| C1 ev'ie: one of only three electric cars. |
Company and family drivers consulting Britain's first online guide in the hope of finding an environmentally-friendly electric vehicle face a choice of only three.
The online Electric Car Buyers' Guide, launched on Wednesday 16 June 2010, features a total of ten pure electric vehicles available to buy and drive away today, but six are so-called quadricycles like the well-known G-Wiz, while only three have four seats or more. Electric quadricycles or ‘micro cars’ are generally two-seaters with a relatively low top speed so are best-suited to city driving. However, they are the most commonly bought and affordable of the electric vehicles currently with prices starting under £10,000.
Three choices
Drivers who need to carry more than one passenger are limited to the following electric cars:
- Electric city car: Citroen’s C1 ev'ie is a five-seater city car with a 60mph top speed, which costs from £20,800.
- Electric family car: The eBipper from Peugeot is a small MPV and costs £39,950.
- Electric large car: The eExpert Tepee also from Peugeot has eight seats, a range of 100miles and a top speed of 70mph. It costs £54,550.
| Nissan Leaf: first mass-produced electric car. |
Director at the Environmental Transport Association, Andrew Davis told ModernSelling.com: ‘The electric vehicles on sale today are expensive compared to their petrol and diesel counterparts, but they offer a tantalising glimpse of the green cars we may be driving in the coming years.’
The Electric Car Buyers' Guide is hopeful that the number of vehicles it is able to list will double over the next year. The Nissan Leaf promises to be the world's first mass-produced electric car when it goes on sale later this year and other electric cars due for launch include the Mitsubishi i-Miev, the Chevrolet Volt and the Tesla Saloon.
The guide includes background information such as the environmental impact of electric vehicles and details on how to claim a £5,000 government grant against the cost of a new electric car.
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