ELECTRIC cars are becoming more and more popular.
With more and more traditional car manufacturers crossing over to the EV market and new models being announced month after month, we continue to see long waiting lists as the inevitable move towards electric continues to pick up pace.
September 2019 has seen an increase of 236.4% in fully battery operated electric vehicle registrations compared to the same month in 2018. At the same time diesel registrations are down 20.3% and petrol car registrations saw an increase of just 4.5%.
EV’s had a market share of just 0.7% in September 2018, whereas September 2019 saw them take an impressive 2.2% market share for new registrations.
Despite the increased uptake from new car owners there are relatively few driving instructors offering driving lessons in electric vehicles – however, it could be a trend that is set to change.
Learning to drive electric
There are now over 10 dedicated electric driving schools across the UK and with a host of benefits for the learner and the instructor it wouldn’t a surprise to see this number grow at least as fast as new EV car ownership, if not quicker.
The long term prospects of petrol and diesel engine cars looks like traditional car ownership is set to be replaced by electric cars and so it is perhaps inevitable that electric will dominate the middle part of the century and as the EV infrastructure improves, the move to electric should appeal to instructors more and more.
One of the most significant advantages for driving instructors using electric vehicles is for cost savings. With higher usage comes higher running costs and more wear and tear.
Electric vehicles have notoriously lower running costs and in many cases have less maintenance costs with brakes in particular being much more effective over time thanks to them using regenerative braking as opposed to conventional friction based braking.
For those seeking driving lessons, the benefits might not be so far reaching yet, with the obvious drawback being that you will be limited to driving an automatic car if you take your driving test in an electric vehicle.
However, with young people being the biggest drivers of climate change and having an increased awareness of their environmental responsibilities compared to the generations before them, this is likely to be less of a hurdle to most potential new motorists.
The costs of driving have long been a barrier for young people and if instructors are able to become more cost efficient then it is likely that this cost saving will be passes on the learners, thus offering a real incentive to learn electric.
For instructors, improved electric range and an improved charging infrastructure will be key to driving EV as a serious proposition but with rapid charging and an increase in investment for charging stations there could be a real catalyst for all electric driving lessons to help continue the push towards an all electric future.
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