Drivers of electric cars travelled over half a million miles over the last twelve months using Britain’s Electric Highway.
The Electric Highway, Ecotricity’s national network of electricity pumps for electric cars,and the biggest network in Britain, has grown rapidly in reach over the last year and by the end of this year there will be an Electric Highway pump at every motorway services in Britain.
The news comes as the UK Government announced new funding to incentivise electric vehicles purchases in Britain, while petrol prices are set to rise at least 2p a litre in the coming weeks, having already surpassed the 130p a litre mark.
Dale Vince, founder of Ecotricity and the Electric Highway, said: “The Electric Highway has grown remarkably over the last twelve months – we’ve powered over half a million miles of electric travel in that time, and while that is a drop in the ocean of road travel at the moment, we’ll reach a million miles a year of clean driving in the next twelve months – and that’s only going to increase sharply.
“Petrol prices are on the rise again with the events in Ukraine about to add another couple of pence per litre – one of the great strengths of electric driving is that we can power our cars from the energy we make in this country. Energy independence for British transport will mean we won’t be at the mercy of external events and the inexorable rise of fuel prices.
“The energy provided by the Electric Highway is 100% green – and that’s important. It’s not just about going electric – it’s about ensuring that electricity comes from renewable sources. The transport sector is the second biggest source of the carbon emissions that cause climate change, so a shift to electric cars is not just the right decision economically, it’s an environmental necessity, too.”
Ecotricity’s Electric Highway has already begun rolling out new technology this year to ensure the network caters for all three standards of electric charging – meaning new models from BMW and VW will also be able to use the network – and is also doubling the number of chargers at each location to accommodate increasing demand.
Vince continued: “It’s still early days for electric cars in Britain. There has been a bit of a chicken and eggs situation – the lack of charging infrastructure put people off buying electric cars, but the infrastructure wasn’t being built because there weren’t enough vehicles on the road.
“The Electric Highway has addressed the infrastructure gap. Car manufacturers are producing exciting new models, increasing choice. And as we have seen over the last week, Government support for the sector is continuing. Those three things are all pulling in the same direction, meaning it’s an exciting for the electric car market.”
