New electric car registrations posted a UK record high in March 2024, with more than 48,000 going to new owners wearing a 24 plate. But electric’s share of the market actually fell – and the relentless tide of anti-EV propaganda is surely making some car buyers hold back from going zero emission.
‘It’s nonsense and it’s high time to push back against this, because it gets amplified millions of times by people on social media.’Willson has teamed up with actor Robert Llewellyn – the face of YouTube channel the Fully Charged Show – and its CEO Dan Caesar to launchThe Stop Burning Stuff alliance: Dan Caesar, Robert Llewellyn and Quentin Willson
The politically stoked culture wars are well and truly engulfing the electric car. Campaigning at a Michigan autos parts plant last September, former President Donald Trump claimed ‘EVs are bad…for the environment’ and can only ‘drive for 15 minutes before you have to get a charge’ – a preposterous lie.
Electrochemist Euan McTurk reckons growing demand means it’s financially viable to extend cobalt and copper reuse into lithium-ion phosphate, as the industry chases widespread recycling of all battery materials.Social media conspiracy theorists jumped to the conclusion that an EV caused October 2023’s Luton Airport car park conflagration; the fire brigade confirmed a diesel sparked it.
‘I think that’s a figure Boris Johnson plucked out of the air and it’s a challenge,’ says Quentin Willson. But the existing charger utilisation rate is about 15 per cent, and EV-sceptics often overlook that you can usually charge at home if you have a driveway. Unfortunately charging on long journeys can still be a lottery – just ask yourself how often will you drive an EV hundreds of miles?Robert Llewellyn reckons the top 10 heaviest cars in the UK are all combustion engine models, with the 2.