People need to ‘want’ electric cars, and not be forced into them

Is it time to change the language around electric cars? I was talking to someone in the industry recently who said that in America, something as simple as switching the word ‘recharging’ for ‘refuelling’ has helped to shift people’s perceptions a little, linguistically positioning the concept of charging at home as refuelling your vehicle and bringing it into a more recognised sphere.

But something even more core than that was a discussion point at the recent Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders’ Electrified event. The SMMT is the car manufacturers’ voice in the UK, and its chief executive, Mike Hawes, was vociferously blunt that the current mandate system, where car makers are fined for not hitting rising annual targets for EVs’ share of their sales, isn’t working.

The SMMT put out a report on the day, which pointed out that the 2025 reality is so far from the 2021 predictions on things like battery cost (31 per cent higher than expected) and public charging cost (double what was predicted) that it’s not fair to expect uptake to be where it needs to be for brands to avoid fines.

Hawes argues that the focus on mandates and targets isn’t helping people to embrace the positives around EVs. It’s a valid point. The mandate targets are a real stretch going forward, because too few drivers see the plus side of EVs and no-one likes having to do something because the Government tells them to.

I know there was car industry frustration at the way the issue of EV road user charging was handled by those in power, with all the talk surrounding a basic £300-a-year figure for driving 10,000 miles, overshadowing key details such as that it’s not coming for another two years, and that EVs will still cost much less than a petrol car to fuel, even allowing for the extra cost. That’s if you can charge at home, the constant caveat until a lower-cost public charging solution arrives.   

When the European Union is rolling back targets, Canada has moved to a more flexible CO2-based strategy and America is seemingly setting fire to any EV plans, maybe a more flexible approach is needed? We need to work out how to get people to move to the tech, when they feel confident that it’s the best solution and are excited to make the transition, while still offering something to those who can’t or won’t buy an EV.

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