This is exactly when you should invest in an electric car

The future of driving is electric whether we like it or not. While the ban on petrol and diesel cars has been pushed back from 2030 to 2035, the era of the EV still seems to be on its way – but there are questions over whether you’ll ever need to buy one.

Two in five had wanted to see the 2030 target scrapped, according to a Forbes magazine survey, while two thirds say Britain would not be ready for a ban. 

The majority of respondents say the high cost of electric cars (EVs) was the main reason why they had not yet made the switch from petrol and diesel to greener vehicles.

It is no secret EVs are more expensive to buy than their petrol counterparts, and the infrastructure to support an emissions-free future still needs work. 

So when exactly will electric cars become affordable for the average driver? And what needs to happen in order to make them cheaper? The Telegraph asked the experts.

State of the second-hand EV market

Most British drivers do not buy their cars new. 

In fact, according to the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), a government advisory body, 84pc of car sales in Britain are secondhand. 

But therein lies the problem – used EVs are not that cheap. Not yet anyway.

The average price for a used electric car is £33,727, according to the car marketplace Auto Trader, while the price of a petrol equivalent is roughly half that, at £17,654. 

Experts claim this is a supply issue – and that the price of used EVs will fall as more of them filter through to the second-hand market. Currently, EVs make up just 3pc of used car stock.

This is the logic behind the ­Government’s mandate on manufacturers to sell more EVs in the run-up to the ban. 

If manufacturers flood the market with supply, by selling EVs to businesses to lease through company hire schemes, for example, more used EVs will become available and prices will naturally fall.

There is some evidence this is working. 

There were 39,076 used EVs on the market in the first three months of this year, compared with 15,165 the year before, Auto Trader found. 

Interest from drivers is also rising, with three million more people expressing interest in EVs for sale this year than in 2022.

Consumers are also benefiting from falls in prices of some of the most popular models, according to cap hpi, a car evaluations expert. 

The average price of a Tesla Model S fell from £63,275 to £43,875 in the past 12 months – a drop of more than 30pc. 

Some models are edging towards the cheaper end of the £10,000 threshold, the website found. A Renault Zoe E-tech dropped from £16,293 to £11,643 in the same period.

Stuart Mason, of the Car Expert, an adviser, says drivers could see affordable models become available this year.

“Even 12 months ago, a Tesla Model 3 was hard to find in the used car market and prices were ridiculous,” he says. “But now there are plenty and prices are starting to fall at the sort of rate you’d expect to see from a petrol car.”

Tariffs that could save you hundreds

The oft-touted reason for electric car ownership – other than their reduced carbon footprint – is the savings drivers can enjoy on fuel. 

Households with access to off-street parking can charge their EVs overnight and benefit from cheap energy rates at low usage times. 

Experts argue that over time these savings will be more cost-effective than running a petrol car.

Colin Walker, of ECIU, says: “Even with record-high electricity costs driven up by the gas crisis, EVs are still around three times cheaper to run than their petrol equivalents.”

EVs synergise with other net zero initiatives, such as solar panels and heat pumps. 

Surplus energy from an EV battery can be used to meet a home’s electricity needs (a process known as V2H, or Vehicle to Home), or sold back to the grid to slash money off monthly bills (V2G, or Vehicle to Grid).

The ECIU says the savings offered by cheaper running costs and V2G was out of reach of millions of drivers who cannot afford the upfront cost of an EV.

Mr Walker says a stronger government mandate that increased supply could result in two million extra EVs on the road, driving down costs and saving drivers £11.5bn by 2035.

However, drivers hoping to take advantage of EV-specific tariffs have limited options today. 

Currently, only ­Octopus Energy, Ovo, and British Gas offer such tariffs. Octopus Go, the most popular of these tariffs, provides clean electricity for 12p a kilowatt hour (kWh) between 12.30am and 4.30am every night for new customers (normal electricity rates are about 33p/kWh).

Its other tariff, Intelligent Octopus, allows customers to set the time they want their vehicle ready and what the level of charge should be, while the provider works in the background to minimise strain on the grid by timing charges. 

The provider estimates a typical driver would save £970 a year on such a tariff.

Martin Young, at Investec bank, expects to see more “innovative tariffs” launch and suggested tariffs that offer lower rates for electric vehicle drivers would become mainstream.

Public electric car charging sites

For homes with no access to off-street parking, and those who need to make long journeys that cannot be covered by a single charge, a robust charging network will be a necessity.

At present, there are 40,496 charge points across 23,902 locations in Britain, according to Zap Map, a location service for charge stations. 

By 2030, the Department for Transport hopes there will be 300,000 installed in Britain. Industry experts predict there will need to be 40,000 installed every year to meet that goal.

Public charge points are typically more expensive than charging at home and some can only be used by drivers with specific apps or subscriptions, although the Government is working to legislate against this. 

They are also far less common in rural areas.

Surging electricity rates also make exclusively using public charge points less economical than using petrol, according to the AA.

Industry experts hope the Government mandate on EV manufacturers will drive further investment into infrastructure, such as accelerating the growth of the charging network. But the industry has a long way to go to lure in petrol car drivers.

Ginny Buckley, of comparison site Electrifying.com, called on manufacturers to prioritise making smaller, more affordable, cars to entice cash-strapped drivers to buy one.

She says: “Petrol super-minis are increasing in popularity, while at the same time, there’s a significant lack of smaller electric cars on the market.”

This article was first published on April 15 2023, and has since been updated.