The UK’s adoption of electric cars in charts and data

What is the RAC doing to help drivers make the switch to electric?

The RAC is leading the way when it comes to supporting drivers in the switch to electric vehicles.

An ever-increasing number of our patrol vans have built-in emergency mobile charging systems capable of giving an out-of-charge electric car enough power to be driven a short distance home or to a working chargepoint, while our All-Wheels-Up recovery system allows our patrols to safely rescue electric cars with no need for a flatbed.

Find out more about the RAC’s electric car breakdown cover.

Electric vehicles are here to stay. New petrol and diesel cars will no longer be sold in the UK after 2030, so there are plenty of reasons to take the plunge and drive a cleaner car.

EVs offer lots of benefits, including lower running costs, a relaxed driving experience and less local pollution – but they are hardly a new idea. 

Read on to find out more about the wonderful world of electric vehicles.

Electric cars are nothing new

You may think the buzz around EVs is a recent phenomenon. In fact, electric cars were driving silently around our streets as far back as 1837. However, in these early days, non-rechargeable batteries hampered their practicality.

Rechargeable batteries arrived around 1881, and it was thought the UK would take up EVs soon afterwards, when the London Electrical Cab Company unveiled the Bersey taxi. Sadly, it was expensive to run and unreliable, damaging its reputation and torpedoing any chance of success.

Development of EVs continued over the following decades, but it wasn’t until the launch of the Tesla Model S in 2012 when the world once again began to take EVs seriously.

The Nissan LEAF was the world’s first ‘mass market’ EV.

The Nissan LEAF holds the honour of being the first ‘mass market’ electric car. Launched in 2010, within a decade there were more than 500,000 examples of Nissan’s electric hatchback on the world’s roads, with over 180,000 of those registered in Europe. 

The LEAF was the first EV to pass the 400,000 registrations milestone and Nissan also reports that, up to the end of December 2020, all those LEAFs contributed to 2.5 million fewer tonnes of CO2 entering the environment.

Read our review of the Nissan LEAF. 

Electric vehicles have clever tech

Unlike most petrol or diesel vehicles, electric cars are packed with innovative technology to save precious energy and help you go further. Regenerative braking systems help recover kinetic energy under deceleration, sending it back to charge the car’s battery, and potentially boosting range.

EVs can also be pre-conditioned, which helps to preserve range. This is done by pre-heating or pre-cooling the car’s interior before any journey begins. Usually accessed by a smartphone app connected to the car or by the on-board infotainment system, the car’s driving range will not only be maximised, but its battery life could be lengthened as well. If the car is plugged in and charging, it takes power from the mains supply – so there is no impact on the range available.

Read our guide on electric car range and how far you can drive in an EV.

Electric cars can earn you money

Not only do EVs have on-board technology to save range, but they can also feed power back into the electricity grid to potentially earn you money. Using Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) charging, an EV can feed electricity back into the power grid. This can cut costs for EV drivers and fleet companies as they can charge their electric cars using cheaper energy. 

When an EV uses V2G technology, electricity flows in both directions, to and from its battery. The energy that is stored in the battery can be sold back to the grid later when demand for power is high. If the EV is charged when energy demand is lower, or the level of generation by renewable sources is high, V2G can also help reduce carbon emissions. Nissan has helped pioneer the technology in the UK.