25/02/2021
There are repeatedly new questions on various caravan forums about the UK’s ban on internal combustion engine (ICE) cars from 2030 and the impact on the caravanning fraternity.
Each time, there is a mix of views being offered; some of which are often misrepresented as facts. There appears to be a fear amongst many about the plans to cease the sale of ICE cars. Some seem to think that they all be forced to give up their caravan holidays, or site their treasured touring caravans on seasonal pitches.
Neither of these things should be forced on anyone. For a start, the ban on the sale of new ICE vehicles does not mean that anyone will be forced to sell their personally owned ICE cars.
More importantly, when they choose to sell their old ICE cars, there will be plenty of choice as to what battery electric vehicle (BEV) they can buy to tow their caravans with.
There is already some choice. Tesla, Mercedes, Audi, Polestar, Volvo all provide BEVs capable of towing 1,500kg or more. If you have a small, lightweight caravan then Volkswagen, Skoda and Citroen have options you could consider.
We’re still almost a decade away from the ban on new ICE cars and the choice is expanding further and will continue to do so. The capabilities of these cars will improve as well; towing limits will go up, as will ranges… whilst prices will come down.
Tesla, for example, are due to start shipping the first of their Cybertruck later this year. Elon Musk is apparently adamant that the starting price of the monster pick-up truck will be lower than $39,000. That will be for the two-wheel drive single engine truck, which will be capable of towing 3,400kg; more than enough for most caravaners. There will be two AWD models; the dual motor capable of towing over 4,500kg and the tri-motor capable of towing 6,350kg!
Some people boast about their tow car’s ability to pull their van, with them hardly noticing that it’s there. With these Cybertrucks, the impact of towing is likely to be negligible to the feel of driving.
The Cybertruck is not likely to be the preferred choice of many, but it shows that things are changing and the future of not just driving an electric car, but towing with one, is going to be a very real and exciting prospect.
So, keep reading, please. And, once you’ve read this, by all means respond and let me know your thoughts. But, please, when reading the test of this document, keep an open mind.
Do also consider exploring the hyperlinks in the document, including the one for the Norwegian drivers’ test drive (above) and links to other relevant reading material.
Dispelling the myths
Many people have shared the view that the best tow vehicles are powered by diesel engines. This has largely been the case. The torque of the diesel engines is, in most cars, better suited for towing than the petrol equivalents.
However, the instant availability of power in BEVs; whether pulling away from a standstill or changing speed, lends itself to the job of towing extremely well.
That’s still, to some extent, a personal preference though. Some people preferred petrol, some preferred diesel. I just think that those who keep an open mind will end up thinking that BEVs are better than both.
So, looking at the main arguments against BEVs, here’s my thoughts.
They’re too expensive
Many people do complain about the expense of BEVs, especially those that are capable of towing larger caravans. The table below shows those I could find data on at the time of writing this.
The premium brands are expensive, there’s no doubting that. The Tesla Model X Long Range is £87,980 and the longer range versions of the Audi and Mercedes are approximately £70k and £65k respectively.
But, it’s still early days in this electric revolution. More and more manufacturers will join in, they have little choice. As the options increase, so the prices of some of those options will come down.
The Polestar 2, which isn’t a budget brand, can tow a reasonable weight and costs £50k, whilst the Skoda Enyaq brings prices down further.
When the motor car was first launched on the world, the cost was so high that only the extremely wealthy could possibly even think of ownership. Time brought more competition and that brought lower prices.
In the coming decade, we will see the same thing happen in respect of BEVs. You could allege that this is wishful thinking on my part, but think about it. The car manufacturers will still want the public to buy cars, so they will do all the can to make them affordable. It’s logical.
They can’t tow sufficient weight
There are some, in the table on the previous page, you can reasonably discount when it comes to towing caravans. The Fords and Jaguar can only tow 750kg, which might be fine for trailer tents but not much else. The Citroen, Skoda, VW and the Tesla Model 3 will be able to tow many of the smaller two berth or maybe even four berth caravans.
The Polestar and Volvo will tow many larger caravans, including my six berth Venus 590/6, whilst the Audi and Mercedes can tow even more. The Tesla Model X leads the way and can tow the vast majority of UK caravans.
But, as I’ve said before, we are in the very early days of BEV tow cars. In the next few years, there will be more and more BEVs capable of towing. Their capabilities, in respect of towing limits, will get better and better.
By 2030, that range of choice should be pretty wide. Virtually every manufacturer will offer a choice of BEVs that are capable of towing, just as they currently offer ICE vehicles that can tow now.
They have insufficient Range
Another key concern for many, is the range of BEVs; especially when towing. When Nissan first started selling the Leaf it had a range of about 100 miles, whereas current models have a range of up to 239 miles. Early Tesla Model S cars, powered by the 85-kwh motor, had a range of 265 miles. Nowadays, the basic Model S has a 412 mile range, whilst the range topping Plaid+ has a range of over 520 miles.
Ranges are getting better all the time. Battery technology is improving and so is the rest of the vehicle’s efficiency, including regenerative braking. In another ten years, here is every possibility that the available range from BEVs will be greater than we have been enjoying from ICE cars.
In addition, Alko have been working on developments of their chassis, to include batteries and motors. Not only will the on-board batteries help increase the range of the tow car, but it (like the BEV) will use regenerative braking to help battery capacity and improve the smoothness of caravan braking performance.
Then there’s the fact that we shouldn’t actually be driving huge distances without taking breaks. The Highway Code and the motoring organisations recommend taking at least a 15 minute break every two hours. Research by the AA shows that 20% of accidents on major roads are caused by tiredness.
If you’re towing a caravan, you should be even more careful. Whilst some people say their tow car is so good that they wouldn’t know they had a caravan behind them, the caravan is still there and this increases both the physical drain on the driver and the risks involved with accidents.
And, how far do most of us travel in one stint whilst towing? Most of the caravan trips I’ve done have been journeys of between one and two hours. Some have been three to five hours, but I have tended to split these by having an overnight stop along the way. Personally, I don’t wish to exhaust myself on my holidays and enjoying stopovers is all part of the journey.
So, plug the car in for 30 minutes. Grab a coffee, use the toilets and leave with a rejuvenated battery.
Electric cars are actually more polluting than traditional cars
There has been a very vociferous group of people trying to claim that BEVs are not that clean at all; even suggesting they are far worse for the environment.
This is, in fact, untrue.
There have been studies that have concluded that BEVs are not as clean as the early hype suggested, and these have then been used as the impetus for memes, such as the one above.
However, the studies were mostly flawed and, in some cases, deliberately misleading. This is according to a 2020 briefing by Transport & Environment.
They have evidenced that BEVs are substantially less pollutive than petrol and diesel cars. The table I have copied to the following page was based upon 2020 data and, whilst petrol and diesel cars have got about as efficient as they could possibly be, there will be further improvements to the efficiency of BEVs.
Without doubt, BEVs are significantly less damaging to the environment than ICE cars.
It is also worth paying particular attention to the fact that BEVs, in having no tailpipe emissions, will enhance the environment in our housing estates, our villages, towns and cities, as well as in rural areas.
They will, quite literally, improve the quality of the air that we breathe.
There aren’t enough charging points in the right areas
It is a fact that the number of traditional filling stations has declined over the past few decades. I tried to do some research into the number of such facilities currently in the UK, along with the number of public electric charging locations. Some data is easier to locate than others. The graph below is what I did manage to pull together.
The comparisons aren’t perfect. As I am just an ‘ordinary’ man doing this to satisfy my interest and to share with people who express an interest, I don’t have the resources to investigate and gather detailed up to date information.
There are about 8,380 facilities in the UK selling petrol and diesel, with, probably, up to 75,000 fuel filling positions. Some just have two or four pump positions, some have six or eight and some have much more. The most up to date information I could find on the average number of pump stations at each location, was dated 2011 and showed that the number had risen from 7.1 to 7.3 in the five years from 2006 to 2011. I actually based my calculation on an average of 9 per site.
UPDATE: Whilst I don’t have huge resources, I did send an email to a senior manager at the UK’s Petrol Retailers Association and received a response on 22/02/2021 stating that the average forecourt has eight fuel filling positions. That would mean the total number of fuel filling positions is 67,040.
The number of public charging points in the UK is increasing on a virtually daily basis. The latest date I found showed there to be 13,948 locations with 38,115 available chargers. Based upon the last data I could find on UK car ownership (2019), there were 31.1m petrol and diesel cars owned in the UK and 89,600 BEVs. I did not include hybrids (513,800) or plug in hybrids (144,900). Obviously, more up to date data would be useful, but this was what I could find.
According to this data, the number of electricity charging positions available per BEV on the roads, is about 197 times the number of petrol / diesel filling positions available per ICE vehicle.
I did once, in 2013/14, have to wait for about 10 minutes for an electric charging point to become free at a motorway service station, but whenever I see charging points on my travels, there always seems to be at least half the locations free; frequently there are none in use or just one in use. The number of BEVs on our roads is increasing, but the improvements in the infrastructure is growing quicker.
When you go and do your weekly shop at a supermarket, your car can be charging its batteries in the car park, at no direct cost to you. This is certainly true at Tesco stores, where using standard chargers is free at the point of use.
Charge for no Charge
Charging stations aren’t suitable for those towing caravans
This is, for the most part, absolutely true at the moment. However, early adopters have said that it isn’t a major issue to decouple their caravan and, whilst one group member takes the BEV and puts it on charge, another can be making the tea or coffee.
Those who I have spoken to have stressed that this is an easy habit to adopt and doesn’t upset their travels.
In time, like with most other aspects of BEV ownership, things will change. The parking areas for caravans will have electric charging points, just like many other car parking spaces.
I don’t have off street parking, so how am I supposed to charge my car
On the face of it, this would appear to be a justifiable concern.
However, and I hope this isn’t a seen as a churlish comment, none of us have petrol or diesel pumps at home. We manage perfectly well by visiting places where we can refuel and, with the advancements in technology, we will also cope with driving BEVs without home chargers; if indeed we have to.
The thing is, there have already been options provided that will help to deliver home charging to those without off street parking. In some areas, including London boroughs and Manchester suburbs, charging points have been placed in lamp posts. By May 2019, there were at least 1,000 lamp post charge points in London and over 25 free standing charge points.
Other cities have followed suit and this will develop more with time.
For those living in flats and apartments, with allocated parking, providers like pod-point and Future-Fuel are delivering solutions. Back in 2017, the online resource ‘Flat Living’ shared an article about adding EV charging points to flats and apartment blocks. It may not yet be something that has been provided in many locations, but this will change.
As an example of why such change will occur, it’s worth considering what has already happened with the provision of broadband and satellite television in blocks of flats. Many, especially older, blocks would not have had such services when they first became available. However, they have subsequently been added and it is difficult to imagine a situation whereby someone would, nowadays, buy or rent a flat or apartment that did not offer such facilities.
The national grid can’t cope with the demand
This is frequently stated by people arguing against the planned banning of new ICE car sales from 2030. Graeme Cooper, the Transport Decarbonisation Director at the National Grid is adamant that this is not the case.
"There is definitely enough energy and the grid can cope easily,” he has said. “The growth in renewable energy means this is not static and smart metering will make this more efficient. For example, the growth in wind power from the extra offshore wind farms being developed will adequately meet the future demand for electrifying transport – an extra 100 terrawatt hours from our current 300 terrawatt hours consume.”
The National Grid have been preparing for this.
“Preparations have been underway for a while, as we’ve been discussing how best we can work towards the green transport changeover with government, electricity distribution companies, who transport the energy from the grid to homes and businesses, service station operators and charge point providers for over two years.”
You can read more about what he has said and how the National Grid has been preparing for the increase in BEV adoption here.
The future is bright and the future is clean.
Supplementary Stuff
The following isn’t strictly related to the ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030, but might be considered ‘ancillary’ information.
Commercial applications, including HGVs
A number of people have commented that the ‘fact’ that HGVs will remain reliant on diesel engines is a factor that should be considered in respect of the realistic implementation of the government’s plans.
They say that the Infrastructure and technology isn’t available to deal with the mileage HGVs cover.
The thing is, as with every other aspect covered in the earlier parts of this document, these are issues that will be addressed in the coming years.
The charging infrastructure for these trucks will be incorporated into existing lorry parks and motorway service areas, with new ones added as necessary.
And the vehicles? Well those are already being developed by companies like Volvo, Daimler and - always pushing boundaries - Tesla.
Those who don’t drive HGVs might not be overly impressed by Tesla’s quoted 0-60mph time and, to be fair, acceleration times aren’t a massive focus of HGV marketing. By comparison though, I found some 0-80kph (just under 50mph) figures for some trucks on the trucknet.uk website; Volvo FH480 (48.5s), DAF XF510 (46.8s) and Scania R500 (58.8s).
Tesla is expected to offer two range options at launch; 300+ miles and 500+ miles and these distances are when towing 80,000 lbs at normal speeds.
Charging of the Tesla Semi is expected to happen simultaneously will loading / unloading; it can charge for 400 miles in 30 minutes. That, on its own, could be a major selling point to truck drivers and fleet managers. It is believed that the initial cost of buying a Tesla Semi will be recouped within two years through cheaper running costs.
It seems that the future of HGV driving is almost certainly battery electric.
The government can’t afford to lose the tax on petrol and diesel
This is also frequently said by people who argue that the government’s plans to ban the sale of new diesel and petrol cars are unrealistic.
It is almost as if these people believe that the government, the treasury and the people who work on these things haven’t actually thought about this.
Which would be frankly amazing, if it were true.
The government reviews the tax models it runs all the time. Obviously, we have a budget every Spring, but they don’t just wake up that morning and scribble things down on a scrap of paper. There are countless hours of data analysis and statistical measurement.
Whether we move to a system of being charged for the actual miles we cover, or if the tax losses from the drop in sale of petrol and diesel are recouped via increased taxation in other areas, the fact is the government will do what is required to raise sufficient funds for its needs via whatever means necessary.
The government doesn’t need our permission to implement tax policy. They tell us what they are going to do and we simply have to accept it.
The future is bright and the future is clean.
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