It took the public a long time to get on board, but electric vehicles are finally making their mark on the planet. Not only are these easily powered cars much better for the environment, but they may also save you money on some of your yearly car payments.

The UK has over one million of these cars on the roads already. However, there is a lot more that you probably didn’t know about electric cars.

They Are Older Than You Think

Anyone who is old enough to remember when electric vehicles first started to take off will remember that it was a much slower transition than you may have expected. First, there came an onslaught of hybrid cars that eventually gave way to fully electric vehicles at the start of the last decade. Anyone else will probably think of the name Tesla whenever they think of an electric car. However, the origins of these cars came much earlier than you would expect.

In fact, you may be shocked to find out that the first fully electric car was produced and sold before the very first gas-powered vehicle. This electric car was made in London in 1884, and the gas-powered car wasn’t developed by Carl Benz until 1886. However, gas was a much more available power source in those times.

Plus, nobody was really aware of the fact that burning fossil fuels like that would contribute so much toward what we now know as climate change. As such, the electric car needed time to cool off for the next hundred years or so, while the gas-powered car took top position on the roads across the world.

Noise Is A Safety Feature

There was a time when the biggest selling point of a hybrid or fully electric car was that it ran silently. This means that you could drive as much as you wanted without disturbing the peace. No one likes to hear the mighty roar of a gas-guzzling engine on a quiet residential street, after all. However, you can probably think of a few instances where a noiseless engine could pose a danger.

Cyclists that use the road have become accustomed to listening out for cars coming up behind or as they approach a junction. Also, pedestrians that have an obscured view of the road are safer when crossing with the ability to hear oncoming traffic.

As such, it became EU law in 2019 that electric car manufacturers must add artificial engine noise to their vehicles. While the peace of a silent engine is nice, this additional noise makes electric and hybrid cars much safer for cyclists and pedestrians crossing the road.

They Can Save You Money

It is no secret that people who drive electric vehicles stand to save money. There have been plenty of government schemes aimed at decreasing the price of electric vehicles to make the more accessible to the public in an attempt to work toward an eco-friendlier tomorrow. What’s more, anyone struggling to afford such a car should consider checking out a salary sacrifice scheme from LV ElectriX. This way, you can ensure that you save enough of your salary to be able to buy one of these cars.

Some world governments have even offered tax credits to those who choose to drive an electric vehicle over a petrol one. What’s more, citizens of the UK do not even have to worry about paying road tax if they drive an electric or hybrid car. But there’s more. With fuel prices continuously on the rise, electric car owners can ensure that they can still afford to hit the road during this current crisis.

Braking Can Keep You Going

It is perfectly normal that the biggest concern for people driving an electric vehicle is trying to keep the battery charged. A standard electric car should be able to travel between one hundred and three hundred miles after a full charge, so always keep an eye out for charging stations on a long journey. However, there are some tips and tricks you will pick up as you continue to drive your electric vehicle.

For instance, the charging point isn’t the only place that you can use to keep your battery topped up. Most modern electric cars come with something called regenerative braking. This means that your car will actually take a second to give you back some more power every time you brake or decelerate.

This system works by redirecting any potential energy that you may lose during these moments back to the battery. As such, you can now breathe a sigh of relief the next time you are travelling down a steady decline or you hit some slow-moving traffic.

Tesla Is The Manufacturer Currently  Leading The EV Market

There is a good reason why you would think of a Tesla whenever anyone brings up the idea of an electric vehicle. It is because Tesla is currently the largest manufacturer of electric cars. A company this big would only stay in business if they were successful at making a sale. Fortunately, the business is doing something right, as Tesla cars are currently the most common kind of electric vehicle on the road.

Most drivers have most likely seen a Model X or Model 3 when out and about. That is because both these cars have been around since 2015 and 2017, respectively. While Tesla is the current leader in the market for electric cars, they do have some competition coming from Nissan, Toyota, and Chevrolet.

Electric Cars Aren’t Completely Carbon Free

While the battery-powered engine releases far less carbon than a traditional petrol-powered one, there is still a small downside to making these cars the number one type of vehicle on the road. However, the carbon produced by the electric car does not come from the engine, but rather from the manufacturer.

Using any variety of machinery to create new cars is going to have some impact on the environment. However, this knowledge should not deter you from using an electric car. The amount of carbon dioxide produced in the manufacture of electric cars is around eighteen tonnes a day. Whereas a normal petrol car will release around twenty-four tonnes of carbon in its lifetime. As you can see, you are still more likely to be eco-friendly by buying an electric car than a petrol one.

They Are Popular In China

If you thought that you were seeing a lot more electric cars on the roads in the Western world, that is nothing compared to China. This country has the fastest-growing electric car market, with nearly two and a half million of the world’s electric cars being shipped to China. That means that at least twenty-two percent of the driving population in China is using an electric vehicle, with this number expected to continue to grow.

Conclusion

There is a good chance that electric cars will become the most common way to travel in just a few years’ time. That is why it is important that you get to know more about these vehicles while you can. You are most likely going to be driving one yourself in the future, after all, if you don’t already.