo below.

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Connectors revealed Cover open

Cable plug inserted

Once the cable is connected, return to the screen on the charge

point and press the button to con rm everything is connected.
There is a delay while tests are carried out and then your car will
be charging. You can view how long you have charged for on the
app, while you enjoy your tea break.

You will nish charging, either because the app has timed you out
(currently 45 minutes on Ecotricity) or because you select stop
charging on the app. You then need to disconnect the cable by
pressing the orange button on the plug in the photo above, for
example for Chademo or simply remove the cable plug for AC or
CCS. Remove the cable. Close the cover and ap on the car.
Return the cable plug to its holder on the charge point and you
can drive away with the car charged and hopefully the driver
refreshed. Note it is really bad form to park at a charge point if you
are not charging.

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Tesla Super Chargers are even easier to use with a Tesla. Simply
connect the cable by plugging into the socket you use for charging
at home. When you have nished, press stop charging on the
screen in the car.

The Supercharger below was the most northerly in the World,

several hundred miles inside the Arctic Circle. If you have a Tesla
and visit a remote part of the world like Wales, where there are
few superchargers, you may nd it useful to get a CCS adaptor
from your friendly Tesla store so you can use it at public charge
points.

Tesla Super Charger

If you do have a problem with a high speed charger, telephone the

number on the charger. If you nd yourself some distance from a
high speed charger, for example due to a faulty site, do not panic.
Look for an alternative, possibly a lower power charger, if
necessary using an app such as Zap Map. Drive slowly and you
will conserve range. It is highly unlikely you will not nd
somewhere to charge but if you do run out, you will have to call a
recovery service such as the AA.

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13 DRIVING ABROAD

Driving abroad is similar to driving long distances in the UK. The

big difference is you will need cards or apps to operate the public
chargers, which are typically different from the cards and apps you
use in the UK . (See “Getting Further Information” chapter).
Otherwise, the instructions in the chapter “Driving Long Distances”
chapter apply.

I recently drove to Iceland (via a ferry from Denmark) and needed

to use an Icelandic charger. I was able to download the app from
the app store while I was stood next to the charger so do not feel
you always have to do a lot before you travel to use charge points
abroad.

However, when you arrive at your destination you may want to

charge from a domestic socket using your portable UK charger
which typically is supplied with the car. (See “Home Charging”
chapter). If this is the case you will need to use an adaptor. Make
sure that the adaptor is robust enough to do the job and the
domestic socket is modern as otherwise you may nd you plunge
the place you are staying at into darkness. A typical adaptor you
can buy at an airport is rarely adequate. The “Getting Further
Information” chapter shows how you can obtain more robust
adaptors such as the one below, which has a European style plug
at one end and a UK domestic style socket at the other end.

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European plug to UK socket adaptor

If you own a Tesla, life is much simpler; you just use

Superchargers as you would in the UK and if necessary, Tesla
destination chargers. Incidentally. there are Tesla Superchargers
in Iceland as well was the whole of Europe.

Irrespective of whether you are travelling in an electric car, certain

regulations apply which do not in the UK. For example if you wear
glasses or contact lenses you need a spare pair of glasses in
Spain which must be kept in easy reach of the driver’s seat. (See
“Getting Further Information” chapter).

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14 ELECTRIC VANS

The Nissan eV200 electric van is shown below.

Nissan eV200
This one has a refrigerator on the roof. Presumably the van is
used to distribute fresh food goods locally. Electric vans are widely
used for what is known as last mile deliveries. They have a
number of advantages over diesel or petrol vans for this
application. They are quiet, emission free, low cost to run and
increasingly important, are not subject to emission taxes in cities.

The eV200 was one of the rst to arrive on the scene but since
then offerings including from Citroen, Fiat, Ford, Peugeot, Renault,
Mercedes, Vauxhall and Volkswagen have appeared. The Maxus

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is offered by the Chinese company SAIC. A Maxus van is shown

below, again being used in a last mile delivery mode.

Maxus Van

There are therefore a number of different manufacturers of vans to

choose from. Some used vans are now available for purchase as
well as new ones.

A number of chapters in this book apply equally to vans as they do

to cars:

Driving an Electric Car, Economics, Are You Saving the Planet?,

Lifetime Considerations, Hybrid Cars, Buying or Leasing a New
Car, Buying a Used Car, Charging at Home, Driving Long
Distances and Driving Abroad.

The best advice that can be given if you are considering leasing or
buying a new or used van is to try it, preferably in winter, when
range tends to be at its lowest.

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15 ELECTRIC BIKES

An electric bike (or e-bike) is similar to a conventional bicycle but

with a battery and motor to augment the effort you provide on the
pedals. If it is many years since you have ridden a bicycle, you
may be wary, but please read on. Electric bikes allow you to get
some exercise as you would on a conventional bicycle but they
make it easier by allowing you to choose how much support you
get from the battery and motor. In any case, even if you choose
the minimum support you will nd going uphill is virtually effortless.
This means that you can easily double the distance you would feel
comfortable cycling. For most people that would mean that in
theory you could get rid of your car!

Electric bikes are easy to use - modern ones simply add to your
effort automatically as the control system recognises the speed at
which you are turning the pedals and applies additional energy to
help you accordingly. Typically, there are different settings you can
apply, depending on how much help you want. I often select the

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minimum (eco) setting which on my bicycle provides up to the

same amount of energy as I apply to the pedals when I want a lot
of exercise. Otherwise I use an intermediate setting (tour), but I
could select the highest (turbo) setting and nd that I get three
times more electric energy than I apply to the pedals. On this
setting, you would not even realise you were going up hill. Electric
bikes are considerably better for the environment than cars, buses
or trains. For example, my electric bike shown below has a battery
range considerably better than my Nissan Leaf car but has a
battery size one thirtieth of the car.

The author’s e-bike

If you have not ridden an electric bike before, try one. Most bicycle
shops will let you try one for no payment. If you are thinking of
buying one, my recommendation would be for one with a motor
near the pedals rather than in either the front or back wheel. This
is because you gain the bene t of the gears on your e-bike. My e-
bike even has an indicator to tell you when to change gear to
make it easy to pedal at all times. However you should try a few to
see which one suits you. One point to note is that by law, the

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electric assistance is stopped above 15.5 mph. As an electric bike

is typically heavier than a conventional bike, you will nd you have
to pedal harder than you would on a conventional bike, above this
speed. I used to use a conventional bicycle regularly but since I
have bought an electric bicycle, I have not gone back. I confess I
use my e-bike more than either of my electric cars.

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16 HYDROGEN CARS
A car which runs on water? Not quite. Few people realise that the
Apollo moon missions could not have taken place without
hydrogen providing the electricity needed in the space capsules to
support the human crew. Battery technology at the time was too
bulky and heavy. Instead a hydrogen fuel cell was used to produce
electricity from hydrogen and oxygen carried onboard. The
subsequent space shuttles also used hydrogen.

The same technology can be used in a car. Refuelling is actually

quicker than recharging a battery. It takes about the same time as
a petrol or diesel car to refuel. Like battery cars, there are no toxic
emissions (only water vapour) and the range is typically better
than most battery cars. This looks like the ideal alternative to a
petrol or diesel car and yet, Elon Musk, the driving genius behind
the most mass produced electric cars (TESLA) has publicly
referred to fuel cells as fool cells. We are not all driving hydrogen
cars so what is preventing us from doing so? Let’s start by looking
at the positive practicalities before examining the draw-backs.

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A Toyota Mirai hydrogen car

As can be seen above, a hydrogen car looks much like a petrol

car. This one seats ve people with plenty of space in the boot. It
can be lled up at a hydrogen refuelling station as below.

A Shell hydrogen refuelling station

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The nozzle and hose on the left hand side of what looks like a
large petrol pump deliver compressed hydrogen gas at a high
pressure to the car. The hydrogen is produced on site from water
and (preferably sustainable) electricity

The photo below, shows the receptacle for the hydrogen tank on a
hydrogen car which is very similar to a petrol car. Refuelling will be
familiar to anyone who has lled a diesel or petrol car.

Filler cover closed. Filler cover open

Cap over receptacle removed

So why are there over a million battery electric cars in the UK

since they started to become popular in 2009 and only 300
hydrogen cars even though billions of euros have been spent on
developing hydrogen cars over the last 20 years?

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The answers are as follows:

1) Lack of refuelling infrastructure - actually there are some Shell

garages with such infrastructure at strategic locations in the
UK.
2) Cost - the cost is similar to a Tesla Model S but the two main
manufacturers - Toyota and Hyundai tend to lease their cars,
partly to ensure that safety critical maintenance is carried out.
3) Perceived safety issues - there is a great video on Youtube
(see “Getting Further Information” chapter) where a hydrogen
car and a petrol car are both set alight and left to burn out.
There is nothing but the burnt metal body left of the petrol car
but the hydrogen car looks in showroom condition. Hydrogen is
lighter than air and the ames ow into the sky away from the
car. However maintenance is more important than for any other
type of car.
4) Ef ciency - a fuel cell is only 50% ef cient and there is further
loss in producing hydrogen. However if the hydrogen is
produced locally from sustainable sources, this is less of an
issue.
5) Public enthusiasm - battery electric cars have attracted a large
number of enthusiasts. Hydrogen cars have not.
6) Battery cars can be charged at home at a fraction of the cost of
the equivalent hydrogen or petrol (the cost of hydrogen is
similar to petrol at service stations)

Whereas a battery electric car can be built with a 300 mile range,
seating 5 or more adults and with a good performance, the
resources, volume and weight needed for battery trucks, battery
trains and battery marine applications together with limited need
for infrastructure makes hydrogen alternatives much more
attractive even with the lower ef ciency. I have recently nished
working with Porterbrook and the University of Birmingham on the
UK’s rst and second hydrogen trains. I am now working on the
UK’s rst hydrogen shunting locomotive.

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17 HISTORY
Most people will be astonished to read that electric cars were
invented before petrol cars and well before diesel cars. First
prototypes of electric cars appeared in the 1830s. The invention of
the lead acid battery in 1859 with further improvements to battery
technology enabled more practical examples. An early UK electric
car was built, in 1880, by inventor Magnus Volk and is illustrated
below.

Magnus Volk in his electric dog cart

Magnus Volk is pictured outside his railway of ces. He was the

inventor of the rst electric railway in the world. It actually ran on

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tracks near the sea at Brighton. His electric railway is still in use
today and runs along the sea front. Recently, another of his
inventions has been restored - a gold globe on the clock tower in
the centre of Brighton which rises and falls every hour. (see
“Getting Further Information” chapter).

The rst golden age for electric cars was between the 1890s and
the early 1910s. The world land speed was held by electric cars
until 1902 when the 65.8 mile an hour record was broken by a
steam car. Electric taxis were on the streets of London during this
time. Electric cars were popular as they were more attractive than
petrol or steam cars. They were easy and quick to start, clean,
and easy to drive. The main problem was range although they
proved popular for city use.

Electric cars declined by the 1920s when petrol cars became

cheaper through mass production. At the same time petrol cars
began to be tted with electric starter motors, overcoming another
obstacle in their use. Development of good roads allowed more
comfortable long distance travelling and increased the need for
more range than electric cars could offer at that time.

Electric vehicles continued in niche areas, the ubiquitous milk oat

being a good example. Milk was delivered early in the morning
and the frequent stop-start and necessity to be quiet to avoid
waking customers combined with a requirement for only a short
range made the technology highly suitable. Large numbers of lead
acid batteries were used.

Interest in electric cars was revived in the early 1970s due to the
energy crisis. The 1972 Leyland Crompton prototype shown below
was typical of the period.

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1972 Leyland Crompton prototype

These were heavy and impractical, relying on lead acid batteries.

The Leyland Crompton used Mini parts but despite being small, it
was one third heavier than a Mini. It had a top speed of 33 mph
and a range of only 40 miles. Mass production of these types of
cars never happened.

Under pressure from the state of California in the USA, a number

of electric cars were produced by mainstream car manufacturers,
such as Ford, General Motors and Honda in the 1990s. The cars
were typically leased and were highly popular with the people
using them but the manufacturers appeared to have another
agenda exempli ed in the documentary lm “Who killed the
Electric Car?”(see “Getting Further information chapter”). GM,
much to the disgust of a number of people using their EV1 cars
repossessed the cars at the end of the lease period, refusing to
sell them and subsequently destroying most of them.

The real breakthrough for electric cars came through the

development of the lithium ion battery. In the early 2000s, a
number of short range but normal speed electric cars were
developed culminating in the launch of the Mitsubishi I-MiEV in

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2009, an electric car owned by the author and, a year later, the
Nissan Leaf, also owned by the author.

Perhaps the most remarkable car of the time was the Tesla
Roadster which was rst sold in 2008. This had an amazing range
and performance compared to all other electric cars. The sales of
the Roadster funded the Tesla Model S which again was a game
changer as it is a large 5 seater capable of being driven hundreds
of miles at 70mph. This was launched in 2012. It is the author’s
favourite car! Sales of the Model S and subsequently the Model X,
funded the smaller and cheaper Model 3 and subsequently the
Model Y.

Hybrid cars have a long history too. Dr. Ferdinand Porsche built
the rst car to combine an internal combustion engine with electric
motors, albeit without a battery. There was some interest in hybrid
vehicles after this time.

The photo below shows the 1927 Lanchester hybrid which did
include a battery. However by the 1930s all interest in hybrids had
disappeared until Toyota introduced their Prius in 2000 so we are
now celebrating two decades of modern hybrid cars.

1927 Lanchester hybrid

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18 FUTURE TRENDS
The general trend with batteries and charging infrastructure is for
range to increase, cost of batteries to fall and charging time to
decrease. All of these factors are likely to accelerate the switch to
electric cars because perceived barriers to use are broken down.

Other technologies, such as super capacitors are being developed

with even shorter charging times, however at present the problem
is cost and weight. (See “Getting Further Information” chapter)

There is an interesting trend in the UK, particularly in cities for a

smaller number of young people to learn to drive. There are
several reasons for this - improved public transport, lower cost of
taxis and higher cost of car ownership, especially insurance; also
a greater concern for the environment.

A typical car, whether electric or not, is used for a small proportion

of a day and therefore it is not cost ef cient. Improving automation
leading towards fully autonomous driving is likely to result in less
of a need for full ownership and more car sharing. In London,
recent technology has made it relatively easy to rent a car without
the need to book in advance and without the need for the user to

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deal with human sales staff. Typically the car can be collected
from one place, used and then left at a different location. (See
“Getting Further Information” chapter)

A potential use for electric cars when they are not being driven is
to stabilise electricity supplies. Solar cells which are increasingly
being installed on household roofs generate during daylight hours
when electricity is not at a high demand. At peak usage of
electricity at night, the solar cells are not able to provide a supply.
One answer is to use the battery in an electric car as a store. The
solar cells can charge the battery during the day and at peak
times, electricity can be extracted from the battery. (Discussed in
“Buying or Leasing a New Car” chapter.) This does require a
modi cation to the electric car but such systems are now
available. This will help to resolve a problem of capacity of the
electricity supply as more and more people switch to electric cars
from petrol or diesel cars. (See “Getting Further Information”
chapter)

Fully autonomous vehicles will obviate the need to drive at all,

resulting in a true transport revolution. There are a few examples
under development which demonstrate this potential technology.
(See “Getting Further Information” chapter)

Whether the science ction of hover cars will ever become reality,
there is now considerable effort being put into the development of
ying cars, often designed around scaled up drones. (See “Getting
Further Information” chapter)

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19 SPRINTS HILLCLIMBS SPEED TRIALS AND

DRAG RACING

This may seem to be a strange chapter but drag racing is popular

with more powerful electric cars and I have successfully
participated in amateur motor sport in the form of sprints,
hillclimbs and speed trials. I am keen to have more competition.
Unfortunately, no sprints, hillclimbs or speed trials took place in
the UK since the end of the 2017 season due to the dif culty event
organisers found in meeting the MotorSport UK’s new safety
requirements for events which include electric cars. In the 2021
season one hill climb at Shelsley Walsh took place and it is hoped
that this marks the return of competition using electric cars.

The aim of a sprint, hillclimb, or speed trial is to complete the

course from a standing start in the shortest time possible. Each
car is timed and competes without other cars nearby. The car with
the shortest time in their class wins. A hillclimb, as the name
suggests, is typically a road with smooth tarmac (and of course no
traf c) up a hill with bends to make the racing more exciting. A

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sprint takes place at a motor race course, such as Silverstone or

Brands Hatch and typically consists of a lap of the course, or,
occasionally two laps. A speed trial is a straight course typically
1/4 mile long. Drag racing is similar but with two cars running next
to each other in parallel.

The advantage of sprints, hillclimbs and speed trials over more

conventional motor racing is that you are not on track with other
cars which could hit yours, you can use a conventional road car
and the courses are short so the car is not unduly stressed.

You need safety equipment - a reproof suit, a racing helmet and

gloves and it is advisable to use reproof shoes too. Very little is
needed on the car; in essence, a timing strut to break a light beam
at the start and nish, some numbers on the side of the car and
tow hooks on back and front. You need to obtain a passport for
your car from Motor Sport UK. Also an electricity symbol is needed
to indicate that it is not a conventional petrol/diesel car. (See
“Getting Further Information” chapter).

Electric cars are well suited for these types of events. Initial
acceleration is typically better than petrol car equivalents and the
battery is low and heavy resulting in a low centre of gravity which
is good for road handling.

At the beginning of an event you have to register, producing your

race licence. This is then followed by scrutineering where of cials
working for the event will check the safety of your car. The event
starts with all cars completing two practice runs, one at a time;
this is followed by two timed runs and an awards ceremony. It’s an
early start to the day but a nish which is around early evening.
There is a lot of waiting between runs as it is not unusual to have
around 100 cars competing. It is an excellent way of learning the
full capabilities of your car.

Please search “Electric Motorsports in UK” on Facebook for

support for drivers interested in competing in an electric car.

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Preparing to be scrutineered

Competing in a Mitsubishi I-MiEV

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20 GETTING FURTHER INFORMATION

1 Introduction

https://carbontracker.org/one-in-three-uk-car-sales-may-be-
fully-electric-by-end-23-as-s-curve-transforms-market/

This website explains how the UK is on track for car sales to be

fully electric by 2023.

3 Economics

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-
grants-for-low-emission-vehicles

This website contains details on how to apply for a grant for a

home charger for ats.

https://t .gov.uk/modes/driving/congestion-charge

This website shows how to get a discount for a battery electric car
on the London congestion charge.

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4 Are You Saving the Planet?

https://www.withouthotair.com

This website gives access to the late Professor Sir David

MacKay’s free book “Sustainable Energy - without the hot air”
which explains the carbon dioxide emissions for different forms of
transport.

https://greet.es.anl.gov

This website contains a detailed mathematical model produced by

the US department of energy to calculate the energy used in car
manufacturing - conventional petrol/diesel and battery electric.

http://electricityinfo.org/real-time-british-electricity-supply/

This website shows the current mix of sources of electricity

generation in Britain so you can see how much is from renewable
sources.

http://2050-calculator-tool.decc.gov.uk/#/home

This website gives access to a tool whereby you can see the
effects for Britain of changing electricity supply from coal to
renewable energy, changing demand for transportation and the
effect of changing over to a zero carbon transport system. It was
developed at the Department for Energy and Climate Change
(DECC) by Professor Sir David Mackay’s team when he was chief
scienti c adviser to the government at DECC.

https://ourworldindata.org/energy#country-pro les

This website includes a breakdown of electricity sources by

country.

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http://www.greencarcongress.com/2012/06/
harrison-20120611.html

This website describes the continuing health problem with cars

due to tyre wear and brake dust, even when exhaust emissions
are eliminated

https://www.electrive.com/2020/11/22/project-recovas-to-
commercialise-battery-reuse-in-uk/

This website describes battery recycling processes for car

batteries.

http://nissaninsider.co.uk/powering-ahead-with-second-life-
battery-system/

This website explains how used electric car batteries can be used
for a second life after they are no longer of use in an electric car.

6 Safety

https://insideevs.com/news/630599/tesla-modely-models-
euro-ncap-best-in-class/

This website states that two Tesla models made best in class in
2022 for NCAP ratings.

https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/ les/downloads/
2014-15_Dual_Motor_Model_S_Emergency_Response_Guide
_en.pdf

This website explains the special precautions the re services

need to apply to res with electric cars including the need to
monitor up to 24 hours after the re has been put out.

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10 Buying a Used Car

https://www.tesla.com/en_GB/preowned

This website shows used Teslas for sale from the Tesla company.

https://usedcars.nissan.co.uk/en/nissan/leaf

This website shows used Nissan Leafs for sale from the Nissan
company

http://eco-cars.net

This website specialises in selling used electric cars. It is one of

the most established around.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/used-cars/nissan/leaf

This website advertises used cars from dealers and private

individuals.

https://greenmotion.co.uk/ eet

This website allows you to hire electric cars

https://www.evrent.co.uk

This website allows you to hire a Tesla model S, a model 3 or a

model X and other makes of electric cars

https://www.mynissanleaf.com

This is a forum about Nissan Leafs.

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http://www.mybmwi3.com

This is a forum about BMW i3s.

11 Charging at Home

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-
grants-for-low-emission-vehicles

This website contains details on how to apply for a grant for a

home charger for ats.

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-
grants-for-low-emission-vehicles

This website contains details of how to apply for a grant for

workplace chargers including eligibility.

https://www.ubitricity.com/en/

This website has details of street light chargers.

12 Travelling Long Distances

https://www.zap-map.com/live/

This website allows you to nd and check the status of public

chargers. You can get a phone app too.

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https://www.plugshare.com

This website allows you to nd and check the status of public

chargers. You can get a phone app too.

https://www.gridserve.com/

This website allows you to register a phone app for Gridserve

chargers, which are available extensively at English, Welsh and
Scottish motorway services.

13 Driving Abroad

https://shellrecharge.com/en-gb

This website allows you to register for a Shell Recharge app

enabling you to use charging points in the UK - England, Wales,
Scotland, Northern Ireland as well as: France, Germany, Belgium,
Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Croatia, Czechia,
Slovakia, Sweden, Norway, Albania, Macedonia, Romania and
Russia. Please check carefully before you go that you have
suf cient charge points on your route - Some countries only have
a few charge points

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https://www.esb.ie/our-businesses/ecars/charge-point-map

This website allows you to download a phone app to gain access

to charge points in Ireland

https://www.amazon.co.uk or https://www.ebay.co.uk

Either of these two websites should enable you to buy a suitable

adaptor to convert a European style domestic socket to a UK style
plug. Search for “European plug to UK socket 13 amps”. Ensure it
has a European plug at one end, a cable, one or more UK sockets
and most importantly, it is de nitely rated at 13 amps.

https://www.theaa.com/european-breakdown-cover/driving-in-
europe/what-do-i-need

This website gives information on what you need when driving in

mainland Europe, over and above what is required in the UK.

16 Hydrogen Cars

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IknzEAs34r0&t=1s

This video shows two cars being set alight - one a hydrogen car
and the other a petrol car.

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17 History

https://brightonmuseums.org.uk/brighton/

This website gives further information on the Brighton Museum

and Art Gallery which has all manner of objects and information
associated with Brighton, not least photographs of Magnus Volk
and his inventions.

http://www.whokilledtheelectriccar.com

This website gives details of the documentary produced by Chris

Paine. The DVD is available from www.amazon.co.uk or iTunes.

18 Future Trends

https://interestingengineering.com/science/could-
ultracapacitors-replace-batteries-in-future-electric-vehicles

This website has a short article on the possible future of

supercapacitors.

https://www.zipcar.com/en-gb/car-hire-london

This website describes a means of hiring a car in London simply

by using the app near the hire car.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/constancedouris/2017/12/18/
electric-vehicle-to-grid-services-can-feed-stabilize-power-
supply/#c519a9863df1

This website has an article on vehicle to grid technology whereby

electric cars are used to stabilise an electricity network.

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https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/automotive-and-
assembly/our-insights/autonomous-drivings-future-
convenient-and-connected

This website describes the progression of autonomous cars from

the perspective of car manufacturers.

https://www.techradar.com/news/ ying-car-watch-as-this-
drone- ies-around-with-passengers-inside

This website includes a video of a drone based ying car.

19 Sprints, Hillclimbs, Speed Trials and Drag racing

https://www.motorsportuk.org

This website gives information on Motorsport UK which is the

governing body for amateur motor sports in the UK. It is where to
apply for a race licence and passport. It also has information
about safety equipment needed.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR and illustrator

Jeff Allan

Dr. Jeff Allan is an award winning chartered engineer who runs

Jeff Vehicles Ltd., promoting electric and hydrogen solutions for
road and rail vehicles. (www.jeffvehicles.com). He competes in
amateur motorsport - speed trials, sprints and hillclimbs in electric
cars. He has won the Brighton national speed trials, electric car
class twice. He jointly holds two Guinness World records with his
son for shortest charging time of an electric car from John
o'Groats to Land’s End and shortest charging time for an electric
car across Europe (Nordkapp, Norway to Tarifa, Spain). He is on
his fourth electric car, having started using one in 2010.

He was born in New York and lives in Birmingham. His Ph.D.,

completed in 1981 was concerned with regenerative braking and
he has 48 years of experience working on electric railways. He is
a consultant on innovation in railways. He helped design the rst
and second hydrogen powered trains in the U.K. He is currently
working on the rst UK hydrogen shunting locomotive He has had
a lifelong interest in cars. He built one when he was 17 years old.

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Maddie Cottam-Allan

Maddie Cottam-Allan is a professional artist, comic writer/

illustrator and photographer. She regularly posts her comics and
illustrations to her Instagram @maddiecottamallan and her
photos on @maddiecottamallanphotos. She studied at the
Birmingham School of Art.

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