A full transition to electric cars isn't going to be easy

A couple of things have surfaced recently that illustrate just how hard the full transition to electric cars is going to be.

Firstly, anyone who wants to tow is going to have a bit of a nightmare. Think back to the summer and the number of caravans on the road, and you’ll understand the scale of the problem if they all have to charge every 100 miles or so.

As well as causing huge frustration for people having to top up two or three times to get to their destination, there are only a handful of charging bays where you don’t need to go through the rigmarole of unhitching.

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While many drivers might not be too upset that caravanners could be inconvenienced to the point of giving up, this is just one element of a movement to EVs that isn’t designed to take everyone with it. What it means, in the short term at least, is that they’re likely to keep an internal combustion-engined car primarily for the weeks in the summer they want to get away with their caravan – then run it into the ground once we’re all unable to buy new ICE cars from 2035.

Then there was the ChargeUK report into the cost of public charging, and Government inaction on the issue. At the moment, EVs make financial sense if you can charge at home, but very little if you have to rely on the public network. The organisation that represents the sector set out a series of measures that could cut the cost of public charging by more than a quarter. The VAT on public charging – 20 per cent versus 5 per cent at home – has been mentioned before, and reducing it would cut a claimed 9.5p per kWh from the price of an ultra-fast charger. The report also identified legislative breaks that other “strategically important” sectors are given, but are not yet open to chargepoint operators.

The Electric Car Grant announced in the summer has definitely boosted interest in electric vehicles. Data from Carwow shows a surge in people looking at electric cars – but the ecosystem constitutes more than just getting cars onto the road.

For now, the cost of charging for anyone not lucky enough to be able to top up at home – a good portion of the driving population – makes it very hard to recommend they go electric until decisive long-term action is taken to make public charging more affordable.

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