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Electric Vehicles explained

How much do you know about EVs? Get to grips with some of the basics or carry on reading helpful information and support so you can find out more before you decide to go electric.

What’s it like to have an EV?

  • We filmed at random some electric vehicle drivers to find out their thoughts about driving their electric vehicles. 
  • Watch the short video to find out more on their experience.​
  • Correct as of October 2022. Opinions are not necessarily the views of Halifax. 
     
Watch our video to understand more about electric vechicles

  • [Interviewer] What made you choose to have an electric car?

    I think for me primarily, it was the sustainability element of it.

    Well, it is environmentally more friendly, it's quiet, and people seem to like the service.

    With the ULEZ zone and everything like that, it was costing too much with the petrol and the fees and stuff, so yeah, we went for an electric car.

    And what's it like to drive?

    There's no noise. It's really smooth.

    They have immediate torque. There's no waiting for gears.

    Did it take long to adapt?

    We did a training course for a week. We took it out and no, it's very easy. It's automatic.

    My son laughs. That range anxiety, that "am I gonna have enough miles?" but actually I've adjusted quite quickly.

    Is there anything that you'd change?

    No, it would probably be useful to have batteries that last a bit more in terms of give you further miles.

    We'd find more charging places to be better.

    I wish I would've got it sooner.

    And what do your mates think?

    Some of them very skeptical. Some of them absolutely, "Can I have a go? Can I drive it?"

    Yeah.

    "What's it like?"

    They love it. A lot of them have said they would like to make the change.

    Yeah.

    But at the moment obviously, it's just a case of the cost of living.

    I think when they hear how much it costs to run and yeah, not having to go and fill up with diesel and petrol, I think it's pretty amazing.

    How often do you check the battery?

    Every night when I go home I just look to see how much charge I need, if I need to plug it in, or stuff like that. It's very, very easy to use.

    Yeah.

    Just like a mobile phone.

    Never.

    Do you come here often?

    Yeah. Literally all the time.

    Once a week.

    Yeah, it's quite a nice place to come to.

    Does it take long to charge?

    I normally do about a half an hour, and that gives me just over a hundred miles.

    That one takes about 40 minutes to fully charge here. At home, that'll take about nine hours.

    From empty to full, never more than about 45 minutes.

    What's the cost per mile?

    Costs me about 18 pound to fill it up right here.

    Yeah. Yeah.

    And we get about 200 miles.

    Well, I think it's about 60, 67 pence. It shows you on the. It's gone up in the last, I think, few weeks, as most electricity costs have gone up.

    Oh, yeah. Of course. And what would you say to a petrol head?

    It's so much fun to drive 'em.

    Get in and have a drive of one because they're as competent as any fuel car.

    If you wanna save money, go electric. It's that simple.

    Is it more cost effective?

    Definitely with the prices of petrol in the last couple of months, we've noticed the difference in that so I'm assuming, yeah, eventually, but at the moment haven't actually got any evidence of that.

    I think in the long run, yeah.

    Wherever you can cut the cost of living it's definitely a good idea to go electric. In terms of how much you save, once you do the numbers, over a period of time, it's gonna work out to be thousands of pounds so I would definitely, definitely go electric.

    Would you go back?

    No.

    No.

    Yeah, no. Definitely not.

    I'll definitely stay with electric. Yeah.

     That's fantastic.

Electric vehicles at a glance

  • EVs are vehicles powered by an electric motor that draws electricity from a battery and is charged from an external source.
  • Your choice of EV could be only powered by an electric motor (all-electric vehicle) or a PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle)  that can be powered by an electric motor and by an internal combustion engine
  • When you are driving EV’s they’re considered greener – as they have no exhaust emissions. But EVs do have an impact on emissions when you look at manufacturing, as minerals (e.g., lithium) are needed to create the batteries.1
  • Electric vehicles could require less maintenance than petrol or diesel cars (despite current fluctuations in petrol and energy prices). It might help to know that most electric car breakdowns are mainly punctures or issues with a 12v battery.2
  • With an electric car, you may also need to maintain or replace the cabin air filter (also known as a pollen filter), brake fluid or air conditioning.
  • They could be exempt from VED (vehicle excise duty). Only exempt until 2025.3
  • Ultra-low emission vehicles could have a national exemption (i.e., pure battery electric and any PHEV) from Clean Air Zone / Ultra Low Emission Zone charges. Some newer diesel and petrol cars can also be exempt.4

What you need to know

Electric vehicles are typically cheaper to run

You’ll be pleased to find out that an EV could cost you less over the course of ownership5. Without taking into account the purchase price and any energy price fluctuations, an EV’s running cost (including refuelling/recharging, insurance, road tax, MoT and servicing) could be less than what you’d expect to pay for an equivalent petrol or diesel car. Plus, with an EV you can take advantage of the many offers and subscriptions out there.

We’ve joined forces with a business to help you get started.

They can help you with everything you need to know about driving greener, including:

  • home energy
  • home charging
  • public charging
  • parking.

Explore the essentials

How do EVs measure up to regular cars?

  • Range: 99% of car journeys in England are under 100 miles, according to the National Travel Survey, and many EVs today can do between 100 and 300 miles on a full charge.6
  • If your workplace has a charging station, why not plug your EV in between meetings or during lunch? 
  • And if you are venturing further afield, your EV will give you plenty of notice before you run low. Then when you need to recharge, use your satnav to find a charging station.
  • You can also use another independent source of information, like the RAC to help continue your understanding of Electric Vehicles.

How can I find out if an EV would suit my lifestyle?

To start with, you’ll want to think about your driving habits and understand the practicalities of owning an electric vehicle.
 

  • How far can electric vehicles go? Many EVs today could do more than 300 miles on a full charge. That’s a lot of pick-ups, drop-offs and work commutes, if you consider that the average car trip in 2020 was 7.9 miles.7
  • How long does it take to charge an electric vehicle? while using a rapid charger when you’re out and about you can charge to 80% in as little as 10-15 minutes, though an average new EV would take around an hour on a standard 50 kW rapid charge point.8
  • Where can I charge my electric vehicle? Despite six in ten non-EV drivers believing there are a lack of charging points nationally, there have been significant improvement to the Electric Vehicle public charging network in recent years with over 40,000 across the UK (source zap map).9

Finance your new or used EV

The cheapest way of buying a vehicle is cash as there is no interest or if you have a 0% deal where you are sure you will be able to pay off the vehicle in full over the time you have the offer.  However, it could be that for your circumstances, finance or leasing, particularly for a new vehicle could be a cost-effective way of getting an EV.
 

You can apply for Car Finance if:

  • you’ve had a Halifax bank account for at least 3 months
  • you’re registered for Online Banking
  • you’re 18 or over and a UK resident.

Want a quote? If you have a Halifax Current Account, sign in to Online Banking for your personalised quote, with no impact on your credit score.

Credit is subject to status and additional affordability checks.

Sign in to start a quote

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Insurance for your electric car

With the move to the next generation of vehicles, our car insurance ensures you will be covered and provides the following benefits:

  • Battery cover- whether your battery is leased or owned we’ll cover accidental damage, fire and theft.
  • Cable cover- your charging cable is covered for accidental damage, fire and theft.
  • A range of optional extras available and with RAC breakdown cover, all vans carry charging units to help you get back on the road should you run out of charge.

Some manufacturers may require you to have separate battery insurance.

Insure your car

Thinking of going green at home?

If you are, then our Green living hub is a great place to start.

Find out how energy efficient your home is and see what rewards, grants and schemes can help you go greener.

Find out more about Green living

1 Net emission reductions from electric cars and heat pumps in 59 world regions over time | Nature Sustainability

2 Electric car maintenance, repairs and servicing | The AA

3 Vehicles exempt from vehicle tax - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

4 Clean Air Zone: Drive in a clean air zone - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) Ultra Low Emission Zone: Check your vehicle (tfl.gov.uk)

5 Electric cars are cheaper to own than petrol cars | Auto Express

6 EV depreciation | Car Depreciation | DriveElectric (drive-electric.co.uk)

7 Average car journey

8 Pod Points Analysis

9 How long to charge an electric car