Here’s another reminder that attempting to force EV adoption at a pace imposed from above is a serious mistake.
One of the arguments used by British politicians urging the country to stick with climate fundamentalism is that it is boosting the U.K.’s global influence. (Spoiler: It’s not. The rest of the world couldn’t care less.) Nevertheless, let’s take a look at two bits of recent news from Blighty.
Britain’s biggest motorway service station provider has brought in marshals to police “charge rage” among electric vehicle drivers battling for access to plug-in points.
Moto chief executive Ken McMeikan warned the UK’s motorway service stations are facing growing “public disorder” due to a lack of grid connections preventing him from installing enough car chargers to meet the surge in demand.
It means many motorists are facing long waits, with angry drivers confronting staff and each other over the lack of charging facilities.
Mr McMeikan said the delays made drivers “very angry and stressed” and warned of the growing risk of “charge rage” on Britain’s motorways.
He said: “People need to drive their EV cars around without range anxiety, without long queues and without public disorder but at peak seasonal times we are experiencing all this now.”
A recent cost of living bulletin from the Office for National Statistics revealed that the price of car insurance — which for many Britons is one of their biggest household bills — is up by 52.9% in the last 12 months.
However, this average masks bigger increases for electric car owners, according to Confused.com. Its figures, derived from quotes, show that insurance premiums for electric vehicles are 72% – or £402 – higher than this time last year, at a typical £959. Meanwhile, for petrol and diesel car drivers, the increase is 29%, or £192, taking the figure to £848.
Louise Thomas, a motor expert at Confused.com, says: “Despite electric vehicles becoming more common, they are still the minority on UK roads, and insurers have less experience setting premiums for these types of cars.”. . .
Analysts say claims costs are 25% higher for electric cars, and that they also take about 14% longer to repair than a diesel or petrol equivalent. The cost and availability of parts is a factor, explains Paul Baxter, the chief executive of the new brand the Green Insurer. There is also concern around the batteries, and that damage, especially to the underside, can be expensive to fix.
“There’s also an issue around technology and skills in the repair networks,” Baxter says. Indeed, the Institute of the Motor Industry has predicted a shortage of about 16,000 electric vehicle-qualified mechanics come 2032. “They’ve not got to the stage they are with traditional cars in terms of expertise. If you dent a door, that’s straightforward, but if something has damaged the battery, in particular, they haven’t caught up with that.”
Neither of these stories point to there being anything “wrong” with electric vehicles, but they are yet another reminder that attempting to force their adoption at a pace imposed from above, rather than letting the demand grow organically from below, is a serious, and very expensive mistake, made all the more grotesque by the fact that it will have little or no effect on the climate.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports on some news from Germany:
Volkswagen AG is curbing the production of electric vehicle models at two German plants due to declining European demand and shrinking government subsidies.
Production of Volkswagen’s ID.3 and Cupra’s Born electric models will be dialed back at the German carmaker’s main EV factory in Zwickau until Oct. 16, a spokesperson said. Assembly of the ID.3 at a small-scale plant in Dresden will cease for the first two weeks of October. . . .