Executive View: Is this the experience we want for EV and PHEV beginners?

Is the UK Government's strategy for electric car adoption a special case or a basket case, wonders Professor Jim Saker, regular Automotive Management contributor and president of the Institute of the Motor Industry.

So far left to the whim of politicians the UK is still due to have a ban on the sale of new ice vehicles in 2030. The fact that this is out of sync with the EU and the US continues to be puzzling.

What benefits are there for the UK to be ahead of the rest when we don’t have the infrastructure, and the retail customer seems to be happier refilling as opposed to recharging?

I have driven self-charging hybrids for many years and have been very happy with the fuel efficiency and the quality of the driving experience. I have written about BEVs, I have driven BEVs, but I had never actually bought one.

So, I felt morally obliged to dip my toe into the electric market and bought a plug-in hybrid and started the process of understanding this new world from a customer’s perspective.

There has been no real attempt to educate the public about EV’s and like myself although knowing about them I hadn't had a daily experience working with this technology and the new processes that you need to know about.

The assumption is that you have a smartphone and are willing to understand how the recharging process operates and the number of different companies and apps that are available. Unless you have certain apps and a signal the process becomes a bit of a challenge. In the first month of having the car the only advantage I found was when stuck in a northern city unable to find a parking space I popped into an electric charging space and as I couldn’t get a signal simply plugged in and pretended to charge.

I also took up the generous offer of a free installation of a home charging point from the OEM and started filling out forms. All was going well when out of the blue I got asked for pictures. 

Could I please supply photos electronically of:

• Your private off-street parking – that is of course if you have it. If not, you can’t get past go! I have got it, so I went past go.
• EV charger location close – up. Does that mean a picture of a brick wall? Surely one brick wall looks like any other brick wall.
• Electricity meter and surrounding area – I know that is in the garage almost buried under a load of junk – maybe I won’t have to move stuff.
• Cut off (main fuse.) – I assume that is in the fuse box.
• Fuse box and surrounding area – ok that decides it I will need to clear the junk.
• Fuse Box (close up.) – how close?
• Additional fuse box – do I have two? Wasn’t aware of it – should I have two?
• Your water bonding – now I am confused – what is my water bonding? Don’t even know what that is.
• Your gas bonding – what has gas got to do with it – oh of course British Gas are fitting my electric charger.
• Floor plan with expected cable route – now puzzled I thought that the cable went from the charger to the car not through the house.

I ended up psychologically drained and a bit like a student that needs to be granted extra time in an exam. In my case hopefully until 2035!