February 2022

P ublic interest in EVs continued to climb over the last few months, which has been reflected in the increasing portion of new car sales taken by electrified vehicles. However, this has been counterbalanced by growing concerns over lack of training in the sector with regards to servicing and repairing vehicles of this type. This is itself reflected by a lack of awareness among drivers over how to get the best out of their vehicles. EV charging: Driver education needed Legislating for the installation of EV charge-points on all new homes and other buildings is only half-a-step, EV battery warranty provider Altelium has warned, as drivers need to be taught how to charge them properly to avoid damaging the batteries. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the measure at the CBI Annual Conference in November, where he said: “We will require new homes and buildings to have EV charging points, with another 145,000 charging points to be installed thanks to these regulations.” The new rules are set to come into force during 2022. 58 AFTERMARKET FEBRUARY 2022 TECHNICAL/EVS AND HYBRIDS www.aftermarketonline.net EVs continued to receive attention over the last few months, which has fuelled consumer interest but also highlighted areas for concern ELECTRIC CHARGES AHEAD Pointing out the need for more driver education, Ed Grimston, joint MD of Altelium said: “The life of a battery varies by up to 400% according to how it is charged, and the public must be helped to understand this to avoid enormous waste. Along with the new physical infrastructure we need a new public awareness programme.” EV efficiency rating launched An efficiency ranking standard for EVs available in the UK has been launched by Electrifying.com: The E-Rating. The top vehicles in the ranking are the BMW i4 and Tesla Model 3, while the Mercedes-Benz EQV and Audi e-tron were rated least efficient. The most efficient electric cars can be over £500 less to charge up across the year based on an annual mileage of 10,000 miles according to Electrifying.com. The E-Rating’s score goes from A++ down to E, and was formulated using an algorithm considering how well electrical power converts into miles on the road, battery recharge speed, as well as the impact of heat pumps, intelligent brake energy recuperation and climate control preconditioning.