Results find electric cars travelling more miles

The results of the West Midlands-based CABLED electric and low-carbon vehicle testing project has found that drivers of electric cars are travelling more miles, more frequently and are making longer journeys.

It found that the percentage of journeys exceeding 45 miles grew from 3% to 5% between quarter one and two of 2010. Over the same period the average daily miles recorded increased by more than two miles and the maximum daily mileage recorded increased from 100.53 to 124.42 miles.

Neil Butcher the lead of the project, which involves the year-long trial of 25 Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric cars, said the findings from the first six months of the trial present a positive outlook for EVs.

“The phenomenon known as ‘range anxiety’ - concern about battery life when undertaking long journeys - is falling as drivers become more familiar with their vehicles. The low costs of ‘refuelling’ in relatively short periods of time reinforce this.”

The most popular time to charge vehicles is overnight but, since most journeys are relatively short, five average length journeys can be completed on one charge.