Switch to electric vehicles

Battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) are powered only by electricity.  Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) have a battery, an electric drive motor and an internal combustion engine, and extended range electric vehicles (E-REVs) combine a battery, an electric drive motor and a small petrol or diesel generator. Learn more about these three types of EV at Energy Saving Trust.

EVs don’t release direct emissions, as they run on electricity – so they’re much better for the environment than petrol and diesel cars. Driving an EV won’t produce exhaust pollutants that can harm the natural environments you drive through. They also help to reduce nitrogen dioxide pollution and reduce noise in towns and cities. While their production does have a carbon footprint, the total life-cycle emissions of hybrid and electric vehicles are reduced by up to 89% compared to internal combustion engine vehicles. 

A full charge in a pure electric vehicle will get you around 220 miles and will cost approximately £23 if you are able to charge at home. Conversely, driving 220 miles in a petrol or diesel car will cost around £41 in fuel. The cost savings will be most significant when owners charge at home and have access to an off-peak overnight electricity tariff. So while charging at home tends to involve a cheaper tariff, using public charge points will still cost less than filling up a petrol or diesel car, and it will help you reduce carbon emissions too. The amount of time it takes to charge a car depends on many factors, and you can find out more about charging times here.

Although the initial upfront purchase price of an EV can be higher than a petrol or diesel vehicle, this is usually offset by lower running costs. For example, electricity is cheaper than petrol for the same distance. There are also fewer mechanical components in an EV compared with conventional vehicles, which often results in lower servicing and maintenance costs. An EV battery won’t need changing very often, but when it does, it can be one of the most expensive parts. 

Vehicle tax, more commonly known as road tax, is another area where electric car buyers can make savings. Electric cars with a list price of less than £40,000 are exempt from paying the vehicle tax other cars are subject to. That means you’ll pay nothing. 

Although EVs don’t create exhaust pipe emissions as they run on electricity, they do cause pollution through tyres and brakes. The extra weight of EVs compared to petrol and diesel cars increases wear and particle pollution. EVs are quiet, so their engines don’t add to noise pollution, although to safely alert pedestrians to oncoming traffic, EVs include a sound generator to add a certain level of sound when reversing or running below 12mph, and at higher speeds they still make noise from their tyres on the road surface.  

The majority of emissions produced by an EV are during the manufacturing and assembly of electric batteries. Although many manufacturers are working to improve mining techniques to reduce emissions from the mining and extraction process, various non-renewable materials like lithium, nickel, cobalt or graphite are used to manufacture electric batteries. There’s also no standard process for recycling batteries yet, although there’s a lot of research going into how electric car batteries can be reused.

An EV’s electric motor is highly efficient and converts around two thirds of the electricity to mechanical energy. This is much higher than conventional cars, which usually convert less than one-third of fuel to power the car. 

To achieve net zero by 2050, we need to change the way we travel. Although switching to electric cars is part of the solution, fewer cars on our roads, more people using public transport and adopting active travel where we can, are all part of the solution too.  

Many people in Wales currently need a car to get where they need to go – especially for those of us living in rural areas and for disabled drivers. The Wales transport strategy sets out plans to ensure the charging infrastructure is in place for those using EVs, as well as to improve the transport network in Wales. 

As we won’t be able to buy new petrol or diesel cars and vans from 2035, getting to grips with EVs now will help us transition to electric. Over £20m has already been invested in EV charging in Wales, and the Welsh Government’s EV charging action plan details the specific steps to ensure users of EVs in Wales are confident that we can access charging infrastructure when and where we need it. This includes fairness in the way infrastructure is prioritised, and guaranteeing access to community charging points for those unable to charge at home.