The BBC’s recent electric car challenge (see story) has attracted criticism and controversy for what environmentalists are calling an unfair portrayal of electric cars.
The recent challenge saw BBC journalist Brian Milligan drive an electric Mini from London to Edinburgh, using only publicly accessible charging points. However a consortium of EV supporters have criticised the challenge, firstly accusing the BBC of using a poor example for a road-ready electric car. Its choice of an electric Mini which was only ever produced as a test vehicle for trials, lacks the range of road-ready models such as the Nissan Leaf.
Secondly critics argue that the challenge itself is unfair as current EVs and their accompanying charging technology are designed for short commuter trips and inner city or sub-urban driving, and the majority of the established infrastructure mirrors this. As such the 484 mile journey across Britain is far beyond the intentional use for most electric vehicles of today; making the entire expedition an unfair and meaningless test.
Next Green Car’s director Ben Lane: "While EVs do not suit all journeys, recent trials have shown that they are ideal for regular city trips and commuting. No one is suggesting that they are the vehicle of choice for crossing the country or for trips more than 100 miles.”
To redeem EV’s reputation, and to prove that electric cars can drive longer distances than one might expect, a driver from the Tesla Motors Club is to drive the same route in a Tesla sports car. Supported by Robert Llewellyn, the trip has been motivated because of the unfairness and misleading nature of the BBC’s journey. The Tesla will stop twice for charging, with the aim to "counter the ludicrous anti-EV reporting from the BBC."
Meanwhile The Telegraph’s Christopher Booker mocks electric cars and accuses the BBC of an ‘obsessive desire to promote the virtues of electric cars’ (quite the opposite, hey?) pointing out that the four day travelling time of the electric car meant that an old-fashioned horse-drawn stagecoach was faster, capable of completing the journey from the English to the Scottish capital in just two days (see story).
