Should You Buy An EV Car? How the UK and USA Compare

Electric vehicles (EVs) are growing in popularity on both sides of the Atlantic. However, the EV ownership experiences in the United Kingdom and the United States have key differences. Let’s examine each market’s pros, cons, incentives, and infrastructure.

The ORIGINAL OFFER For Buying An EV In the UK

The UK government aims to end new petrol and diesel car sales by 2030 and has enacted policies to spur EV adoption. But the transition has challenges:

Pros:

  • Generous Plug-in Car Grant provides discounts up to £35,000 on qualifying EVs
  • No annual road tax on EVs versus up to £585/year on gas cars
  • EVs are exempt from daily London congestion charges (£12.50/day)
  • Public charging points have surpassed 50,000 and are expanding

Cons:

  • far fewer charging stations versus petrol stations with long queues at popular locations
  • most UK homes don’t have driveways or garages, making overnight charging difficult
  • limited EV model selection compared to the petrol market
  • fuel costs are high, so EVs provide less operating cost savings
  • winter range loss is significant in UK climate

Incentives

  • up to £350 subsidies on home charger installation
  • 100% first-year capital allowance tax deductions for business EVs
  • preferential company car tax rates for EVs

Infrastructure

  • ~75% of public chargers are slower 7-22kW units needing hours to replenish EVs
  • motorways have 30-60 mile gaps between service stations with fast chargers
  • rural public charging options are very limited

The LATEST OFFER 2023 In The UK

This is a REALLY watered down version and is shows how far the GOVERNMENT (Conservatives) have watered it down.

EVs in the USA

The Biden administration set a goal of 50% of new car sales to be electric by 2030. Incentives and charging networks are expanding, but wide adoption faces roadblocks:

Pros

  • $7,500 federal tax credit lowers EV purchase prices
  • no gas costs and lower maintenance provide more operating savings
  • fast charging networks like Electrify America and EVgo expanding nationwide
  • Tesla Supercharger network provides long-distance charging for their models

Cons

  • taxes on electricity for EV charging in some states
  • states ending emission testing programs, reducing savings
  • extreme hot and cold climates impact EV range and performance

Incentives

  • state and local incentives like carpool lane access and registration discounts
  • some utilities offer discounted EV charging rates
  • businesses can qualify for tax credits up to $30,000 on EVs

Infrastructure

  • White House approved $5B for states to build EV chargers nationwide
  • California mandating chargers at public buildings and apartments
  • most EV owners rely on home charging, highlighting need for multi-unit dwellings

While progress is being made, both markets require further infrastructure investments and model diversity to reach mass adoption. But the case for going electric continues to grow.

Steven Reilly is a qualified mechanic and his passion for cars goes beyond just the technical aspects. He is also an amateur racer and all round car enthusiast. When he is not driving them, he can often be found in his garage under the hood of a rare model. Steven Reilly has lost track of the number of hours he has spent setting up his fine collection of rebuilt models. He believes that cars can provide a constructive and fun opportunity to teach the youth important life skills. In line with this, he is developing a community outreach program, potentially dubbed ‘Cars for change'.