As we look to make more sustainable choices in every aspect of our lives, electric cars are seeing exponential growth, with global sales up 55% in 2022 compared to the year before.
King Charles made history five years ago when he took delivery of the Royal Family’s first all-electric car, recently installing five charging points at Windsor Castle, while Prince Harry and Meghan Markle drove to their 2018 wedding reception in a 1968 Jaguar E-Type that had been retrofitted with an electric motor and battery.
Celebrity fans of electric vehicles include Leonardo DiCaprio, Ed Sheeran and Cameron Diaz.
As well as being kinder to the environment, electric cars can also be kinder on your wallet, with running costs lower than diesel or petrol models and no road tax due to them producing no tailpipe emissions.
Electric cars tend to be cheaper to maintain too, as the three main components and fewer moving parts mean that servicing is simpler – Nissan estimates that EV maintenance costs 40% lower than for traditional models.
In addition to their instant benefits to the environment, electric cars also offer a realm of cutting-edge technology to ensure a comfortable and stress-free journey complete with all the mod cons.
© David Shepherd for PolestarAnother car brand revolutionising the industry with its digital-first, planet-focused business is Polestar. Formed in 2017 in Sweden as a sister brand to Volvo, customers view models and book test drives in one of its six UK ‘Spaces’, then order their custom car online.
Owners receive a Polestar edition of the Plugsurfing app which grants access to over 500,000 public charging points across Europe, regardless of the operator, with discounted pricing from just 35p/kW.
The Polestar 2 model was launched in 2020, and inside you’ll find entirely vegan upholstery created from WeaveTech, a sustainable and durable material that feels like a mix of denim and neoprene.
Pilot Assist comes as standard, so the car will accelerate, brake, and steer itself with minimal input from the driver, and it pioneers up-to-the-minute Android Automative software, using Google Assistant voice-activation to take commands from the driver such as phoning a friend or playing your favourite artist on Spotify, and offering live navigation to avoid traffic jams en route.
The door unlocks via an app and you don’t need a key to start the engine, just moving the gear selector instead. The Polestar 2 has a range of 292 miles and its savvy credentials means it can calculate if you have enough battery to reach your destination, suggesting recharge points along the way. Charging the battery to 80% takes around 40 minutes.
There are currently 17,000 Polestar cars on the road in the UK, and the company has made a commitment to produce a zero impact, climate-neutral car by 2030.
As we look to adapt our habits to foster a more hopeful future, the latest innovations in EV promise a smooth – and stylish – transition.
