From ditching plastic straws to donning reusable water bottles, this last year or two especially has really seen a growing awareness of eco-friendly living. But can the same be said for the British Automotive industry? It will come as no surprise that electric vehicles have been developed and that their popularity is growing year on year; more people are choosing electric vehicles over fossil-fuel cars as they are cheaper to drive and far more environmentally friendly than their petrol-guzzling counterparts. In fact, whilst electric and hybrid vehicles continue to sell with increased vigour year on year, diesel cars in particular have really struggled with new car sales in 2018.
‘Eco-friendly cars’ such as electric and hybrid vehicles do therefore seem more attractive to buyers, and especially the growing number of environmentally conscious individuals. In brief; series hybrid cars have a smaller internal combustion engine to provide power at high speeds, and a battery-electric system to power the car at lower speeds. This is economic for fuel because the internal combustion engine is allowed to work in its ideal efficiency range for optimal performance. Battery powered vehicles however are eco-friendly cars which essentially operate from one large battery which is in turn, wired to an electric drive motor. Like hybrid vehicles, they are incredible quiet and are friendly to the environment, or at least, more friendly than traditionl petrol and diesel powered combustion engined cars and vans. However, technology is actually lagging behind inspiration and demand currently, in that electric cars can often take a long time to charge and not all ‘traditional’ petrol stations provide charging points yet either.
It is near on impossible to compare the number of electric charging points vs petrol stations, however, because a large proportion of electric vehicle charging will take place at home (owners of electric powered vehicles are sometimes afforded discounts and grants to install home charging stations). Charging your electric car can take anywhere from perhaps 15 minutes to several hours. So, stopping to charge your electric car on the road is not as simple as parking up, grabbing a coffee and a chocolate bar, paying and leaving all within the space of 10 minutes…
There are many advantages to owning an eco-friendly car which we aim to touch upon in this article series. From performance benefits to reduced energy dependence, it is no surprise that there is a continuous rise in the popularity of hybrids and electric vehicles. In future articles we’ll look at the history of how these environmentally-friendly vehicles came about, their growing role in our society, and how you could make your own car more environmentally friendly without even switching cars. Is it time to go Eco Friendly?