The switch to electric cars is being undermined by faulty roadside chargers and the length of time it takes for many vehicles to “refuel”, research suggests. A study by the RAC Foundation published today found that one in 12 chargers – 8.3 per cent – failed to work this summer, making motorists reluctant to use the greenest cars for long journeys. Researchers said that reliability had improved but was still unacceptable. In the Netherlands only 1 per cent of chargers were faulty. The foundation wants hybrid electric cars to be banned from using chargers at motorway service stations because of their slow charging speed. It said that the hybrids – petrol or diesel cars with an electric battery for short journeys – took almost 12 times longer than pure electric vehicles to add 15 miles of ra nge when using the quickest charge points. The conclusions will cast doubt over the government’s plan to cut emissions by incentivising the use of green vehicle technology. Ministers have set a target to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2040. Critics claim that that growth of pure electric cars, which have no emissions, has been too slow, making the target unrealistic.
Times 10th Dec 2018 read more »