Electric vehicles are becoming more and more common on UK roads with an increasing number of motorists looking to make the switch. At the end of May 2021, there were almost 260,000 pure electric vehicles on the roads as well as over 530,000 plug-in models. There are many reasons why people are making the switch to electric, but what changes might the electric car revolution bring to motoring in general?
The 2030 Ban
One of the most obvious changes is the proposed 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles. This makes it clear what way the wind is blowing in the motoring industry with the government clearly wanting people to make the switch so that they can hit their clean air targets.
What Won’t Change
It is likely that a lot will change in the coming years, but there are some things that won’t change anytime soon as well. The used vehicle market will continue to flourish for a long time as a cheap way for motorists to buy a vehicle when their needs change.
Similarly, you will also find that the repairs and parts market will remain strong with many motorists now looking to do their own maintenance and repairs. As an example, many motorists will buy car tyres online and then change these themselves as a way to keep their maintenance costs down.
What Will Change
There will be a lot that will change in the coming years to support the rise of EVs on the road. One aspect which is noticeable right now is the significant investment in infrastructure with charging points now outnumbering petrol stations in the UK. It is estimated that 1.7 mullion public chargers will be required by 2030 and 2.8 million by 2035, which works out as 507 chargers installed each day over the next 15 years.
There won’t be much change to traditional mechanics, but there will be a need for specialist EV maintenance moving forward, so mechanics may have to retrain, especially as more and more motorists make the switch to electric.
Other aspects that change will be manufacturers focusing their efforts on EVs (something that is already being seen) as well as major shifts in insurance to accommodate both EVs and autonomous vehicles as this tech develops and becomes mainstream.
It is an interesting time in the auto industry and a period of change. Many motorists are beginning to make the switch to electric vehicles ahead of the 2030 ban and this is causing a lot of change to occur in the auto industry. While it is a period of change, there are some things that will remain the same for the coming years too and not every motorist will be making the change just yet.
