The country’s future drivers have spoken and want to learn about electric cars.
But, in an ecological dilemma, a shortage of electric vehicle instructors in the UK is preventing people from making the transition to electric motors, according to a new study from charging network Gridserve.
As a result, it is likely to spell the end of the manual gearbox, as electric vehicles are almost always sold with single-speed transmissions making the shift lever redundant.
Nearly half of drivers are likely to take lessons in an electric vehicle, according to a new Gridserve study, but only one in seven can find a local instructor offering lessons, making the switch to electric a challenge. elderly.
What car? It has also reported a staggering 283 percent increase in the popularity of self-testing compared to a decade ago, with the transition to electric vehicles playing a major role.
There is disparity across the UK when it comes to finding a local EV instructor: London is the easiest place, followed by the West Midlands, while learner drivers in the east of England will struggle to get EV driving lessons. .
The sustainable energy and electric vehicle leasing company has found that almost half of drivers (48 percent) would be more likely to take driving lessons in an electric car.
However, only one in seven surveyed by Gridserve and One Poll can find a local instructor with a battery-powered model.
And whether you can find an EV instructor is a matter of geographic luck.
Two in five (41 per cent) of students in London can locate one, while only one in 10 in Yorkshire or the east of England can do so.
The West Midlands also performed better than average, with 23 per cent able to take local electric vehicle driving lessons.
A coincidental WhatCar study? has reported a staggering 283 percent increase in the popularity of self-testing compared to a decade ago, and sees the transition to electric vehicles as playing a key role in this shift.
Electric vehicles are mainly promoted for their zero-emissions credentials, but relaxed driving is another big draw.
Technically, electric cars don’t have automatic gearboxes, but most people think of them as cars.
Instead, they are typically single-speed transmissions that provide instant acceleration without the need to cycle through multiple gear ratios.
Logically, many might think that learning to drive an electric vehicle is much easier than a manual car, just as it is easier to drive an automatic one.
However, driving test pass rates for automatic tests are lower than those for manual ones.
In fact, records from 2021/22 show that the average pass rate for an automated test was around 41.7 percent compared to an overall average success rate of 48.9 percent in the same period.
The trend towards automatic gearboxes becoming more common in all types of new cars may also be affecting students’ decisions, according to the report.
New car model range and sales data shows that only 24 per cent of new cars on sale are available with a manual gearbox and this figure is likely to rise over the next decade.
With this in mind, motorists are looking ahead to the 2035 ban on new petrol and diesel cars knowing that they will probably be driving a car without a manual gearbox in the not-too-distant future, if not immediately.
Electric cars and automatic cars are similar in that they do not require changing gears and that makes drawing very relaxing.
The old-school physical skill of shifting gears manually is likely to disappear as more and more new cars are introduced solely as automatics and electric vehicles continue to gain popularity.
It’s no surprise then that three in 10 new drivers (29 per cent) told Gridserve that there was no point in learning to drive manually when they would spend most of their life driving in an EV.
Nearly a quarter (24 percent) said they planned to celebrate the death by purchasing their first electric car.
What car? Consumer editor Claire Evans said: “The popularity of automatic gearboxes is partly due to manufacturing and engineering trends, as well as increasing demand for electric cars, which do not require gearboxes. traditional changes”.
And it’s clear that many young drivers don’t see the need to learn to drive with a manual, given that they are slowly being phased out.’
The desire to learn to drive an electric vehicle is stronger among younger drivers, who are thinking about a ban on new gasoline and diesel cars in 2035.
Younger, eco-conscious drivers are driving this desire to learn to drive an electric vehicle, with 40 percent of those aged 18 to 24 more likely to choose an instructor if they are offered lessons in an electric car.
But there is another problem that needs to be addressed and that is the low average pass rate of those learning in electric cars.
According to Gridserve, over the past five years, only one in 10 parents with children using L plates on electric vehicles saw their children pass by. And the same also happens with automatic cars with combustion engines.
While it should be easier to pass the test in an electric or automatic vehicle, there are actually more people who fail the exams because they receive fewer lessons and lack road safety awareness and experience on the road.
Students are lulled into a false sense of security because the speed at which they can learn in an automatic or electric car can be much faster than in a manual car.
Gone are the early learning lessons on clutch control and hill starting, so drivers need fewer lessons.
However, this is detrimental because students have not gained as much experience on the road or as much awareness of road safety, so the failure rate is higher.
With more than 70 percent of cars registered in 2023 automatically, there are likely to be calls to help address this approval rate issue.
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