The cause of the Luton Airport fire has been a popular topic across social media, with many blaming EVs. It follows a number of years of negative stories about fires involving Teslas.
However, a diesel-powered car is now believed to have started the fire.
With this in mind, the experts at DriveElectric have wanted to clarify the reality of the most common EV myths.
First up, are EVs actually a greater fire risk? including that EVs are at greater risk of catching fire.

 

Myth 1 – EVs are at high risk of catching fire

Headlines about lithium-ion batteries being notoriously dangerous have unsurprisingly sparked safety concerns about electric vehicles. However, data from the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, has revealed this is miles from the truth.
When you compare the 23 EV fire incidents (that’s a mere 0.004% of Sweden’s fleet of over 611,000 electric cars) to the 34,000 fires from 4.4 million petrol and diesel cars (so, 0.08%) – this means that EVs are 20 times less likely to result in fires.
What’s more, thanks to car manufacturers developing more resilient anti-fire functions in newer models, EV fires continue to decrease. With just 20 reported EV fires a year over a three-year period, the likelihood of your car filling up with smoke mid-journey is highly unlikely.

Myth 2 – EVs still require tanking up with unsustainable fuels

Electric cars are all batteries, no tank, and so don’t rely on anything other than green, reusable energy to power up. Hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), on the other hand, still require fossil fuels to top up their tanks.
It’s when people blur the line between these two huge differences that leads to the myth that electric cars are not pure electric.

Myth 3 – EVs can easily run out of charge

One of the biggest factors holding motorists back from switching to electric is rage anxiety. However, the range of an EV can hit up to 300 miles before requiring more energy – providing the perfect balance between cost and travel efficiency.

Myth 4 – EVs are more expensive than diesel

When you consider the increasingly high costs of fuel – EVs can run at a refreshing 2p per mile when charged at the right time of day or night. And because they’re more technologically streamlined, they have less oily engine parts that will need servicing – helping to keep your maintenance costs to a minimum.

Myth 5 – EV batteries are expensive to replace and can’t be recycled

Some say that EV batteries need to be replaced every five years. However, according to National Grid, EV battery packs are expected to retain their charge capacity from 100,000 to 200,000 miles and some batteries have actually proven to withstand the life of the vehicle. So, you needn’t panic next time you see a misinformed headline about EV batteries being expensive to maintain.
Further, despite claims that electric vehicle batteries end up in landfill, they can in fact be recycled or repurposed and resold for home or business energy-saving purposes.
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