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Leading the charge

Volkswagen and Tesco are delivering the UK’s largest retail EV charging network, with free top ups available to all electric vehicles, powered by Pod Point.

What are we doing?

Volkswagen and Tesco want to make it easier for you to charge your electric car while you’re out, no matter what brand of Electric Vehicle you drive. That’s why by the end of July 2021 there will be free 7kW EV charging bays at 400 Tesco stores.

At selected stores there are free 22kW chargers and (chargeable) 50kW rapid chargers.  All of the chargers are installed by Pod Point, the UK’s largest independent public charging network operator, and all use renewable/green energy.

Where will I be able to charge?

Finding a charge point is easy. You’ll quickly spot them in both Tesco Extra and Superstore car parks. And with 400 stores with charging bays (by the end of July 2021), you shouldn’t need to travel too far to find a Tesco where you can top up your battery.

Want to stay up to date with all the latest charge points?

View the latest Tesco stores with EV charging here.

How do I use the chargepoints?

To use the charge points you’ll need to download the Pod Point app or use their web app.

How much will it cost?

To make charging more accessible, the 7kW chargers are free of charge.  Where available, 22kW chargers are also  available free of charge. But even if you decide to use the rapid 50kW charger (where available) you’ll only pay a small fee in line with the going market rate.

Some stores may have a parking charge and as you’d expect, you need to be a Tesco customer to use them.  By Graham Hill thanks to Volkswagen.co.uk

The company car market is predicted to grow significantly after new research reported a three-fold increase in drivers wanting to source their next vehicle through their employer.

The findings, from the OC&C Speedo meter ‘Battery Late Than Never’ report, also suggest that Covid-19 has helped cement the importance of a car, despite people driving less.

More than two-in-five drivers (42%) said the pandemic has increased their belief that a car is essential. It is not just drivers who see the car as essential either – the number of non-drivers who expect to own in the future has risen by 21% in the UK.

The global report was published last week and is a follow-up to a 2019 study. It tracks how trends in consumer attitudes and behaviours toward vehicles and their mobility needs have changed.

Looking at UK-specific data, it shows that just 2% of consumers expected to source their next car through their employer in 2019, but, three years later, that has risen three-fold to 6% – a 200% uplift.

COMPANY CAR MARKET

It is a positive outlook for a sector which has been in decline for the past few years. The most recent figures, published by HMRC in September 2020, showed that the number of people paying company car tax had again fallen substantially, with HMRC reporting 30,000 fewer people receiving the benefit.

The benefit-in-kind (BIK) statistics, published by HMRC, showed there were 870,000 company car drivers in 2018-19 – a massive 30,000 year-on-year decline.

The figures suggested that the number of employees receiving the benefit had fallen by some 90,000 in the past five years, from 960,000 in 2015/16.

The introduction of a new zero percentage tax rate for a pure electric company car in April 2020, along with lower rates for hybrids, however, has led many to predict a brighter future for the benefit.

The latest new car registration figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) highlight the relative strength of the sector.

Almost 80,000 new company cars were registered to fleet and business in April as the market continued to show signs of recovery.

Year-to-date, 318,991 new cars have been registered to fleet and business compared to the 259,017 units registered during the same period last year, a 23% uplift.

Fleet and business registrations now account for 56% of the market, with 567,108 cars registered overall.

There were 141,583 new car registrations in April, with 79,648 new company cars registered to fleet and business.

In April 2020, at the start of the first lockdown, just 3,450 new company cars were registered.

APPETITE FOR EVs

OC&C says the proportion of drivers considering an electric vehicle (EV) is “unprecedented” and is likely to translate into a fast acceleration in EV adoption.

Globally, more than 50% of drivers considered a hybrid when they last changed their car, and more than 40% report they will consider a pure EV next time.

The UK leads the West in EVs in the survey, with 57% of UK drivers considering fully electric for their next vehicle versus 45% in Germany and the US.

In the UK, new BIK tax rates will be persuading some to make the switch to a plug-in car, but the OC&C study shows range and tech improvements (38%), concerns about the environment (39%), Government regulation changes (36%) and better availability of charge points (35%) are the main drivers for consumers.

The OC&C data reflects the experience of leasing companies, which have reported a growing number of company car drivers choosing an EV.

Tusker, for example, has a risk fleet of approximately 20,000 cars and, while just one-in-33 (3%) were pure electric in 2019, it has since increased to one-in-five (20%).

Half of the leasing company’s orders in 2020 were for pure electric cars. Hybrid vehicles, both plug-in and mild, accounted for 20% of its new vehicle orders, with petrol and diesel responsible for less than a third (30%).

In fact, zero-emissions-capable cars, including electric, hybrid and fuel cell models, now account for one-in-three of the available models in the UK, according to the SMMT.

BARRIERS TO ADOPTION

Barriers to adoption have shifted, with the OC&C report suggesting the percentage of people citing access to public charging infrastructure as an issue has fallen dramatically.

In 2019, it said that 64% of respondents in the UK saw it as a barrier to adoption; the latest study reports that it has fallen by 14 percentage points to half (50%).

An EV’s range, while still the number one concern, is also seen as less of a barrier, falling seven percentage points, from 62% to 55% over the same period.

Meanwhile, more drivers see vehicle cost as a barrier, with more than half of respondents (51%) highlighting it as issue, compared with 49% in 2019.

The cost of electricity saw the greatest swing, with more than a quarter of respondents (29%) citing it as a barrier compared with 19% in 2019 – a 10 percentage point uplift.

The Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) says the lack of an effective national strategy for creating kerbside charging infrastructure is emerging as the biggest barrier to adoption of EVs by businesses.

OC&C’s study, however, suggests access to a charge point close to home or at the driver’s property is becoming less of an issue for UK consumers, with 39% citing it as issue in the most recent survey, compared with 44% in 2019.

The current Government approach to install kerbside charging means 75% of the cost is met by a national fund and 25% is paid by local authorities.

AFP chair Paul Hollick believes the strategy is not working. He said: “We have national fleets who are AFP members and want to go 100% EV as soon as possible. The stumbling block they face is that nationally, around four-out-of-10 people live in apartments or terraced houses and don’t have access to on-street parking.

“That means they are reliant on local authorities to install street charging facilities but, as you’d expect, the impetus and ability to do so varies massively from area to area.”

A kerbside charger costs around £2,500 to install, meaning local government needs to find £600 per unit. In the wake of the pandemic, Hollick says many simply don’t have the money, even if there is the will.

CAR CLUB POTENTIAL

Exclusive access to a car still remains vital to 82% of drivers, according to the OC&C report, with most expressing concerns around accessibility, storage and privacy as key to their reluctance to consider co-ownership or access models.

However, the importance of exclusivity is starting to wane for a forward-thinking minority, with 13% of UK drivers happy to consider mobility solutions as an alternative to having their own car, be it carsharing solutions, taxis or even short-term rental – a four percentage point increase on 2019.

OC&C says this reflects lower car usage in 2020 as a result of the pandemic, environmental and cost concerns, while the development of models such as Zip Car and Drover are also driving changes in attitude.

Consumers also continue to see a car as essential to travel, according to the report. The percentage of drivers who see a car as essential has remained stable between 80-90% since 2019.

This is true even among the young; Gen Y and Gen Z drivers still care about having cars and driving, it suggests. In fact, they have become more dependent on cars than they were. The percentage of 18-29-year-olds disagreeing that a car is essential has fallen from 11% to 5%. By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Electric vehicle (EV) drivers could face an increase in household energy bills of more than £1,000 a year if they don’t use a suitable electricity tariff for vehicle charging.

Energy prices in the UK increased on April 01, 2021, so many households – including those with drivers who charge company vehicles at home – will now have larger electricity utility bills to pay, according to vehicle home charger and energy comparison site Rightcharge.co.uk.

But fleet drivers can avoid price hikes by seeking a more generously priced EV-friendly energy tariff to cover charging electric vehicles.

For example, a fleet driver covering 20,000 miles annually will expect to pay £2,599 a year on a Standard Variable Tariff from one of the big six energy suppliers from April 2021. This includes £1,454 for charging their car.

But users who switch to a lower-cost alternative EV energy tariff could pay only £1,349 a year – with just £459 of that amount on vehicle charging. That’s a huge saving of £995 on charging a vehicle at home, with another £255 saved on household energy bills. So that’s a total saving of £1,250 a year.

Charlie Cook, founder of Rightcharge.co.uk, said: “Compared to a standard tariff, having an EV-friendly energy tariff is incredibly cheap – to the point where a homeowner can charge their car at home and reduce their total energy bills at the same time.

A fleet driver who does 20,000 miles a year can save up to £1,250 a year, so drivers really can’t afford to miss out on the savings available if they change to the right deal.

“If all the current 1.04 million business contract hire drivers switched to electric cars and an EV-friendly energy tariff on the same mileage parameters, the potential saving is more than £1 billion on vehicle charging alone, plus a further £265 million on home energy costs.”

Rightcharge.co.uk compares EV-friendly energy tariffs for users by including their car charging needs as well as their home requirements, so customers can reduce the cost of running an EV.

Cook added: “We believe many EV drivers just don’t realise that while costs have gone up they can still save. Our price comparison website offers them the choices to make the best decisions.”  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Vehicles parked during lockdown are being targeted by criminals stealing catalytic converters for their precious metals, according to the RAC and Ageas.

There has been a “marked rise” in the theft of catalytic converters since the start of the first lockdown just over a year ago, says Ageas Insurance.

Three-in-10 of all theft claims reported are now related to catalytic converters. Before the lockdown catalytic converter theft only accounted for around one-in-five.

Ageas reports that most thefts have happened while cars have been parked at home, either on the driveway or the road. However, the insurer says that in a very small number of cases thieves had targeted vehicles in supermarket car parks while the driver was shopping.

“Drivers are often oblivious of their vehicle’s catalytic converter being stolen,” said RAC spokesman Simon Williams. “Our patrols are often called to attend cars that have suddenly become excessively noisy. On investigation it’s very often the case that the car’s catalytic converter has been stolen.”

Part of a car’s exhaust system, catalytic converters contain a honeycomb coated with precious metals such as platinum, palladium and rhodium which help to filter harmful gases from the vehicles’ exhaust systems.

The RAC says that when the global value of these metals increase it usually leads to a spike in thefts. Prices of rhodium hit a record highs earlier this year, up more than 200% since March 2020.

The RAC is recommending drivers and fleets get in the habit of taking extra precautions to guard against this type of crime.

With, most offences taking place at night, the RAC says it makes sense to park a vehicle in a well-lit and residential location or a garage if available.

“When away from home, look for car parks that have security patrols and are covered by CCTV,” added Williams. “It’s also a good idea to look for the ParkMark logo at car parks as this shows they have met certain security standards.”

However, as Ageas’ data shows, Williams says that even taking sensible precautions may not necessarily make you immune to this type of crime.

Robin Challand, claims director at Ageas, said: “While catalytic converters are just one component of a car, their theft can often result in a driver’s car being written off.

“We hope that by shining a spotlight on this type of crime, we can arm motorists with the information they need to protect their vehicles.”

The warning for fleets from Ageas and the RAC comes after CompareTheMarket reported that catalytic converter thefts had increased across England, last year.

It analysed police data which revealed London has the highest instances of catalytic converter thefts over the three-year period, and each individual year, with a total of 15,237 from 2017 to 2020. Birmingham saw the second-highest amount of thefts.  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Average CO2 emissions for new car registrations have fallen below 100g/km for the first time for members of the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA).

During the Q4-2020 reporting period, average CO2 emissions were 98g/km compared to the average UK car fleet of 114.2g/km, according to its latest Quarterly Leasing Survey.

The size of the BVRLA leasing fleet stood at 2,505,979, of which 83% are cars and 17% are LCVs.

Nearly one-fifth of leasing members’ fleet now has some form of electrification with 5% of the car fleet being pure EV and 15% hybrid. This figure is only set to grow, it says, as BVRLA members have pledged to register 400,000 new battery electric cars and vans per year by 2025.

BVRLA chief executive Gerry Keaney said: “The vehicle leasing sector remains at the forefront of road transport decarbonisation and members continue to innovate to provide more individuals and businesses with access to affordable low- and zero-emission vehicles.”

The vehicle leasing sector has not been immune to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and while the total LCV fleet size grew by 0.7%, the total car fleet reduced by 5.3% year-on-year.

The fall was largely driven by a 9.3% fall in car business contract hire, with a 3.2% growth in personal contract hire offsetting some of the market reduction.  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Hyundai Ioniq models have been found to pass their MOT test for the first time more frequently than any other car.

In a study compiled by What Car?, the electrified model came out on top with a 96.18% average first time pass rate.

The Ioniq sits above the BMW i8, which is also powered by an electrified powertrain, achieving a 95.97% pass rate.

What Car? analysed more than 745,000 anonymised MOT records published by the Department for Transport to find out the models that had the best rate for passing the MOT test at the first attempt*. Models aged from three to eight years old and with a sample size of at least 100 cars were included in the study. 

Korean, Japanese and German models dominate the top 10, while the Jaguar F-Type (2013-present) is the highest-placed British model in the study sitting in 14th place with an average MOT pass rate of 90.83%.

The Tesla Model S (2014-present) is the highest ranking pure electric vehicle, in 26th place, with an average pass rate of 89.94%. Although there are many premium models in the top 50, there are also several affordable small cars, including the Peugeot 108 (2014-present) and Toyota Aygo (2014-present).

What Car? has also ranked the top and bottom brands for MOT pass rates. As well as achieving the highest average pass rate, Porsche is the only brand to gain a pass rate of more than 90%. Although Ssangyong has the lowest MOT pass record, its result of 76.98% means that more than three quarters of its models passed their MOT the first time.

Steve Huntingford, editor of What Car?, said: “One of the first things used buyers do is check a vehicle’s MOT record to see how well it’s been maintained and if it’s suffered lots of faults. Our extensive study reveals the models with the best MOT pass rates, ranging from large SUVs to city cars. Buyers can use it to help them choose the most dependable models.

“Although the top 50 list contains several prestige cars, that tend to have lower mileage and immaculate service records, it’s reassuring to find some budget and family cars in the mix.”

The full list can be viewed at: www.whatcar.com/news/top-50-used-car-buys-based-on-mot-pass-rate/n22897

What Car? Top 10 list for MOT first time pass rate:

Ranking	Make and Model	Average MOT test pass rate	Average mileage at MOT test
1	Hyundai Ioniq (2017-present)	96.18%	22,710
2	BMW i8 (2014 – 2020)	95.97%	21,738
3	Porsche Boxster (2012 – 2016)	94.10%	22,243
4	Lexus NX (2014 – present)	93.82%	32,413
5	Porsche 911 (2012 – 2019)	93.72%	20,484
6	Porsche Cayman (2013 – 2016)	92.94%	23,224
7	Porsche Macan (2014 – present)	92.91%	32,289
8	Mazda MX-5 (2016 – present)	92.62%	16,399
9	Lexus RX (2016 – present)	91.95%	27,721
10	Mazda CX-3 (2015 – present)	91.91%	25,652

Top 10 manufacturer MOT pass rates 

Rank	Brand	Average MOT test pass rate	Average mileage at MOT test
1	Porsche	91.15%	32,041
2	Tesla	89.94%	44,613
3	Lexus	88.72%	44,081
4	Subaru	88.46%	39,427
5	Honda	88.41%	35,809
6	MINI	87.45%	33,641
7	Audi	87.25%	46,791
8	Skoda	86.58%	45,932
9	Jeep	86.52%	35,224
10	Mazda	86.32%	40,941

Bottom 10 manufacturer MOT pass rates

Rank	Brand	Average MOT test pass rate	Average mileage at MOT test
1	Ssangyong	76.98%	37,911
2	Dacia	78.17%	39,401
3	Citroen	79.72%	38,207
4	Renault	80.20%	37,194
5	Alfa Romeo	80.73%	42,443
6	Vauxhall	81.20%	42,565
7	Fiat	81.22%	33,404

By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Researchers at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia have figured out how to extract lithium, an essential part of electric vehicle batteries, from seawater in a more cost-effective way.

The study, just published in the journal Energy & Environmental Science and titled “Continuous Electrical Pumping Membrane Process for Seawater Lithium Mining,” states:

Our method may serve as a feasible approach to secure the lithium supply for future energy usage.

The ocean contains about 5,000 times more lithium than on land, but it’s at extremely low concentrations – about 0.2 parts per million. So how do we capture it?

Here’s how the KAUST team tackled the challenge using Red Sea water (and an ion is a particle, atom, or molecule with a net electrical charge):

The KAUST team solved this problem with an electrochemical cell containing a ceramic membrane made from lithium lanthanum titanium oxide (LLTO). Its crystal structure contains holes just wide enough to let lithium ions pass through while blocking larger metal ions.

The cell contains three compartments. Seawater flows into a central feed chamber, where positive lithium ions pass through the LLTO membrane into a side compartment that contains a buffer solution and a copper cathode coated with platinum and ruthenium.

Meanwhile, negative ions exit the feed chamber through a standard anion exchange membrane, passing into a third compartment containing a sodium chloride solution and a platinum-ruthenium anode.

At a voltage of 3.25V, the cell generates hydrogen gas at the cathode and chlorine gas at the anode. This drives the transport of lithium through the LLTO membrane, where it accumulates in the side chamber.

This lithium-enriched water then becomes the feedstock for four more cycles of processing, eventually reaching a concentration of more than 9,000 ppm. Adjusting the pH of this solution delivers solid lithium phosphate that contains mere traces of other metal ions — pure enough to meet battery manufacturers’ requirements.

The researchers estimate that the cell would need only $5 of electricity to extract 1 kilogram of lithium from seawater, and the value of hydrogen and chlorine produced by the cell would more than offset the cost. Further, residual seawater could be used in desalination plants to provide freshwater.

Group leader Zhiping Lai says:

We will continue optimizing the membrane structure and cell design to improve the process efficiency.  By Graham Hill thanks to Electrek.co

Recommendations for who will be legally liable if an autonomous vehicle is involved in a collision or commits an offence are set to be published by the Law Commission before the end of the year.

The organisation has completed a consultation into the legal ramifications of the technology and is now assessing responses before making its final recommendations.

Jessica Uguccioni, lead lawyer of the Law Commission’s autonomous vehicles review, says: “One of the big things we’ve determined is that you can’t just keep the current system for enforcing road traffic rules when it comes to automated vehicles.

“At the moment you can basically lock people up if they do something really, really bad on the road, like dangerous driving, but that is just not going to work with the automated driving regime.

“We need to have a system which is much more based on ensuring safety to begin with, but then understanding why things have gone wrong and preventing them happening again because a single incident can have ramifications for many other vehicles.”

In the Law Commission’s consultation document, the organisation says different levels of automation should affect where liability lies.

If the vehicle is fully autonomous and can travel without a driver in them then any people in the vehicle are merely passengers so have no legal responsibility for the way the vehicle drives and are under no obligation to take over the driving.

Determining liability for autonomous vehicles which require a human driver to be in control of the vehicle at times is more complicated.

While there will be periods when the vehicle is fully autonomous or when it is being fully controlled by a human, there will also be times when the vehicle is transferring control to the driver.  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

A new type of electric vehicle (EV) charger that can deliver enough charge for 60 miles of driving in one minute is being developed in Poland.

Ekoenergetyka – Polska is working on a series of charging stations with the capacity to deliver charging speeds from 750 to 1500kW.

They will be known as the Network of Ultrachargers (NeU) and will launch in Germany and Poland by the end of 2023.

Initially, the chargers will have a capacity of 750kW – enough to provide 60 miles of range in one minute in the average passenger car or four minutes for 250 miles of range.

The company also claims that it would take around seven minutes to provide 60 miles worth of power to an electric truck.

Dagmara Duda, president of Ekoenergetyka-Polska, said: “In our R&D centres, we create and improve technologies and products that allow us to dynamically develop electromobility at its best, in all market segments, regardless of the location.”

The new solution will be implemented in Germany and Poland first. By the end of 2023, Ekoenergetyka and its partners will launch a network comprising 22 charging stations. The hubs will be located in the vicinity of motorways and in several urban centres, with the aim to serve, among others, utility vehicles and municipal services.

Ekoenergetyka-Polska has been designing and producing fast charging stations for EVs for 12 years. So far, the company has launched more than 1200 charging stations in 130 cities in 18 countries.  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Car manufacturers are reducing the number of optional features offered on new models and fitting smaller wheels in order to simplify the WLTP values for each model.

Each new car registered in Europe has a unique WLTP value, which is affected by its specification.

Options that impact a vehicle’s standard weight, drag or rolling resistance can change a vehicle’s WLTP values. Additions such as a sunroof are likely to add approximately 2g/km of CO2 to a vehicle’s emissions levels and any change to a vehicle’s specification must be calculated with complete accuracy.

Jato Dynamics says as manufacturers began the transition from NEDC to WLTP, they changed the number of options available for purchase, reducing the models on offer.

Some have reduced the average tyre size of their vehicles, as smaller wheels are less likely to create as much friction or resistance.

David Krajicek, CEO at JATO Dynamics, said: “Where options were once key money-makers for OEMs, they can no longer look to these to generate cash for fear of exceeding CO2 limits, and the waste of resources that arises from calculating every single vehicle’s unique WLTP value.

“The shift away from these additional features and the evolution towards EVs will likely continue. We cannot say with certainty what manufacturers’ model listings will look like in the future, but one thing is clear – on demand WLTP data for meeting budgets, policy guidelines, and ultimately keeping businesses running will be key.”

The changes go much further than options, however. Since 2017, many OEMs have moved away from standard internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, in favour of lower emissions electrified vehicles.

Last year. EV registrations more than doubled in Europe. The Netherlands, France, Finland and Ireland, have all significantly increased the number of EV models available since 2017.

The Netherlands currently has the greatest number of EVs available for purchase, rising from 18 models to 50 models in the space of four years. This is closely followed by France, with an increase of 29 models during the same period.

Finland more than doubled its electrified offering from just 13 models to 29 last year. Similarly, Ireland has more than tripled its range, rising from seven to 24 models in 2020.  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News