EV range anxiety debunked

Running out of power mid-journey is the top worry for prospective electric vehicle buyers – but most drivers could take a full week of normal trips without recharging, according to research by DrivingElectric.com.

The finding of the study into British driving habits shows most drivers cover fewer miles over seven days than many typical electric cars can manage on one single charge.

DrivingElectric.com analysed the journey habits of 480 drivers to discover that ‘range anxiety’ is an unnecessary concern for most people.

Researchers found that the total average mileage covered by most drivers in a typical week, including travel for social, leisure, shopping, school runs and commuting, falls within the published ranges of the latest generation of electric cars.

Only longer business trips or occasional holidays take drivers far enough to require a mid-journey top-up.

‘So-called range anxiety is consistently named by motorists as a main barrier to going all electric, but the facts suggest that range really shouldn’t worry most of us,’ said Vicky Parrott, associate editor of DrivingElectric.com.

Analysts crunched the numbers for a typical week’s driving among 480 motorists and found that the average weekly work commute totals 70 miles. School runs add up over a week to 24 miles. Journeys for social or leisure purposes come in at an average 89 miles per week. And shopping trips typically total 82 miles.

If all of those journeys were taken in one car, that weighs in at a total of 265 miles – a distance that could be covered by four of the cars in the DrivingElectric.com list without re-charging.