Staying electric
18 August 2023
As some time had elapsed since my last update on Peter Beach’s ongoing electric vehicle (EV) ownership experience, I contacted him recently for an update and learned that his outlook is more positive now that the nationwide charging infrastructure is improving.
In fact, the Genquip Groundhog Managing Director has decided to replace his current EV with another in November after just under three years of ownership.
And more Genquip staff are switching to company EVs, the latest being Finance Co-ordinator Leanne Jones who is pictured above with her gleaming new MG.
“We are committed to reducing our carbon impact through our carbon energy plan, developed for us by the University of Sheffield,” Peter told me. “We are installing more charging points at our Port Talbot factory so that we and our customers can charge while on site and more solar panels will be installed over the coming months to help with the increased output.
“Nearly all our company cars are now hybrid or fully electric.”
Peter expects to take ownership of a new BMW i5 in November which should give a range of more than 300 miles compared against roughly 200 from his current Jaguar I-Pace. That shows just how far the technology has developed, although one wonders what the impact might be on future second-hand prices as new models supersede old ones.
The BMW also charges more quickly and can take advantage of the rapid ‘ultra-charge’ points (with ‘ultra’ prices per kWh at motorway service areas, it must be said) that are now being installed more widely.
“The charging infrastructure is still nowhere near where it needs to be but it’s much better than when this blog first wrote about my EV back in March 2021,” said Peter. “An ultra-fast charger can give enough for 100 miles in 15 minutes which is the sort of efficiency that we discussed in some of the early blog posts.”
However, as was reported on the blog in April this year, Peter’s original intention was to replace his EV with a petrol car to overcome such range anxiety, but manufacturing delays rendered this impossible. (Incidentally, could this be a ploy to drive new EV sales generally? Surely not.)
“I had planned to get a Land Rover Defender but they couldn’t give me a manufacturing time, let alone a delivery date. I had one on order for the best part of a year but eventually just had to cancel it. As things have turned out, I’m happy about getting an i5, which officially launches in October.”
Here’s hoping Peter’s new car gives trouble-free service. Before it arrives, he’s having to have the air conditioning system replaced on the Jaguar. “It’s never worked properly,” he said. “I couldn’t believe it when the garage told me they would need the car for three days: apparently they have to remove the front end of the vehicle to reach the AC unit. Thankfully, it’s all under warranty.”
