Lochside Garages Guide to Electric Vehicles
The new and exciting world of electric cars and vans can be confusing but our guide to Electric Vehicles will help you start your electric motoring future.
An electric car is referred to as a BEV or battery electric vehicle. This is a car or van powered by an electric motor as opposed to traditional petrol or diesel engines. The electric motor gets its power from a battery pack located within the vehicle. This battery requires charging to provide power to move the vehicle.
There are no exhaust emissions, is very smooth, quiet, and extremely responsive as power delivery is immediate. Best still is that EV’s are so easy to drive as they have no gears and are automatic.
100% Electric Benefits
A fully electric vehicle gives you - Low cost per mile - Lower maintenance costs (less moving mechanical parts) - Future proofing against emissions zones in many of our cities North & South - Fleet drivers benefit from a massive Benefit in Kind (BIK) savings - Better resale values
Range
Range is basically how far your electric vehicle will travel on one full charge. Electric batteries will not go as far as traditional petrol or diesel would with a full tank so journeys may require some planning.
Comparing an electric vehicle to a traditional combustion vehicle is difficult, this is because the process of refueling is completely different. Instead of visiting a petrol station when you are low on petrol or diesel you will be regularly refueling your electric vehicle with electricity, more than likely daily by means of an on-street charger, work charger, or home charger. Most people plug their electric car overnight replenishing the battery for the next day. Charging an electric vehicle this way is very easy and requires no effort other than plugging a cable into the socket located in the car. No smelly diesel residue on your hands!
Most battery electric vehicles offer a range in excess of 150 miles. Generally in the UK, only 1% of our journey exceeds 100 miles!
Our electric line up offer the following range on a single charge - MG ZS EV 163 miles - MG 5 EV 214 miles - Vauxhall e-Corsa 209 miles - Vauxhall Vivaro e 205 miles
Charging
Unless you are covering substantial mileage everyday charging will not be an issue. You come home from work and plug the car in overnight, by morning you’ll have enough power for the next day.
Types of chargers you can use;
- Rapid Chargers
Rapid chargers 50kW+ can charge to 80% in as little as 30minutes. These chargers come with a plug of their own and output DC electricity, other charging stations output AC electricity which is slower to charge a battery.
- Fast Chargers
Fast chargers 7kW to 22kW take between 1 and 5 hours to charge. These chargers are found in public car parks & shopping centres.
- Wallbox or home charger
These come in either 3kW, 7kW, or 22kW forms. These can charge a battery to full charge anywhere between 3hours to eight hours depending on the unit.
3kW charges 12.5 miles per hour
7kW charges 25 miles per hour
22kW charges 75 miles per hour
- 3-pin domestic plug
This is charging from a wall socket plug. This has limited power and used only as an emergency backup.
2kW charges 8 hours per hour
We often quote charging times to 80% rather than 100%. This is because not fully charging a battery actually extends the battery life, plus the final 20% of charge takes longer to complete.
Sockets
Just like mobile phones there are different types of sockets. The sockets on our electric vehicles are all type 2 and are the most modern.
MG ZS EV Type 2
MG5 EV Type 2
Vauxhall e-Corsa Type 2
Vauxhall Vivaro e Type 2
How much does it cost to charge?
If your place of work has a car charger and they offer it for free then that is free mileage! But, if you charge at home then the price per kWh can vary. Overnight tariffs can be as little as 5p, normal tariff is usually 14p per kWh. A public charge is 30p per kWh on average.
So how does that shape up in terms of cost over a large mileage...
(tariffs based on an average but may differ depending on electricity provider)