There comes a point, usually after watching the fuel pump tick past £100 at a petrol station forecourt, when even the most hardened naysayer might wonder whether electric car evangelists may have been right all along. Multiple headlines tell the story: the much-anticipated societal switch to electric vehicles (EVs) may belatedly be happening.
The fuel price spike, driven by disruption to supplies through the Strait of Hormuz, has pushed many anxious motorists towards despair. Petrol prices have risen by around 22p a litre since the conflict began, with diesel climbing even higher.
The numbers are eye-watering: filling a family-sized petrol car can now nudge close to £150. By contrast, my partner’s recently acquired electric Mini can be fully charged for £28 – less if you could do so at home. Twenty-eight pounds: a figure that immediately makes petrol stations feel like 20th century anachronisms.
Yes, charging infrastructure can still be patchy and battery range anxiety is a thing. The multiple glitchy apps to charge the cars are a bloody nightmare. And, yes, the upfront costs of an electric car remain higher for many buyers. But the thing nobody quite tells you about electric cars is how ridiculously enjoyable they are. The acceleration is so instant and smooth. Even as someone with zero petrolhead tendencies – I drive a 13-year-old Toyota Prius that’s routinely mistaken for an Uber – I can appreciate the difference. You just press the accelerator and go. It feels like the future.
European EV sales have surged this year, helped by those soaring fuel costs, jumping up to 51 per cent year-on-year. Britain appears to be catching up. UK enquiries for EVs have risen sharply since the Iran conflict began. Renault has described a “seismic shift” in demand, with electric models accounting for nearly half its April sales. The famed Renault 5 is now the UK’s best-selling electric car.
What is changing is not environmental awareness, but economic logic. For years, electric cars were framed as worthy but expensive; a moral choice rather than a practical one. Now the numbers are beginning to flip. Rising oil prices have exposed the sheer volatility of relying on fossil fuels, while electricity, particularly with home charging tariffs, now looks reassuringly stable.
There is an accompanying financial shift: leasing. Buying a car outright used to be a sensible adult thing to do. But unlike most homes, cars are not appreciating assets. The moment you drive a new one off the forecourt, it begins depreciating dramatically. That’s why leasing is booming, particularly for EVs. Enquiries about electric vehicle leasing have risen dramatically this year as drivers seek lower running costs without long-term commitment.
Be warned, though. There is an unavoidable side effect. The moment someone buys an EV, it becomes – as with vegans and padel players – the only thing they talk about: charging speeds, regenerative braking and Kilowatt hours. A friend who recently switched has become a roaming TED Talk.
Still, if the alternative is spending nearly £150 to fill up a diesel family car, perhaps we should all become slightly insufferable.