I wasn't a (Scots Pine) tree hugging, flag waving eco-warrior out to save the planet when I decided to dump my ICE (internal combustion engine) car and go all-electric... yes, it'd be a nice, responsible step in helping reduce my so called 'carbon footprint'. But after 40 years writing about and promoting petrol and diesel powered cars I was sceptical, but found myself mildly curious! What was all this excitement surrounding electric vehicles really about?
A test drive of no more than five miles (I was more used to a few days in some far flung land road testing the latest offering from the world's car makers) and I was hook, line and batter-ied! Decision made – I was joining the EV revolution.
Now, dear reader, me and thousands of other converts are now not just feeling better with much clearer environmental consciences, but enjoying the significant financial benefits of electric car motoring!
Example - instead of forking out an obscene £90+ a week to fill up my (previous) diesel PSV, my bank balance – courtesy of my utility provider obliging me with dirt cheap overnight charging rates – enjoys a saving of between £65-70 every seven days... to cover the same mileage. Absolutely incredible and dare I say, the sceptics can remain sceptical!
"What we are experiencing today is a seismic change in vehicle ownership taking place throughout the UK - even more so here in Scotland," according to Neil Swanson, a director of the Electric Vehicle Association Scotland - the voice of our rapidly growing EV community that stretches from the Lowlands to the Highland and the Islands
"We are, most certainly at the forefront of creating our own little bit of automotive history."
The new electric car market, particularly north o' the border is alight, outpacing EV sales per capita of England, Wales and Northern Ireland combined last year. This has been made possible through wide-ranging investments by Scots companies pioneering everything from new battery technologies, innovations in delivering the all important charge point infrastructures to our rapidly expanding list of EV dealerships. All have invested heavily with support technology and services that have put this country in the vanguard of a movement that is going nowhere but up. There are currently 80 EV models available on the market and this is predicted to rise to 140 in the next 12 months. This is now big business.
Lithium batteries will soon become a thing of the past too. In the far flung north of Scotland – John o' Groats would you believe, - AMTE Power have developed the latest in battery cell technology which not only increases the life and efficiency of new batteries but whacks up the already impressive acceleration of EVs. The company has linked up with Britishvolt (opening massive gigafactories in the north of England and Wales) to produce the finished products for UK and world-wide consumption lessening dramatically our reliance on foreign imports.
Long range electric buses – not simply the inner city types – are pioneering the move to get more of us off the roads and into public transport. Edinburgh-based Ember is now operating two buses which have a range of over 200 miles in a pilot programme between the capital and Dundee that will see services expanding to Fort William in the west and beyond.
However, it is much more than simply converting customers away from their existing fossil fuelled vehicles to 'drive electric'! Convincing a (still) sceptical motoring public that this whole decarbonisation movement is not just a one-off good idea, a token gesture to satisfy the climate change brigade and one that may relieve government consciences, takes time. This is a real, permanent and mandatory change everyone will have to face in the not too distant future.
Following COP 26, the world climate change conference held in Glasgow in October and November last year, the Scottish government announced it will ban the sales of all new fossil fuelled vehicles by 2030... we've no option! Vehicles churning out noxious fumes will all gradually disappear from our roads. Our very way of life will never be the same again, thankfully!
But wait, there's an alternative for those who want to keep their vintage MG, Bentley or Aston Martin...converters here are up and running. Glenrothes-based Electron Garage www.electrongarage.co.uk has already converted a Morris 1000 and has a prototype London black cab taxi ready for testing with Glasgow and Edinburgh taxi owners associations!
And so the supporting infrastructure – publicly available EV charge points – is of paramount importance. Scottish companies such as Glasgow-based Jorro, are at the forefront of this massive side of the EV industry. Boss Dave Pickles says: "We offer businesses the opportunity to add reliable cost effective charging for plug-in hybrids and fully electric vehicles. There has, undoubtedly, been a huge and rapid increase in sales of plug-in vehicles both in the private and public sectors. Employers and traders are looking to provide customers and staff with the right facilities to charge their EVs. Workplace charging helps staff reduce their commuting costs and vehicle emissions."
EVA Scotland's Neil Swanson added: "The shift from petrol and diesel to electric vehicles is going to be one of the largest examples of public or private policy implementation of the next decade.
"EV drivers' associations like ours play an instrumental role in providing lobbying and a support and network for all using electric modes of transport while promoting the benefits of transport electrification for our environment and our economy.
"Supporting the Scottish Government's efforts towards net zero carbon emissions and the incredible work pioneered by local authorities in their development of charge point infrastructures is our main objective."
Even the British Horse Society are in on the act. Along with the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen they are about to announce the results of an in-depth survey on how the 'equine' community reacts to the silence of electric vehicles! What about little old ladies crossing the road?
In reality, this is all very serious stuff. We all need to get in the game folks!
(Norrie Hunter is a Media Advisor to the Electric Vehicle Association Scotland).
Footnote: An old motoring journalist pal of mine said he wasn't totally happy with the prospect of having to go electric... "there's nothing like hearing the grunt from a powerful V8". Funny, as a member of the influential Association of Scottish Motoring Writers, he recently voted for an EV (the Skoda Enyaq) as the ASMW's first Scottish Car of the Year!! Old habits die hard eh?
