I like the idea of an electric car – where do I start?

Electric cars are a great option if you want to save on running costs or go greener. And you’ll be ahead of the game before the planned 2035 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars.

The Basics

How much do electric cars cost compared to other cars?

The Ultimate electric car guide

How popular is electric car leasing

Electric car jargon buster

Ultimate Guide to ULEZ

Are electric cars safe and reliable

Are you ready to go electric?

Want to know if an electric car is the right choice for you?

Join in with our simple online quiz to find out more.

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Step 1 – Where will you charge?

Let’s start by thinking about where you can charge an electric car; we know that’s what most people worry about when thinking of going electric.

If you have a drive or garage at home it does make life easier, because you can have a home charge point installed which is the cheapest way to charge.

If you don’t have the option to charge at home, find out where your nearest public charge point is located. This might mean an on-street charge point (lots of local councils have installed them), a trip to your local supermarket, petrol station or public car park, or charging your car at work. You can track down one of the 53,906 (Dec 2023) or so public charge points across the UK using our charge point map.

electric car charging on driveway with charger in the background

Step 2 – Where do you drive to and how often?

Now let’s think about your daily commute and how many people you need to fit into your car.

The average UK round-trip commute is under 30 miles. That’s easily within the travelling range of any electric car, even the oldest second-hand models run for 60-80 miles on a full charge. If you often drive longer distances, look for an electric car with a more powerful battery. Most new models do over 200 miles on a full charge.

Like petrol or diesel vehicles, most electric cars comfortably seat 4 people – 5 at a squeeze. But what if you need something bigger? Until recently, you had just a few pricey electric cars to choose from. But that’s slowly changing with cars on the market with six, seven or more seats. The Citroen ë-Spacetourer can almost fit a football team in.

Step 3 – What’s your budget?

EVs can be leased from CBVC, our leasing partner from as little as £260 a month with some models available within 30 days – view our range of electric cars to lease.

Some workplaces offer electric car salary sacrifice schemes, where the money for the lease is taken at source from your gross salary, resulting in you paying less tax each month. You can talk to us about salary sacrifice too.