Electric car revolution not confined to cities, says Honda UK
This article provides very interesting food for thought and identifies behaviours we might not have anticipated. It shows the value of getting more electric charging points into rural England. It tells us:
Japanese firm has found that rural EV registrations are high in the UK, where access to petrol stations is limited. Motorists in rural areas are challenging the stereotype that electric car buyers are confined to cities.
That’s according to research by Honda UK, which found that there are electric car hotspots in rural communities where buyers don’t necessarily have easy access to petrol stations.
At the launch of the Honda e – a small electric vehicle targeted at inner-city buyers – the firm’s UK division said buying habits were challenging established views.
Phil Webb, head of car for Honda UK, told the PA news agency that the research had raised the question: “Why is there an intense number of electric vehicle registrations in rural areas, particularly Cornwall and the north of Scotland?”
He explained that one visit to a dealer in Scotland proved particularly eye-opening, saying: “He’s a dealer in a village and there’s not a lot else there. He was telling me that people are going down the electric route because their nearest petrol station is 15 – 20 miles away, but all they want to do is pop to the shops or take the kids to school, so in an electric car, for them, it’s self-sustaining.
“They’re in control of when they charge it – overnight for example – and no longer have that inconvenience of having to go out of their way to a petrol station.