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Top 12 EV Myths Busted
So, you've enquired about an electric vehicle (EV) with Select Car Leasing. Congratulations - you've just taken another step on your journey to cleaner, greener, and more cost-effective motoring!
But what about all of the so-called 'negatives' that come with driving an EV, from charging issues to range anxiety? Spend any time online and you'll likely see arguments made against EV enjoyment.
The GOOD news here is that much of what you might have read about EVs is mired in myth and misinformation.
To reassure you about your leasing choices, we've put together a handy myth-busting guide, which talks you through some of the key issues - including battery longevity and the public charging infrastructure - to completely dispel any lingering fears you might have about joining the electric revolution.
1. The range of an EV is still too small - MYTH
It’s fair to say that motorists are still worried about so-called ‘range anxiety’, but huge strides are being made when it comes to how far an EV can travel on a single charge.
You’ve got cars like the Volkswagen ID.7 and the updated Tesla Model 3 now capable of journeying up to around 430 miles between charges while more affordable family cars like the Peugeot E-3008 have a huge 435-mile maximum range.
That’s more than enough for most people, particularly when you consider that the average car in the UK travels around 20 miles per day. Even the very cheapest EVs can now travel around 140 miles before needing a trip to the plug.
2. There aren’t enough public charging stations - MYTH
There are now more than 70,000 EV charge points in the UK - a 41% increase compared with September 2023, which illustrates the major investment into the charging infrastructure. There are also now far more EV charging stations than there are petrol stations in the UK! And the UK is also on track to reach 100,000 public charge points by summer 2025.
It gets really interesting when you look at how those EV charging stations are actually used. You might expect to see a much higher reliance on public charge points now compared with before, as the number of stations increase in line with the number of EVs on the roads. But that’s not actually happening, as EV motorists instead seem to rely on home charging.
A recent report by the Green Finance Institute shows that even though there are more public chargers, the demand levels are the same as in previous years - which tells us that there are more than enough charge points to go around.
3. EVs are too expensive to lease - MYTH
This might have been true when electric vehicles were first introduced but we’re seeing more and more affordable EVs coming to the market. Just look at cars like the Dacia Spring or the Citroen e-C3. We’re also seeing price parity between fully-electric vehicles and their traditionally-fuelled equivalents with cars like the Vauxhall Frontera.
One of the key drivers for affordable EVs is the fact that the cost of lithium-ion batteries is falling in line with EV adoption. We’ve actually seen a 90% reduction in battery costs in the last 10 years. The arguments against mass adoption are becoming weaker and weaker.
4. I can’t enjoy an EV if I don’t have off-road parking: MYTH
Don’t have a driveway? It’s no cause for despair - because you can still charge your EV at home. One popular method is to trail a charging cable from your home (the actual wallbox charger is still located on your property) to the vehicle in what’s called ‘cross-pavement charging’.
Each local authority has its own regulations about cross-pavement charging, but often the simplest (and cheapest) method of complying with the rules is to use plastic cable protectors to prevent your wire from becoming a trip hazard.
It might require a ‘cable gully’ to be chiselled out of the pavement, which is a more expensive option (at around £1,000).
But the good news here is that Government grants are still available to help cover the costs. There's one for renters and flat owners called the ‘Electric vehicle chargepoint grant for renters and flat owners’ and could see you saving up to £350 on chargepoint installation.
There’s also a separate grant (called the ‘Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant for Households with On-Street Parking’ and again worth up to £350) which offers support towards the costs of the purchase and installation of EV chargepoints at residential properties when also installing a cross-pavement charging solution.
Besides cross-pavement charging, you might be lucky enough to find yourself in an area that offers an on-street residential chargepoint scheme, with chargepoints located in nearby lampposts, pillars and cabinets.
Community Charging, or 'peer-to-peer', initiatives allow you to ‘borrow’ someone else’s chargepoint when it’s not in use while you may also be able to charge your EV at your place of work. And, of course, there’s always the option of public charging - and you can read our handy guide to charging your EV in public for FREE.
5. EVs are still too expensive to run - MYTH
You might hear the argument made that recharging an EV can prove almost as costly as filling a traditionally-fuelled car with petrol or diesel. It's not true.
Yes, the cost of recharging in public is much higher than recharging at home. Depending on which charging company you use, and the size of your car's battery, you might pay in excess of £40 for a 10-80% charge (on an ultra-rapid charger costing 85p per kWh).
You will, though, find much cheaper off-peak public charging rates and slower chargers are more cost-effective, too.
But what you REALLY need to understand is just how cheap home charging can be. Set yourself up on a low, off-peak electricity tariff - such as E.ON Next's 'Drive' - and a charge will cost as little as 7.5p per kWh. At that rate, you'll be able to add around 60 miles' worth of energy to your car's battery for just a quid.
We've also teamed-up with E.ON Next to offer 8,000 miles free EV charging (via a £150 free credit on your account) as well as £75 off the installation of a home charger. Find out more here.
6. The National Grid won’t be able to cope with EV demand: MYTH
There’s a commonly-held belief that the National Grid - the UK’s high-voltage electricity transmission network - will struggle to cope with the demand placed upon it due to the massive influx of EVs on UK roads. Thankfully, that’s not true, and the National Grid has itself moved to reassure motorists. A spokesperson said: “We’ve been discussing how we can best work towards the green transport changeover with government, electricity distribution companies, service station operators and charge point providers for a number of years.”
Electricity supply and demand is already managed second-by-second by Britain’s National Energy System Operator (NESO).
And even if EVERYONE suddenly switched to an EV overnight, the National Grid would still shrug its shoulders and say, ‘fine’.
Our spokesperson explains: “The highest peak electricity demand in the UK in recent years was 62GW in 2002. Since then, the nation’s peak demand has fallen by roughly 16% due to improvements in energy efficiency. Even if we all switched to EVs overnight, we estimate demand would only increase by around 10%. So we’d still be using less power as a nation than we did in 2002 and this is well within the range the grid can capably handle."
Electric Vehicles: Some Fast Facts
Tesla Model Y: UK's best-selling EV
Mercedes-Benz EQS: EV with the longest range (481 miles)
236 miles: Average EV range in UK (rising to 300 for many models launching in 2025)
Dacia Spring: UK's cheapest EV (£14,995 to buy outright)
8,292 miles: Average annual mileage of EV driver (at end of 2023)
1832: The year the first prototype EV was invented!
3,000 miles: Potential range for future EVs, according to scientists
7. Batteries in EVs won’t stand the test of time - MYTH
The batteries in EVs need to be replaced much less often than people might think. We recently heard about a 2016 Tesla Model S which had covered more than 400,000 miles on its original battery and which had only lost around 65 miles of range from its official rating despite being fast-charged a couple of times every day. And we’re hearing those stories more and more frequently. The key point here is that EV batteries are manufactured to outlast the cars they power, and most EV battery warranties cover it for 100,000 miles or eight to ten years.
You’ve also got to consider the second and third life implications for EV batteries, where they’ll be used for things like residential energy storage. They’re not just going to disappear into the nearest landfill.
8. EVs are too slow to charge: MYTH
Different EVs charge at different rates, and that’s true whether you’re charging at home or in public. It all depends on the size of your battery and the charging capabilities of your car.
More affordable EVs typically have a slightly slower charging speed compared with other alternatives. The Dacia Spring, for example, accepts public rapid charging at 30 kW DC that will take the energy in the battery from 15-80% in around 45 minutes.
But what we’re seeing is that more and more EVs are now equipped with impressive rapid charging skills as standard, and that’s also becoming true of cheaper EVs, too.
The Hyundai Ioniq 5 accepts rapid charging at 350 kW DC which can replenish the energy in the battery from 10-80% in just 18 minutes. The Smart #5 can also recharge in public at a super-quick 400 kW DC, making 10-80% refresh possible in 18 minutes, too. That’s just about enough time to pop into the service station, have a comfort break, and to pick up some refreshments.
9. EV owners immediately switch back to ICE cars - MYTH
This is one we hear a lot - and we're happy to pooh-pooh it. Once you make the switch to EV from a petrol or diesel car, you’re very, very unlikely to want to switch back.
Multiple surveys by the website Fully Charged Show indicate that the number of battery EV drivers that would return to an ICE car is less than 10%. Other surveys have said similar, including a Zapmap one from October 2023 that found ‘less than 3% would go back to their ICE vehicle’.
If the combustion engine didn’t exist, and someone came up with the design for one today, he or she would be laughed out of the room due to the environmental and health issues we are all aware of. EV technology is here and it’s here to stay.
10. Manufacturing EVs produces carbon, so they’re not actually very ‘green’ at all - MYTH
One of the big arguments against EVs is the notion that there’s still a carbon footprint that ruins any green credentials. But let’s look at the facts. For an EV to ‘break even’ when it comes to carbon emissions - ie, the point is when it makes up for the emissions produced during its manufacturing stage in its consumption stage - it needs to be driven for around 20,000 miles. When you consider that some EVs have now covered more than 400,000 miles on their original battery, the green credentials are obvious.
Even if you STILL don’t buy into them, we can all agree that electric cars don’t have a tailpipe. And we know that tailpipe emissions kill 40,000 people every single year in the UK. Is that alone not reason enough to switch to an EV?
11. The uptake on EVs is slow - MYTH
The latest stats from the SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders) show EVs accounted for around one in four new car registrations at the beginning of 2025. They command a 23% market share (up from 16% in 2024) as interest surges.
Here at Select we are also trumping the industry norm and ahead of the curve - with 35.5% of our orders being fully-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
European sales are also up, overall, despite Germany experiencing a recent downtown due to the withdrawal of EV subsidies and incentives.
12. Chinese manufacturers are bad for EV business - MYTH
If you haven’t already considered an EV from China, you definitely should. They produce more cars worldwide than anybody else, and they’ve been doing so for some time now.
Stock is rarely an issue, the vehicles are built and supplied promptly, and you’ve got exciting new technology brands like Xpeng and BYD offering some seriously exciting cars.
New manufacturers coming to the leasing market means more choice for consumers and lower EV costs. It's a win-win situation.
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So pleased with the service from enquiry to delivery. Alex was so friendly and helpful as have been the rest of the team up to delivery. Delivery was great, on time and Lewis communicated throughout abd again was friendly and helpful. I'd definately recommend!
This was by far the best experience I've ever had getting a car. I can only put that down to dealing with Nicola Holmes she made it so stress free and was kept upto date every step of the way. I've personally recommended her since getting the car.
