It says a lot for the current interest in electric cars that at last week’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, traditionally a haven for the petrol head, it was in fact a stand called Electric Avenue: The Road To 2030, that seemed to have the biggest crowds.
It’s a similar story in many global markets and such deadlines have required manufacturers to rethink their entire operations in an effort to keep pace. Unsurprisingly, it’s also attracted new brands looking to follow in the footsteps of Tesla and take advantage of this industry reset.“Take a brand like Fisker that probably a lot of people don’t know yet but goodness me, they will.
If you ordered a Polestar Two right now, you’d receive it around New Year. For many brands it would be well into 2023. EVs are still more expensive than their petrol counterparts, largely due to the battery costs, though according to Buckley, we are starting to see that come down. Range anxiety is still a concern for many would-be buyers even though many models now offer 300 miles or more. It might be more accurate to call it charging anxiety – everything from how to set up accounts with different providers, wait times for bays at busy times and needing to plan your stops carefully if driving across the country.“There are more charging bays in Westminster than the whole of the West Midlands,” says Buckley.
All this information on electric cars and we haven’t even covered what it feels like to drive one and feel the instant torque on offer from electric motors for the first time.