Electric Cars – Is it the right time to buy?
Back in 1997 Toyota launched the Prius which was the first Hybrid vehicle to be sold by a large manufacturer. The Prius uses engine regeneration to charge the batteries in the vehicle enabling an electric and a petrol engine to be used together. At slow speeds and reversing the Prius uses the electric engine to generate the power. While film stars and environmentalist’s loved the Prius it actually was not that great in saving the earth! The consumption on a Prius is not too dissimilar to a frugal diesel car. It is also claimed that the manufacturing process of the Prius means that the carbon footprint on the car’s build is higher than a normal car. However the Prius was the start of the electric car journey.
Now in 2013 all the mainstream manufacturers are developing electric cars. Renault, Nissan and Peugeot all have vehicles in this market. So should we all run out and buy one? The simple answer to that question is No! Electric vehicles are not suitable for everyone due to range constraints. The price may also put you off! The Peugeot is over Twenty six thousands pounds. The Nissan Leaf is slightly less at Twenty three thousand The Renault’s Twizy is the cheapest option at less than seven thousand but it only has two seats. Electric vehicles currently only have range of around 150 miles. This is the main limiting factor when you take the price out of the equation.
Li-ion battery technology is improving all the time and I do not believe it will be many years until batteries are developed that would give electric cars 300 – 400 mile range. At this point sales will boom in this sector. We will also see prices of electric vehicles fall as the technology evolves.
What if you want to buy one though? All of these manufactures are doing great deals on personal lease. You can lease most of these vehicles for less than three hundred pounds per month. If you use two tanks of petrol in your car you will be spending around this monthly premium in fuel alone. Another option is to look at second-hand vehicles – the market is unsure of these vehicles and that is reflected in the prices. A quick look on Autotrader and you will find the Renault Twizy for five and half thousand pounds with less than a thousand miles on the clock. The Nissan Leaf can be found for less than sixteen thousand, thats ten thousand pounds of the list price in less than a year!
So if you are looking to move to an electric vehicle now may be the time if you are able to cope with a limited range, but look for a personal lease or a second hand car it will save you thousands!