The pros and cons of ELECTRIC motorhomes
You’ve undoubtedly heard about the plan to ban the sale of new fossil-fuel vehicles by 2030. This won’t affect existing diesel or petrol vehicles, and with more than 38 million on UK roads, the fuel industry is not going to want to rip out the pumps any time soon.
Equally, with only 245,000 all-electric vehicles (EVs) on the road today and some 42,000 charge points (with just 7000 added in 2020), nine years seems a bit optimistic.
But change is coming and with more cities adopting low or ultra-low emission zones, urban centres across the UK and Europe are rapidly becoming less friendly to fossil-fuel vehicles.
Currently, EVs can enter low-emission zones without being charged. To promote the shift to electric, the government might either increase the cost of VED or fuel duty. If there is a big move to EV use in the next few years, it’s clear the fuel duty deficit would fall elsewhere on drivers. One thing is certain – taxes will rise.
The green question
So are EVs actually really that green? They all sport zero-emission claims, but the energy used in their creation, recharging and end-of-life disposal has to be taken into account.
Some EVs are built in carbon-neutral factories, others are not. Some reports suggest they’re more energy-intensive to build than a fossil-fuel car, while the lifespan of the batteries can be as little as eight to 10 years and their lithium cells need careful handling to recycle.
How environmentally friendly the recharging process is
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