electric car charging

Expert advice: electric vehicle terms explained

electric vehicle terms
Electric vehicles need new terminology. We explain some of them (Picture iStock/William Barton)

We’re seeing a seismic shift in motoring with the wholesale switch to electric vehicles (EVs). Not only are some EVs a bit different to look at, there’s a whole new language around them. I thought it would be helpful to explain some of the electric vehicle terms we’ll need to use.

What are kilowatts all about?

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EV charging points: how easy is getting one installed at home?

ev charging points
This is probably the home charging dream for most people. (Picture iStock/sl-f)

New electric car sales in the UK are currently booming and the number of charging points can’t keep up.

For the first 10 months of 2021, there has been an 88 per cent increase in electric vehicles (EVs) sold compared to the previous year. Now, one in 10 new cars sold is battery powered. In October this year, 16,155 new EVs left the showroom.

Throughout the UK, according to Zap-Map, over that same period there were around 900 new charging points. That’s one charging point for every 18 cars. It’s hardly surprising that many EV drivers are looking at having a charging point installed at home. But how easy is it?

Can’t you charge with a normal plug?

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General election 2019: who’s offering what to Britain’s drivers

general election 2019
More electric car charging points feature strongly in all manifestos (Picture iStock/PlargeDoctor)

It may not have escaped your notice that there’s a general election this week. In the UK there were 45,775,800 people eligible to vote in December 2018. Of those, latest Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) figures show 40,861,015 hold driving licences.

With 89 per cent of voters also drivers, what do the political parties have to offer them? We’ve combed the manifestos of the eight parties represented in the UK Parliament until the general election 2019 to see what they’re promising drivers. The parties are ranked in order of the number of seats they currently hold.

The Conservative Party

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