With electric and hybrid vehicles soon to be the main vehicles on UK roads following the ban of all sales of new cars with Petrol and DIesel engines from 2035, now has never been a better time to switch vehicles.
In our last article we touched on how to choose an Electric or Hybrid car, today we’re going to look at the main benefits.
Why choose a Car Subscription?
Let’s first look at the benefits of a car subscription before we go into why you should consider a hybrid or an electric car.
Benefits
- Flexible Contracts
- All inclusive monthly payment (some even include insurance)
- Change your car more often
- Tax incentives for Company Car Users
- Drive the latest models
- No risk of depreciation
- Servicing and Maintenance is included with a Subscription
- Easy to evaluate a car without committing to long-term
- Low initial payments to get a car
- Quick turnaround with many providers having physical cars
What to consider
Here are the three main considerations to choosing a battery or a hybrid car subscription:
Range
BEV Cars – With a pure electric car, the advertised range may differ in day-to-day conditions. In the winter batteries tend to deplete quicker, this is down to the external temperature and using functions on your car such as heaters, lights and aircon.
It’s important to understand your journey and charging needs, especially if you do not have access to a home charging solution. Journey’s can be made, but homework may be required to work out where your on-route charging facilities are and more importantly if they are working.
Hybrid Cars – Depending on whether you opt for a Plug-in Hybrid or a standard Hybrid, the backup of having an internal combustion engine to continue your journey when the battery has depleted can be beneficial for most clients. PHEV’s are great if you have a daily commute of around 20-25 miles with the engine to assist you on longer journeys.or holidays trips.
Charging
As we have already pointed out above, charging needs to be factored into how you will use your car. With most clients doing between 20-25 a PHEV is ideal for those who have a small daily commute to their place of work. This sort of journey would also work well with a Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) and mileage of at least 100 miles per day can be achieved, so long as you have the charging infrastructure to replenish the batteries each night.
PHEV/Hybrid – As you have an internal combustion engine alongside the battery, range isn’t an issue. But it’s important to have some sort of charging facility in place, either at home or the workplace, to charge your battery so that you get the most out of your hybrid vehicle. Overall this increases the fuel efficiency of the vehicle and the cost per mile.
BEV – Unless you have a high capacity battery and a local charging station, having no facilities at home can make electric car ownership difficult. A home charger is ideal for topping up those miles and by having a dedicated facility, the speeds of the charge tend to help top the battery up quicker.
It is also really important to get the costings right and with more and more energy companies offering electric car charging tariffs, you can get the most out of your electric car by utilising these off-peak rates. Use our article on Electric Car Charging Tariffs to find out more information.
Rapid charging networks are growing week-by-week and it’s not uncommon to find chargers that will now replenish 80% of the battery capacity in 20-50 minutes. By far Tesla has the best charging network across the UK, however, this is currently restricted to owners of Tesla’s only.
Navigation systems in cars are getting smarter with many building-in charging stops for your journey. We recommend downloading the Zap Map app for your smartphone to help you with your trips.
Maintenance and Servicing
PHEV/Hybrid Cars – The servicing requirements of a Hybrid or Plug-in Hybrid car is on par with conventional internal combustion engines, apart from the electric motor and the larger battery, these cars have the same underpinnings. The savings on these cars tend to be brake pads as brake regeneration reduces the wear on these parts.
BEV – As there are fewer mechanical parts on a pure electric vehicle, these vehicles tend to require less servicing and maintenance. The servicing costs should also be lower due to the lower amount of parts that require looking at or replacing. It is estimated that a BEV’s costs should be 30-50% lower than an ICE vehicle.
It has been found that tyres can wear quicker and maybe more expensive to replace. This is down to some of the tyres used being less common, for example, Tesla use a tyre with foam insulation for reduced road noise. With a car subscription maintenance is generally included within your monthly payment.
Compare Car Subscriptions
Easily compare car subscriptions from the various UK providers using our website. We have companies that offer inclusive insurance or those that offer truly flexible car subscriptions. Find out more.
