BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle) - The Facts

Whilst our industry recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic hangover where manufacturers had to shut down the majority of their operations due to global lockdowns, the motor industry roared back to life quicker than most anticipated which helped contribute towards a global shortage of semi-conductor processing microchips.  These processors are present in all of our technology and cars and vans are no different! 

The shortage has caused huge delays in supply of new vehicles across all global markets with UK markets now seeing delays of 12 months for some vehicles. This has somewhat stifled the industry recovery in terms of new vehicle registrations but leasing companies, dealers and manufacturers are working with record order banks so we can see that demand is still strong which is great news.

Some of the biggest growth has been seen in the EV market. Vast increases in the registration of electric vehicles have seen the true figures outperform industry expectation. More people are keen to be green and this is showing in the data.

23.1% of October registrations were either BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle), PHEV (Plug In Hybrid Electric Vehicle) and HEV (Hybrid Electric Vehicle) which is following a trend of increasing market share month on month. Pure electric or BEV make up 15.2% of this figure for October.

This is highlighting to us all that increased battery ranges and improved infrastructure is making BEV driving a more practical reality for many. Analysts expect that by the end of 2021 we will see more than 1 in 10 new vehicles registered being pure electric!

With new technology comes a new requirement to learn, adapt current practices (both individual and corporate) and embrace the ‘almost unknown’ for many. The key objections as you can imagine are range and charging capability. Some BEV’s still have relatively low ranges on a full charge while others are in excess of 300 miles. This raises a number of concerns for drivers and creates a ‘range anxiety’.

The ability to charge at home is another challenge that many of us will be presented with. Those without driveways, terraced housing, living in a flat / apartment are at the forefront of this challenge as of course, running cables across a pavement is a complete no go!

Over the next few weeks, I will be testing a number of electric vehicles and reporting back as to how practical it is to run an electric vehicle without the ability to charge at home. For the avoidance of doubt, I live on a main road and don’t park on a driveway so home charging really isn’t an option for me!

We will find out what the impact is of BEV driving and using public chargers on a busy working parent who has full weekends with family activities and some longer trips thrown in for good measure. We will look at the costs in monetary terms, time spent and the impact on daily routine.

The vehicles being tested are –

We have selected a range of vehicles of different shapes and sizes with varying levels of range to give a broad view of day-to-day use.

Keep an eye on our news section and our social media for updates on the cars we're testing and the outcomes.