Ho hum, another day, another story on the subject of electric cars with a negative slant from the BBC.
Famously it was previously how a BBC journalist struggled to drive from London to Edinburgh in an electric car that was never designed to do so (a bit like test driving a motorbike and making the focus of the story that the rider would get wet if it rained).
This morning I awoke to see a news feed from the BBC with the headline 'Shortfall in electric car charging points'. The story today is that installation of charging points across the UK may fall behind schedule because only 700 of the 5,000 charging stations planned for 2011 have been installed so far. The piece continued by stating that a shortage of charging points may lead to electric car drivers running out of power. It raised the spectre of 'range anxiety'.
The BBC did not bother to ask any of the new Nissan Leaf owners whether in fact they are suffering from range anxiety as a result of the delay in charging point installation (I suspect that the answer is no, apart from the really adventurous ones who are purposefully pushing the limits of what they can achieve).
Neither did the BBC make the point that the majority of electric cars are purchased as second or third cars and used mostly for commuting and local leisure, where the number of public charging points is largely irrelevant. Or that there are many EV drivers out there regularly driving 100 miles plus on a single charge and capable of 200 miles in a day with a single fast recharge.
The BBC did not bother to ask any of the new Nissan Leaf owners whether in fact they are suffering from range anxiety as a result of the delay in charging point installation (I suspect that the answer is no, apart from the really adventurous ones who are purposefully pushing the limits of what they can achieve).
Neither did the BBC make the point that the majority of electric cars are purchased as second or third cars and used mostly for commuting and local leisure, where the number of public charging points is largely irrelevant. Or that there are many EV drivers out there regularly driving 100 miles plus on a single charge and capable of 200 miles in a day with a single fast recharge.
Oh dear. Where is the context - that the UK remains one of the most progressive countries in the world with regard to electric vehicles, already with more EVs on the roads and more charging points than most other countries; and that as a result of this and the incentives in place that the UK is a first choice for the launch of electric cars by most manufacturers and therefore a good place to buy and drive an EV.
Sure, public charging points are important for the penetration of electric cars into the mainstream and delays are unhelpful. But hey, it's happening. The media focus now should be on the experiences of drivers (owners, not journalists) of the new generation of electric cars. That's what is key to whether others are inspired or put off.
Sure, public charging points are important for the penetration of electric cars into the mainstream and delays are unhelpful. But hey, it's happening. The media focus now should be on the experiences of drivers (owners, not journalists) of the new generation of electric cars. That's what is key to whether others are inspired or put off.
Come on British Broadcasting Corporation, you can do better than this.
