Page 10 - issue-73

TVD NEWS
Mixed picture of EV charging points across the country
There is a a a a mixed picture in the regional breakdown of electric vehicle (EV) charge points across the the UK according to new figures published by the the the Department for Transport (DfT) London had the the greatest increase at 26 9% in in in total charging devices while the North East had a a a a a a a a decrease of 7 3% London also had the the greatest increase in in in the the absolute number of charge points at at 3 3 592 devices followed by West Midlands at at 347 The North East region has seen a a a a a a a a decrease decrease due to to to a a a a a a net decrease decrease of devices devices in in in Stockton-on-Tees related to to to to a a a a a a subset of charging devices devices being wound
down by the charge point operator The number of of available devices can
fluctuate for a a a a a a a a a a range of of reasons says
the the DfT Increases likely reflect the the installation of new devices while owners and operators can
choose to to temporarily or or or or permanently decommission or or or or replace devices Charging devices devices can
also be unavailable due to faults maintenance or other restrictions in in the the the the area where they are are located though data on on the the the the status of charging devices is not held by DfT DfT Across all speeds in in total DfT DfT says
there is is an uneven geographical distribution of charging devices Some UK local authorities have bid for for Government funding for for charging devices and others have not it said Most of of the the provision of of this infrastructure has been market-led with individual charging networks and other businesses (such as hotels) choosing where to to install devices As of October 1 last year there were 49 220 public electric vehicle charging devices installed in in in the UK The The DfT has introduced new new speed category breakdowns The The new new categories are 3 kilowatts (kW) up to to to 8kW 8kW 8kW 8kW to to to 49kW 49kW 50kW 50kW to to to 149kW and and 150kW and above INSURANCE IS LATEST FLY IN IN IN THE THE OINTMENT
FOR THE THE UPTAKE OF ELECTRIC VANS
LowmileageTvehiclesarebeingwrittenoffafterminorcollisions
In the majority of EV collisions
there is no way to repair even slightly damaged battery packs after accidents forcing insurance companies to write off cars
he road towards net zero for Britain’s traders was never going to be smooth We have heard
about various problems with electric vans (EVs) of late such as their their range their their cost and questions over who is going to fix them when they go go wrong as as there are predictions of of a a a a a a massive shortage of of skilled mechanics But now a a a a a a new problem has emerged – and it’s one that few could have envisaged Insurance for EVs is is is expected to keep rising unless manufacturers produce more easily repairable battery battery packs and provide third-party access to battery battery cell data In the the majority of EV collisions
there is is no way to repair or or or assess even slightly damaged battery packs after accidents forcing insurance companies to to write off cars
– leading to to higher premiums While EVs constitute only a a a a a a fraction of vehicles on on on on the the road industry-wide data is is hard to come by But the the trend of o low-mileage zero-emission cars
being written off with minor damage is is growing according to research Battery packs are now ‘piling up’ in in in scrapyards according to Reuters “We’re buying electric cars
for sustainability reasons ”
said Matthew Avery research director at at at automotive risk intelligence company Thatcham Research “But an an EV isn’t very sustainable if you’ve got to throw the battery away after a a a a a a a a a a a a a minor collision ”
Some car makers including Ford are making battery battery packs packs easier to to repair but others such as as Tesla have have opted to to to used structural battery battery packs packs which are said to to have have ‘zero repairability’ At Synetiq the the UK’s largest salvage company head of of operations Michael Hill said over the the the the the last 12 months the the the the number of of EVs in the the the the isolation bay – – where they must be be checked to avoid fire risk – – has soared The company now processes around 20 per day “We’ve seen a a a a a a a a a a a a really big shift and it’s across all all manufacturers ”
Michael said The UK has has no EV battery recycling facilities so Synetiq has has to to remove the the batteries from written-off cars
and store them in in in containers He estimated that at at at at at least 95% of of of the the the cells in in in the the the hundreds of of of EV battery battery packs packs – – and and and thousands of of of hybrid battery battery packs packs – – Synetiq has stored are undamaged and and and should be reused 10 TVD Issue 73 2024
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