National press scare stories on electric vehicles are neither helpful nor constructive at a time when the world’s leaders are meeting to agree new climate control targets.

Fleet Evolution founder and managing director Andrew Leech

So says EV salary sacrifice and fleet management specialist Fleet Evolution as it busts ongoing myths that electric vehicles are too expensive, create range anxiety and have charging issues.

Highlighting how the national media created the fuel shortage crisis by reporting that a number of filling stations were low on fuel, Fleet Evolution founder and managing director Andrew Leech added that he often found misleading national press reports “frustrating and self-fulfilling”.

Against a backdrop of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, and with EVs set to play a major role on the road to decarbonising UK transport, Leech said it was important to debunk electric vehicle myths.

This includes the idea that EVs are more expensive than comparable ICE models.

“This simply isn’t the case,” continued Leech. “Take an entry-level Škoda Enyaq iV fully electric SUV, for example, which after the Plug-in Car Grant of £2,500 has a list price of £32,000. This compares with an entry-level Skoda Kodiaq diesel SUV which is priced at £31,000.

“That £1,000 differential will be recouped in a matter of months because of the much lower running, fuel and maintenance costs of the electric model.”

Another perpetuated EV myth is that there is insufficient charging infrastructure to cope with current demand.

“Again, not true,” said Leech. “Our research amongst our customer base shows us that EV drivers who can charge at home in their driveaway or in a garage only need to use the public charging infrastructure five times a year on the occasions when they travel 200 miles or more.

“However, there are currently over 30,000 public charge points in UK in over 11,000 locations, with typically around 500 more being added every month on average.

“And the rate of deployment is now increasing with Zap-Map reporting 841 new charge points added in the last 30 days alone, with 139 of these being rapid chargers.

“So there is the capacity when it is needed, especially for those drivers who can charge at home.”

Where the Government does need to step up to the mark is in kerbside charging. To bring support here, Fleet Evolution is currently offering free installation of two-port chargers at the office car park of any customer with more than five of its cars on the fleet.

The other myth that also seems to be widely perpetuated is that there is insufficient capacity in the National Grid to meet growing EV demand.

In fact, electricity consumption in the UK is actually falling, particularly in the last decade, while more and more of UK power requirements are being generated from renewables such as wind and solar.

“With growing electricity demand comes increased capacity from renewables as a proportion of our energy production – and this will undoubtedly increase over time,” said Leech.

Smart charging and V2G solutions will also help with infrastructure capacity.

Leech added: “Only by continually debunking these national media myths will we get a true picture of the growth in the EV car parc and the full extent of the nation’s move to electrification.”