In an earlier post, we recently discussed the Top 5 Reasons To Lease A Hybrid, where we looked at precisely that, the best reasons to lease a hybrid. It seems now that electric and hybrid vehicles are entering the market in hordes and the world of motoring is dramatically and rapidly changing because of this. Various configurations of battery power are being unveiled on new models and re-imaginings of current models.

The 2019 Geneva Motor Show has seen many of these unveiled already, in concept and production form, with several scheduled to be on sale as soon as later this year. Volvo has vowed that all of their range will include an electric motor from this year onwards. Six cities across the UK are implementing Clean Air Zones by 2020; London, Birmingham, Leeds, Nottingham, Derby and Southampton; with more city centres looking at adopting this concept in further phases, which is accelerating the demand for electric and hybrid vehicles.

Let’s look at some of the things you need to know:

What Is An Electric Car?

An electric car is one that uses electrical energy from a battery, rather than using an internal combustion engine. Electric cars form part of a group of vehicles, collectively known as Ultra Low Emission Vehicles (ULEVs), with the term electric car sometimes being incorrectly used to refer to any type of vehicle from this category. A ULEV is defined as a vehicle that emits less than 75g/km of CO2 at the tailpipe. Some cars described as ULEVs are also hybrids as well as fully-electric vehicles.

What Does EV Mean?

Let’s elaborate on these categories a bit as there are more types of electric vehicle than you might expect:

  • EV: Electric only powered vehicle. Also known as Full EV or Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV).
  • Hybrid: Has a standard petrol engine and an electric motor that is charged from the petrol engine. These cars usually have the ability to choose either engine as its power source or have both working simultaneously, depending on driving requirements.
  • PHEV: Plug-In Hybrid Vehicle. This works just like a regular Hybrid, but the electric motor needs to be charged separately. This helps improve the emissions and fuel efficiency of the vehicle but does require extra consideration as you need to factor in charging times and stations.

There are also some less common variants:

  • MHEV: Mildly Hybrid Electric Vehicle. This is where a small electric motor is constantly employed to support the main petrol engine, improving emissions and fuel efficiency. You can expect to see this technology in almost every car released for the foreseeable future.
  • Hydrogen: Instead of an electric, usually Lithium-ion battery, powered motor, the car is powered by a Hydrogen fuel cell. Sounds space-age, but with Hydrogen being the most abundant element in the universe, the unique sales point will be low running costs.

What Are The Benefits Of An Electric Or Hybrid Car?

The answer to this question is generally one thing: much lower running costs. There are obviously major benefits to the global environment, in reducing CO2 emissions and reducing reliance on non-sustainable fossil fuels, but the deal-maker for the average consumer will be the impact on your monthly budget.

ULEVs have a higher mpg (fuel efficiency) rating and electricity is cheaper than petrol and diesel, meaning, it will cost less to fuel your car and on hybrids there will be a longer gap between fill-ups.

Because of the reduced CO2 emissions, your car vehicle tax may be reduced, even free for some, and you won’t have to pay extra levy’s in Central London and other city centres when the Clean Air Zones come into effect.

What Are The Disadvantages Of An Electric Or Hybrid Car?

Whilst the above benefits are cause for thought, we also need to look at the drawbacks. You would need to factor in that as the technology is still relatively new, car manufacturers tend to reserve hybrid or electric powertrain for higher-end vehicles such as the Volvo XC90 T8 (pictured above). Other’s will provide a more cost-effective option, but these can still cost more than their petrol or diesel-powered counterparts to buy upfront. For example, a Volkswagen e-Golf costs more than the more advanced Volkswagen Golf GTI Performance.

The biggest point for consideration though is the practicality of charging the car for PHEVs and especially EVs, you will need to charge them up often. Questions you will need to ask yourself include: Is there a charging point accessible to you day-to-day? How long will it take to charge fully? Do I have the required equipment to charge it up at home?

How Can I Find Out More? 

For more information regarding the impending wave of Electric Vehicles to charge up the UK dealerships and driveways in the coming months, get in contact with our experienced Leasing Consultants at hello@xcitecarleasing.co.uk or hit the phone icon in the bottom left to request a callback.

You can also check out our range of guides on electric vehicles and their benefits or the great deals we have available here. 

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