Electric cars

[Kompany Car]

I used to have one (gone full electric now) and the answer really depends on how you use it. If all you do is long motorway journeys then you aren't going to see much benefit compared to a normal internal combustion engine. However, if you do a lot of shorter journeys and have the opportunity to plug in between them then you can start to get the sort of numbers you are talking about (where you only used the IC engine for occasional longer trips). That's how I tended to use it as my office was just under the battery range away from the house (and I could charge at both). So I often went 2-3 months between fill ups of the 'normal' fuel tank as that was only used when I did longer trips.

To me the best option would be a slightly longer range hybrid for many people. Some of the new Mercedes C and E platforms now do around 60 miles on electric which for running about locally is plenty. You then have ICE for the longer journeys. Admittedly you are lugging around extra weight but from an end user point of view its the best of both worlds.

Until the charging network is up to the job this should have been the approach but instead we are in a world where policy makers want a step change without the infrastructure in place.

 

[BlueHammer85]

It’s strange being offered huge savings through the company for EV whilst working for a oil company.