Car insurance customers considering buying an electric car may be put off by the sky-rocketing prices.
The costs of purchasing an electric car, coupled with concerns over mileage and battery life, will outweigh the environmental gain for most consumers, warned an industry expert.
At present electric cars in the UK are being sold at prices at that "too high" for the average customer, according to whatgreencar.com.
The website's Dr Ben Lane added: "You need to have a recharge point that you can access at home and usually you need a driveway, so maybe in the States it's easier, but if you're in downtown New York or London you might live in a flat on the fourth floor and you can't get a cable to your car."
His comments following the wake of recent data published by JD Power and Associates which predict that sales of electric cars will increase all over the world. It has been estimated that 200,000 electric-powered vehicles would be sold worldwide this year. The figure is expected to increase to three million units by 2015.
Recent findings from Cenex, the UK's Centre of Excellence for low carbon vehicle technologies, also spell out good news for motor manufacturers investing in green car technology.
After the Cenex's six-month experiment, the Smart Move Trail, 72 per cent of drivers confirmed that they would switch their regular car for an electric one. The figure was up from 47 per cent at the beginning of the trial.
It was also found that fleet businesses had a more positive approach towards electrically powered cars despite a clear lack of proper infrastructure providing access to public charging points.
However, the recent Budget - which increased the insurance premium tax - has given rise to fears that it might deter consumers from securing proper protection for their vehicles. |
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