30 June 2022
- The long and the short of it – consumers short-changed when it comes to electric car charging cables, says The Car Expert
- Research of 22 of the UK’s most popular electric cars reveals how the industry needs a minimum standard for car charging cables
- Analysis shows that cables provided with electric cars are often inadequate, being too short and too slow
- Some car companies making customers pay upwards of £600 extra for faster charging or longer cables
Consumers are being short-changed by car manufacturers when it comes to the cables supplied as standard with electric cars, according to new research by The Car Expert.
The research puts a spotlight on the need to standardise charging cables to make switching to an electric car as smooth as possible.
The Car Expert’s investigation, which included 22 of the UK’s most popular electric cars, reveals how some car manufacturers provide cables as short as 3.8 metres as standard – shorter than the length of the car in question, rendering them insufficient in many scenarios.
With on-street charging set to grow rapidly in coming years, a large percentage of EV cables currently supplied as standard are impractical for public charging where a tethered cable is not provided.
Additionally, the analysis found that certain manufacturers are effectively forcing customers pay upwards of £600 for higher specification charging cables to replace the inadequate standard cables, a significant extra cost when electric cars are already substantially more expensive than their petrol or diesel counterparts.
“If we want to encourage the switch to electric cars, manufacturers need to provide adequate cables as standard and reduce the cost of expensive cable replacements, particularly as consumers can no longer benefit from the financial advantages of the Government plug-in hybrid grant,” commented Stuart Masson, Editorial Director at The Car Expert.
“It sounds obvious, but your cable needs to be long enough to reach from the charger to the car, however some car companies are still failing to meet this basic requirement.”
Many EV cables were also limited in how rapidly they could transfer electricity from the grid to the car, causing charging times to be longer than outlined by manufacturers.
Most residential and commercial properties can supply electricity to charge an electric car at a rate of 7kW to 22kW. However, the study showed that many cables provided as standard are only rated at between 2.3kW and 11kW.
Manufacturer websites and brochures were found to be unhelpful or even misleading when it came to charging cable information, leaving potential buyers without the knowledge of what cable would be provided and whether it would meet day-to-day requirements.
“What was most striking to us is how difficult it is to get useful information out of car companies about EV charging, with some of the manufacturers we contacted even providing incorrect information. This creates confusion for customers trying to work out whether an EV could be suitable for their needs,” said Stuart Masson.
As a result of the findings, The Car Expert is calling for the industry to adopt a minimum standard for cable length and charging capacity: “We recommend that all new electric cars come with a Mode 3, Type 2 charging cable of at least 6 metres in length and able to charge at a minimum of 22kW.
“It will give customers the best possible outcome as well as making EVs future-proof against improved charging infrastructure. This is an easy win for car buyers that the government can implement immediately.”
The Car Expert was not alone in its call for standardisation across the industry, with subscription provider Mycardirect also frequently disadvantaged by sub-standard cables arriving with new electric cars.
“We are all too aware of the current situation and the confusing information on EVs to the consumer. EV manufacturers and the changes to government grants and taxation policies are certainly not helping consumer confidence, with no agreed standard, even on the simple elements such as a charging cable,” commented Duncan Chumley, CEO at Mycardirect.
“We have seen the EV penetration into the Mycardirect fleet grow to 28% – which is double the UK market EV penetration of 14% – however, my sympathies lie with those drivers trying to navigate the issue on their own. The call for standardisation is definitely timely.”
As sales of electric cars boom, The Car Expert has applied its unique, data-driven Expert Rating Index to all cars currently available in the UK. The top five electric cars on sale according to the unbiased rating system are the Porsche Taycan, Kia EV6, Mercedes-Benz EQS, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia e-Niro.
For more information and the full charging cable dataset, please visit: https://www.thecarexpert.co.uk/customers-short-changed-on-ev-charging-cables/
ENDS
The Car Expert
Founded in 2011, The Car Expert is the UK’s most comprehensive automotive consumer advice site. With an audience of over two million readers a year, The Car Expert provides independent and impartial advice on every aspect of buying, financing, owning, and selling new or used vehicles.
The Rotten Tomatoes equivalent for the automotive world, The Car Expert consolidates reviews from 30 of the UK’s top automotive websites to create the Expert Rating Index. Bringing together science and data analysis, the index calculates a weighted average to give an aggregated score – Expert Rating – that is comparable across different brands and models.
The Expert Rating Index factors in the age of each review, so that newer reviews carry more weight than older reviews. It also breaks down the complex web of different scoring systems that various websites use in their reviews.
The Car Expert has logged over 10,000 reviews covering more than 400 cars and over 50 manufacturers, with its Expert Rating Index now trusted as the gold standard for rating and ranking new cars in the UK.
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