Electric Vehicles Archives

Here in the UK, it probably does not come as a surprise to many motorists to hear that quite a lot of car owners are switching to electric vehicles. In fact, in the first 3 months of this year, in excess of 115 electric cars were registered on a daily basis.

As the number of electric cars on our roads increase there will no doubt need to be a good supply of charging points. Presently, most owners of electric cars charge their vehicles up at home overnight. However, there are electric charging stations located at 98% of motorway service stations that are dotted around various parts of the UK.

Some interesting research has been carried out by Nissan, who like many car manufacturers build electric vehicles, into the number of petrol stations and public electric charging points. For instance, back in 1970 there were 37,539 petrol stations yet by the end of last year there were only 8,472. It is the opinion of Nissan that by August 2020 the number of petrol stations could have dropped to less than 7.870.

In recent years, the number of public electric car charging locations has increased quite significantly. For instance, by the end of 2012 there were 913, by the end of 2013 there were 1,962, by the end of 2014 the numbers had grown to 2,775 and by the end of last year there were 3,646 locations. It is predicted by Nissan that by August 2020 the number of public electric car charging locations could have reached 7,898.

As you can see, by the summer of 2020, it is forecast that, if the above patterns continue, there will be more electric car charging locations here in the UK than there will be petrol stations. How many people would have thought that this could potentially happen 10 years ago?

Do bear in mind if you are considering purchasing an electric car why not give us a call here at AIB Insurance and we will gladly obtain a competitive quotation to insure your new vehicle without any obligation on your part.

Now, you may have been unaware that electric cars are not a recent innovation although it has to be said that as far as today’s motorist is concerned it is only in the last few years that such vehicles have started to grow in popularity. However, it was back in 1884 that the first rechargeable battery powered electric car was built in London that was capable of being used on a daily basis.

In fact, towards the end of the 19th century and the start of the 20th century, electric cars were more popular than cars using conventional fuel to help power their engines. This situation changed during the early 1900s with cars propelled using fuel being much more widely used. One of the reasons for this was that the later type of vehicle could travel further distances than electric vehicles.

It wasn’t until the late 20th century that we have seen electric cars gain in popularity and this would appear to be likely to continue in the future as more and more car manufacturers enter this market.

Well, if you are a classic car enthusiast, you may be interested to read that a couple of electric cars built in the early 1900s are going to be auctioned at Historics at Brooklands on the 11th June 2016.

A 1907 Victor High Wheel Electric Runabout that had spent many years in a museum in the USA but was later exported to this country is available to bid for on the above date. It has had its battery system updated although the electric motor dates back to 1919 and is capable of travelling a distance of around 65 to 75 miles before needing re-charging. It has wooden wheels with solid rubber tyres and black leather upholstery. It has an estimated price of between £30,000 to £40,000.

The other electric car being auctioned is a 1906 Pope-Waverley Victoria Phaeton. It too originates from the USA but a few years ago was exported to the UK where it had its batteries and charging system updated. It can travel up to 50 miles between charges. The seating is done in upholstered fabric. It has delightful electric coach lamps. It is estimated that it could sell for between £30,000 to £40,000.

So, if you are interested in classic electric vehicles, you may wish to attend the above auction and consider bidding for one or indeed both of them.