Roll over diesel: EVs are now doing the big mileage in the UK

Electric cars now account for more than one in every 20 miles driven in the UK. New data has also shown that the average EV is now covering almost the same distance annually as its diesel counterpart and more than the average petrol car.

Research from the RAC Foundation shows that the average electric car under three years old will rack up 10,054 miles per year. That’s much more than the equivalent petrol car, which will typically only cover around 7,585 miles annually.

When you compare EVs with diesel cars there’s very little difference. Diesels cover 10,728 each year on average and while this remains slightly ahead of EVs, it’s worth pointing out that ten years ago, most electric cars tended to rack up less than half the mileage of the equivalent diesel.

The RAC Foundation’s director, Steven Gooding, said: “Until recently new car buyers, often fleets and businesses, have looked to diesels when they’ve needed something capable of racking up the big miles whilst still offering reasonable fuel economy.” 

“Now it seems that fully electric cars are starting to take over where the diesel left off, providing a practical alternative in terms of range and cost per mile, and because of the attractive tax breaks they come with,” Gooding explained.

All of the RAC Foundation’s data comes from first-time MoT tests which are typically conducted once a car reaches three years old. Of course, some of the data will include the likes of emergency services vehicles, as well as taxis, which account for around five per cent of the dataset and typically require MoT testing sooner given their higher mileages.

Nevertheless, with the average car under three years old covering 8,460 miles per year, EVs remain ahead of the pack in terms of long-distances. In fact, despite electric cars only accounting for 3.8 per cent of all cars registered in the UK, the RAC’s research suggests that given their high typical mileage, one in 20 miles driven in the country are done so in an EV.

“Given the fact that new cars generally have tended to run up more miles than older ones and that most electric cars on the road are relatively young,” Gooding continued, “it might not be so surprising that our analysis shows battery-powered vehicles account for a disproportionately large number of miles in use.”

Of course, the number of miles driven in EVs in the UK is set to explode over the next few years as we move towards the 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars. The government has also re-introduced a public-funded grant for electric vehicles to help boost sales. The uncreatively-named Electric Car Grant will offer up to £3,750 towards the price of a new electric car starting from under £37,000, with the exact amount donated depending how much renewable energy is used throughout the model in question’s production.

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