The road to electric – in charts and data [UK]

Summary

What is the RAC doing to help drivers make the switch to electric?The RAC is leading the way when it comes to supporting drivers in the switch to electric vehicles.An ever-increasing number of our patrol vans have built-in emergency mobile charging systems capable of giving an out-of-charge electric car enough power to be driven a short distance home or to a working chargepoint, while our All-Wheels-Up recovery system allows our patrols to safely rescue electric cars with no need for a flatbed.Find out more about the RAC’s electric car breakdown cover.Electric vehicles are here to stay. New petrol and diesel cars will no longer be sold in the UK after 2030, so there are plenty of reasons to take the plunge and drive a cleaner car.EVs offer lots of benefits, including lower running costs, a relaxed driving experience and less local pollution – but they are hardly a new idea. Read on to find out more about the wonderful world of electric vehicles.Electric cars are nothing newYou may think the buzz around EVs is a recent phenomenon. In fact, electric cars were driving silently around our streets as far back as 1837. However, in these early days, non-rechargeable batteries hampered their practicality.Rechargeable batteries arrived around 1881, and it was thought the UK would take up EVs soon afterwards, when the London Electrical Cab Company unveiled the Bersey taxi. Sadly, it was expensive to run and unreliable, damaging its reputation and torpedoing any chance of success.Development of EVs continued over the following decades, but it wasn’t until the launch of the Tesla Model S in 2012 when the world once again began to take EVs seriously.The Nissan LEAF was the world’s first ‘mass market’ EV.The Nissan LEAF holds the honour of being the first ‘mass market’ electric car. Launched in 2010, within a decade there were more than 500,000 examples of Nissan’s electric hatchback on the world’s roads, with over 180,000 of those registered in Europe. The LEAF was the first EV ...