The question on many people’s lips right now is ‘is the future of cars electric?’

With oil prices rocketing and diesel and petrol having a negative environmental impact, more people are turning to electric vehicles than ever before.

But, is the technology any good? And do they make good company cars?

In this article, we will explore some of the pros and cons of electric cars so you can make an informed decision about whether they are a good fit for your company.

Benefits of the Electric Car

Electric cars have multiple benefits.

Firstly, the electric car is much greener than its fuel-burning counterpart. They have been found to be much more energy efficient at up to 95% efficiency, compared to an average of 20% of a diesel or petrol car. This means they use a lot less power to reach your destination.

Critics would argue the pollution has essentially just moved to the power station. This could be considered true, however, as we generate electricity via greener methods such as wind and solar as well as burning fossil fuels, all in all, electric vehicles are still much more energy efficient and greener than a traditional engine.

Electric engines also have zero exhaust emissions. This means they do not have the same impact on climate change that fuel-burning engines do, so owning an electric car is going to have you doing your part for the environment too!

In new studies, it has been found that electric cars actually perform better than diesel or petrol cars. They handle better due to a low center of gravity. They also have better power and acceleration. Which makes them a pleasure to drive.

The electric car is also very quiet and gives a smooth stable ride even a baby would sleep through!

Charging an electric car also costs a fraction of what it would cost to purchase a mile of gas. The running costs of an electric engine are far cheaper than a standard engine car, which makes them very economical to run.

Negatives of the Electric Car

At present electric cars are far more expensive to purchase than gas-burning vehicles, which is the biggest barrier to ownership for most people.

However, with the world pulling together to try and halt global warming, alongside the fact that batteries are reducing in cost every year, (which is the most expensive component to produce), the hope is that very soon, prices of electric cars will fall closer in line with a standard combustion engine.

Another difficulty is that you have to plan your journey around charging points. When electric cars were first released, this was more of an issue as there were not many charging stations around. This meant that you had to charge your car at home and usually long journeys were out of the question.

However, since the global warming crisis has gained more media coverage, more and more businesses have sat up and taken notice, and as a result, put charging points in their car parks. Now, most retail outlets and supermarkets offer electric charging free of charge whilst you shop.

Electric cars are at present expensive to buy, and this means a lot of people are having to purchase cars on finance contributing to debt. However, electric car leasing is another viable alternative (more on this shortly).

There are concerns over the impact of the production of electric cars on the environment. Whilst they are all round greener to drive, the manufacture of them is more costly than the production of a gas fuelled car.

Scientists are working hard to bring down the carbon footprint of the manufacture of these vehicles, and plan to have a zero-carbon emission car by 2030. This is hoped to be achieved by using more green sources of energy to fuel manufacture.

Are They a Good Business Choice?

Electric vehicles are going to cost less in terms of fuel and running costs, there are also tax advantages of using electric cars as company cars as many governments are now offering attractive incentives for swapping to electric.

However, there are a couple of downsides when it comes to electric cars for company vehicles. Primarily the initial outlay and in addition to this, your staff having to plan their routes around charge points.

If you have staff that travel a lot of miles, then you have to weigh up the pros and cons for your individual circumstances.

To combat the cost of purchasing an electric car, you may instead opt to lease one, as this is less outlay, and has advantages in that much of the maintenance is covered by electric car leasing companies.

ElectriX has lots of useful resources on electric cars. You can also get information on home charging points and insurance at a great rate. This means you are likely to also save money on your insurance as well as your road tax.

Summary

Electric cars have multiple benefits and are going to save your business money. If you are happy to plan routes around charging points, they could be a great option for your company.