So you think you want to buy an electric car as your next vehicle, should you?

Well we could spend a lot of time debating the technology pros and cons and go into the different type of battery cells and direct drive options… but let’s not.

The reality of any decision making process is that – sometimes elusive -element of personalisation. In other words, is it right for you personally given your specific needs and lifestyle?

If you are a small business owner, does electric make commercial and financial sense?

Of course you may just be one of those rare folk who are early adopters of all things new in technology. But let’s assume that you’re not for the moment; rather you are a bit more mainstream and whilst new technology interests you, it kind of needs to be proven before you’ll take the plunge.

Welcome to the main part of the adoption curve!

Buying a car is an expensive thing to do and most people tend to take their time as they weigh up their needs and wants. – Let’s talk about those:

Key questions on the ‘needs’ side of the car buying equation include:

How many seats do I need?

What style do I need? – Booted, hatchback, estate, or SUV?

What annual mileage do I drive?

Where are those miles? – Mainly local? Motorway/ long distance or Both?

Is the car mainly for business, pleasure or both?

How much do I want to spend? – Both overall price and monthly running costs.

Key considerations on the ‘wants’ side of the car buying equation might be:

Sporty or not?

Colour?

Additional options or features.

Upgrade packs.

Does it feel good? (Always an important consideration because if the answer is no, then you’re likely to be unhappy. Marketeers call this ‘post-purchase dissonance’).

So where does that leave you?

Well depending on your answers to both sections, you can begin to decide if buying an electric vehicle is the right thing for you personally today.

Let’s look at the practical considerations and realities:

Are you a business user? The financial considerations for small businesses considering switching to EV’s are complex right now and careful planning is needed.

If you regularly drive long distances and the motorway is your second home, then right now you would need to ask if an electric car is the right direction for you.

One of the best-selling EV ‘s in the UK – by volume – is currently the Nissan Leaf. It has a real world range of around 145 miles per charge and whilst comfortable, is not exactly a sports car or a long distance executive machine.

But if your journeys are mainly local it might make sense, although it might still cost you over £30,000 new, so overall cost of ownership might not be much better than a similar sized petrol car.

A Tesla Model S can give you maybe 300 miles range along with a ludicrously fast 0 to 60 time of under 3 seconds.

But the S is quite expensive. You can easily spend £90,000 on one. And here’s the thing; modern diesel and petrol engines are so efficient, you could buy say a mid-sized German car that could deliver you a range of maybe 600 or 700 miles on one tank and at a much lower purchase price and cost of ownership than the Tesla.

That said, in 2022, the 3 top selling EV’s in the UK (by volume) were:

1. Tesla Model Y (35,551).
2. Tesla Model 3 (19,071)
3. Kia e-Niro (11,197)

The drive towards a rapidly increasing choice of EV’s demonstrates there is no doubt that the future lies with electric and alternative clean fuels.

Government legislation is set to ban the sale of all new internal combustion vehicles in the UK by 2030 so we will all be looking at electric.

But 7 years is a long time in technology terms. The electric cars available in 10 years’ time may be significantly cheaper than they are today (in relative terms) with lower cost of ownership and longer range.

It’s also probable that the charging infrastructure will undergo a revolution over the next few years so that you will be able to recharge your vehicle easily at multiple charge points anywhere in the country. Charging will be fast as well; predictions are that within 5 years a mid-size car could have an electric range of 500+ miles and an 85% recharge time of 10 minutes.

At that point the decision is easy.

So should you buy an EV today?

Well it really depends on what drives you (pardon the pun). If driving a zero emissions vehicle right now makes you feel good and if it can be fitted into your personal or business lifestyle, then go for it.

There are an ever increasing number of pure EV models being released by manufactures and many are very good looking and highly desirable. Look at the latest developments from BMW, Jaguar and VW.

Of course you could opt for a hybrid and perhaps get the best of both worlds for a while, but ultimately they will also be banned from 2035.

If you are a business user, work the numbers through and make sure the timing of switching makes both commercial and financial sense.