The proportion of EVs rescued by the AA for being ‘out of charge’ has halved in the last two years – leading the organisation to reiterate that ‘range anxiety’ and running out of charge are overstated.

Out-of-charge callouts have fallen from 8% of breakdowns two years ago to under 4% of breakdowns today, the AA has reported

Its figures show that out-of-charge callouts have fallen from 8% of breakdowns to under 4% of breakdowns today – and half of that 4% had not actually run out but had called the AA out as the EV was low on charge.

In Norway, which has a much higher concentration of EVs than the UK, the percentage of ‘out of charges’ is just 1%.

Instead, AA data shows that the top one third of breakdowns for EVs are exactly the same faults as with petrol or diesel cars – 12V battery problems and tyres.

But other EV faults are quite disparate, covering things such as charging equipment, warning lights, battery monitoring systems or key transponders.

Edmund King, AA president, said: “In 20 years of driving EVs I have only run out of charge once. My first EV was a Ford Think! Car with a 37-mile range and I once tried to drive from central London to St Albans on a dark, rainy night and didn’t quite make it.

“Yes, there have been occasions when I have been low on charge or come across chargers out-of-order, but it is hard to run out.

“Most EVs will flash up an orange ‘check your charging’ warning when around 20%, others will change your sat nav route to take in chargers or put the car into ‘range’ mode. If the worst comes to the worst, the AA can always help you out.”

King also restated that drivers shouldn’t get hung up about range anxiety because it doesn’t match reality.

“Of course, improvements can and are being made to the charging infrastructure but a little planning can take you a very long way,” he continued.

“We are also now seeing EVs with much longer ranges and most new EVs can do at least 250 miles.”

And he noted the many benefits of running an EV, including no need to pay car tax, fuel duty or congestion charge, low Benefit-in-Kind, dynamic performance and low running costs, including electricity that’s still a fraction of the cost of petrol or diesel.

King finished: “Electrification is going mainstream and potential EV owners shouldn’t be put off by myths about range. Once you have tried an EV it is hard to go back.”