EV drivers just aren’t running out of charge anymore

New research from the AA has found that the number of electric vehicles grinding to a halt because the battery has run flat is hugely down on previous years – 70% down in fact.

Four years ago 8% of all EVs that broke down did so because of a flat battery. This figure had fallen to 4% last year and stands at just 2.1% now.

Cars running out of petrol  is consistently 1% of the AA’s workload, and the organisation believes that in time, EVs will end up at this same rate. In fact, in Norway, where there is much more mature EV infrastructure, the percentage is indeed running at 1%.

So far this year the AA has been called to 39,109 EV breakdowns, 2.86% of the total number. More than eight out of ten are fixed at the roadside, which is a similar success rate to petrol and diesel vehicles.

Addressing the Annual EV Infrastructure Summit on this issue, the AA president, Edmund King OBE pointed out that firstly, most new EVs now have longer ranges and the majority can do at least 250 miles and some top of the range models almost 500 miles. Secondly, the public charging network is more reliable and constantly growing whilst there has also been growth in the provision of domestic and work-place chargers. Finally, he reasoned that drivers are better informed and receive more help on when, where, and how to charge.

Edmund King said: ‘The 70% drop in out of charge breakdowns is a clear sign that range, infrastructure, and education are improving. Of course, we need a concerted effort to continue the roll-out of reliable and accessible charging to fill in the gaps and to address the problem for those that don’t have off-street parking to charge.
 
‘The vast majority of EV owners do most of their charging at home or on-street close to home and then use the charging network to top up whilst on those more infrequent longer journeys. With a little planning, stopping off to charge up can be convenient and enhance road safety as taking a break is recommended every two hours or so.
 
‘The economic and environmental benefits of running an EV are clear but it appears that some drivers are put off by ‘charging anxiety’ which does not reflect the reality for most drivers or indeed the AA.’