I’ve driven thousands of cars and have decades of motors experience – no one wants to buy an EV for three reasons
A MOTORS expert with decades of experience has revealed three reasons why EV sales are "painfully slow".
Mike Rutherford explained some of the major issues that make EVs a headache to own.
Writing in , Mike cited affordability and infrastructure as the major areas of concern with the supposed cars of the future.
He said: "EV sales remain painfully slow because the sums simply don’t add up for most salaried individuals.
"As soon as pure-electric cars went mainstream... I declared myself a fan of the tech and the driving experience.
"But I was duty-bound to repeatedly tell you what others refused to.
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"I knew then what I know now – that EVs are dogged by three major downsides."
The first of these three issues is high prices, which Mike cites as a key deterrent for potential customers.
According to , EV prices are one of the top three concerns from consumers when it comes to choosing a new motor.
A whopping 42% of those surveyed by the outlet found electric models too expensive to buy or lease.
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To take an example, the Nissan Leaf EV retails at £28,790 on the manufacturer's website, while the similarly sized Juke petrol model can be had for as little as £22,585.
On the other side of the coin, second-hand prices for electric models have been collapsing in recent months, leaving drivers who bought their cars new financially stranded.
One EV dealer even claimed motorists would be better off with internal combustion motors as EV owners were caught out by the slump in value.
And Tesla, whose Model 3 retails for around £42,000, has slashed its prices in a bid to increase demand.
Secondly, Mike took aim at the UK's EV charging infrastructure, which he feels is not sufficient to support widespread ownership.
Indeed, it was revealed in August that the majority of UK council areas contain no publicly available roadside chargers at all.
Likewise, the latest Department for Transport figures show that there are just 6,000 chargers being shared between 12 million people in rural areas.
And just last week, service station bosses were forced to employ marshals to prevent bust-ups between drivers suffering from "charge rage" amid long queues.
Finally, Mike criticised what he called "over-ambitious range claims" from manufacturers, which leave motorists uncertain of how far they can get on a single charge.
One test driver found that the battery on his electric car went down like a rocket, leaving him cut off.
Range anxiety has even forced the RAC to use a special new piece of kit to save stranded motorists.
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It comes after an EV owner said that driving one makes him feel superior and allows him to look down on others.
Meanwhile, a mum was slapped with a £90 ULEZ fine after being duped by a scam while taking her son to hospital.