The Ecowise team this month looks at whether it’s worth having an electric car through your company.
There are undeniable negatives. These include, EVs are still more expensive than gas guzzling petrol and diesel cars, the limited range you can travel on a single battery charge, the length of time to charge a car, added to the issue of finding a charging point – available and working.
Despite this, as of the end of June 2023, there were reported to be over 810,000 fully electric cars on UK roads. That is supported by the fact that more than 265,000 battery-electric registered in the UK in 2022, a growth of 40% on 2021.
Factor into this, the fact that in the UK there will be a ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030, with hybrids following five years later.
Away from the stats, many EV owners claim they are a dream to drive. This includes CREST Business Awards marketing consultant Marc Garfield, Managing Director of Priodev, who in addition to installing solar panels for his home last year, drives an electric car.
“I work a lot of the time from home these days but recently I had to make a long distance trip from the Midlands to Surrey and I admit, I was a bit worried about how the car would perform for a long round trip, one I’d only done with an “ICE” car historically.”
“I made one stop at Oxford on the way down and in the 20 minutes I took to have a cup of coffee the battery was fully charged and to be honest I didn’t think about it again. It was great!”
So apart from that personal testimonial on EVs what else makes it worthwhile investing in them?
What else is there to say about EVs – they are better for the environment, they have lower running costs, lower maintenance because there are fewer moving parts. Then there is the one big advantage – buying electric has the tax benefits.
Ecowise would love to hear from a tax specialist accountant who can summarise these benefits for our readers!