Current Trends: How Electric Vehicles Are Taking Over

9th Dec, 2016

Electric vehicles are the next big thing. Green and efficient, they’re getting huge support nationwide.

Here at Scrap Car Network – as you can imagine – we’re experts at dealing with scrap cars. And in the last few years, we’ve noticed that we’re seeing a particular type of car more and more.

You don’t have to be in the motor industry to have heard about EVs. EV stands for “electric vehicles”, and it’s almost impossible not to notice their increased presence up and down the UK. Electric vehicle charging points are appearing on our streets, and electric cars are taking over showrooms. 30,200 of them have already been sold in the UK – and that’s just in 2016! Electric cars have been around for well over a century, but there were only 500 new cars registered in the UK as recently as 2014. So how have they suddenly become so prevalent?

Looking at What They Offer

Of course, the obvious appeal of electric cars is that they produce absolutely zero carbon emissions while driving on the road. Current figures indicate a reduction of about 40% in greenhouse gases compared to a traditional petrol vehicle. That’s a big drop! Even with fuel-efficient diesel cars, the reduction is still about 25%. And there’s more – if cars are charged with ‘green tariff’ (renewable) electricity, then the greenhouse emissions in the car’s lifetime are basically zero. If you’re an EV owner, you can rest easy knowing that by the time you decide to scrap your car, you’ll have already made a significant and measurable effect on the environment.

The Green Car Revolution

The UK government agrees, and has been steadfastly campaigning for the return of electric cars for years. All the way back in 2008, then Prime Minister Gordon Brown called for Britain to spearhead a ‘green car revolution’. Trials preparing for mass-produced EVs took place not long after in 2009, and in 2013, Nissan produced the Nissan Leaf, which remains one of today’s top-selling EVs. By November of the same year, the government had already pledged £400m to support electric vehicle plans. The government’s Plug-In Car Grant and ‘Go Ultra Low’ campaigns have both been key initiatives, and they’ve definitely reaped the benefits of increased public awareness.

Convenient For You, Healthy for the Planet

Thanks to all this, there’s been a huge surge (pardon the pun) in the sales of electric vehicles. They now have an increased range, better designs and more affordable prices. What’s more, there’s a broader choice than there ever has been before, which is another core factor in their increased success in recent years. Back in 2013, there were only 3,500 EVs on Britain’s streets. Today, there are a whopping 90,000. That’s a veritable ton of fuel emissions saved! Not only that, but from a network of only a few hundred electric vehicle charging stations in 2011, we’re now looking at over 4200 locations in 2016, populated with 6500 devices.

Scrap Car Network Loves Electric Vehicles

The rise of EVs is great news for us too at Scrap Car Network. We’re fiercely passionate about the environment, and actively fight against unnecessary waste. When an EV becomes a scrap car, we take a number of measures to ensure that as much of it is reused or recycled as humanly possible*. This way, we can even further minimize the damage to the environment.

We’ve seen some huge steps in the last decade, but the growth of the electric car industry shows no signs of slowing, boosted by solid government and private investment. Once an unwieldy and limited motoring option for die-hard environmental enthusiasts, electric cars are now becoming more accessible to the general public – and that includes you! Remember – next time you decide to scrap your car, maybe an electric vehicle might be worth a look.

You can read more about our environmental efforts, or enter your details on our website for an instant quote!