The electric car elephant in the room

By Brian Clegg

There was a discussion on today’s Today programme about the pros and cons of introducing green numberplates for electric cars, enabling their owners to use bus lanes, park for free and such, to encourage us all to buy electric cars. There was rightly some doubt expressed that this would do the trick. But I was amazed there was not a single mention of the electric car elephant in the room – pricing.

I want an electric car – I really do. I would have one tomorrow. But I simply can’t afford one. I can get a new petrol car at prices starting around £7,000. The cheapest mainstream electric car, the Renault Zoe, would cost me £21,000 – three times the amount. And that’s for a silly short range. If I want an electric car with a range that is suitable for journeys other than commuting (which I do) there’s nothing under around £35,000. But the cheapo petrol car can manage that range and more.

There it is, quite simply. Fiddling around with green numberplates just makes life better for those who can afford to spend a lot on a car. The majority of people can’t. Long term, it shouldn’t be a problem – the more electric cars they sell, the cheaper they are likely to become. But we don’t have the kind of subsidies in place to make current electric cars affordable now. If the government really wants us to go electric soon, it’s not a sales barrier they have to overcome, it’s pure affordability.

This has been a green heretic production.

Now Appearing is the blog of science writer Brian Clegg (www.brianclegg.net), author of Inflight Science, Before the Big Bang and The God Effect.