I read your articles on electric cars with great interest, having owned one – a Nissan Leaf – for almost a year (Electric dreams? Utopia or dystopia, News, July 30). I think I can offer reassurance on a couple of points.
Rapid chargers take around 45 minutes to bring the car back to a 100% charge. They are well distributed along the main roads, much like coaching inns a couple of centuries ago.
The range is improving all the time. Our car, new last year, has a range when fully charged of around 120 miles. It has just taken us from Glasgow to Bettyhill on the north coast for a week’s holiday, and back. We charged in Perth and Aviemore, then a final charge in Tain before reaching Bettyhill – where we were 12 miles from another rapid charger at Melvich (which has a fantastic beach).
On the way back we charged at Helmsdale, Dingwall, Aviemore and Perth – all conveniently timed for lunch/coffee breaks and a quick look round the excellent Helmsdale museum.
What is convenient to us (as retired people) will not be convenient to all, and someone who is travelling long distances for work wouldn't be happy to wait 45 minutes to recharge. But the technological improvements you report will transform this over the next two or three years, and there is no reason why most people couldn’t be using electric vehicles in five or 10 years, subject to the Government ensuring the National Grid is up to meeting the demand.
The silence of the car is indeed both a blessing and a danger. But the same applies to bicycles.
Electric vehicles offer desperately needed cleaner air, but don’t necessarily reduce road congestion. Public transport and walking/cycling remain the best options for moving around towns and cities.
Arguably the greater threat to the world lies in our excessive and unsustainable use of fossil fuels. I am delighted that the Government has signalled at last the direction of travel in respect of electric vehicles, although I wish they would show a greater sense of urgency. And I look forward to the Government playing its part too in ensuring National Grid capacity for the growth in electric vehicles.
Ken Wardrop
Glasgow
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