Akey theme throughout this month’s issue is the accessibility of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the UK, a topic inspired by the recent launch of Osprey’s new charging hub, based just down the road from me in Brackley, Northamptonshire.
Not only does this provide me with a handy new charging spot outside one of my favourite pubs, the Paisley Pear, but it also marks an important step for the EV industry, as the site is Osprey’s first accessibly designed hub.
It was great to visit the site on its opening day and to speak to Ian Johnston, the CEO of Osprey Charging, about the network’s commitment to accessibility, and Osprey’s plans for the future. You can find out all about this by flicking to page 34 of this issue. You can even scan the QR code on the page to listen to the interview in full.
You’ll also be able to hear from Kate Tyrrell, the co-founder of ChargeSafe, who is our special interview guest for this month. Kate’s story will be an alltoo familiar one for our readers, and it is about time that the issue of safety, accessibility and usability is put under the microscope. Head to page 8 of this issue to read the full interview.
Elsewhere in this issue, we have an in-depth review of the final season of Formula E’s Gen2 era, which concluded in dramatic fashion on the streets of Seoul last month. Although I wasn’t able to attend as many races as I would have liked due to a variety of reasons, it was great to cover yet another incredible season of racing, and we’ll be back next season bringing you more behindthe-scenes content as the new Gen3 era gets underway. We’ll also be bringing you reviews of Everatti’s Series IIA Land Rover and the Cupra Born, as well as our ‘Top Ten’ feature which uncovers the fastest electric vehicles on the planet. Thank you for your continued support.
Through the innovative Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) pilot scheme, local authorities and industry will work together to create new, commercial EV charging infrastructure for residents, from faster on-street chargepoints to larger petrol station-style charging hubs.
The funding is expected to deliver over 1,000 public chargepoints across nine local authorities, including Durham, Nottinghamshire, and Suffolk.
The pilot is backed by £10 million of government funding shared among the winning local authorities in the first tranche of the planned
£450 million scheme, with winning pilot bids supported by an additional £9 million in private funding. A further £1.9 million will come from public funds across local authorities.
Decarbonisation Minister Trudy Harrison said: “We want to expand and grow our world-leading network of EV chargepoints, working closely with industry and local government, making it even easier for those without driveways to charge their electric vehicles and support the switch to cleaner travel.
“This scheme will help to level up electric vehicle infrastructure across the country, so that everyone can benefit from healthier neighbourhoods and cleaner air.”
The scheme will allow local authorities to provide feedback on how to grow the network and the role the private sector can play.
The new LEVI fund builds on the success of the On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS) which has seen nearly 2,900 chargepoints installed so far with funding provided for approaching 10,000 additional chargepoints in the future.
Following growing demand from local authorities, the Department for Transport is also announcing a further £10 million in funding which has been brought forward for this year, bringing this year’s ORCS funding to £30 million to help maintain ongoing installations.
More than 1,000 electric vehicle chargepoints are to be installed across the UK as part of a new £20 million government pilot.
With over half (58%) of the UK planning a staycation this holiday season, Omio revealed that Brighton is the most sustainable city in the UK to visit.
Claiming top spot on the list of the 30 most sustainable English cities, Brighton narrowly beat Newcastle which ranked in the top five for low pollution levels and the number of bike routes.
Milton Keynes and Hull were some of the cheapest places to get around, with the cheapest single bus fare tickets at just £1 compared to £2.40 in Nottingham, Wolverhampton and Walsall. After London, Nottingham and Coventry ranked top for the best set-up for electric cars, with the most charging points across the cities according to Zap-Map. Following London, Bristol has the highest number of cycle routes within five miles of the city centre.
The battery manufacturer intends to construct its new Gigafactory in two phases reaching full capacity as early as 2025. The first phase will produce advanced battery cells at scale by early 2023 for existing European customers. The second phase, potentially on the same site, will be capable of producing more than 40 million cells per year by 2025.
Representing an initial investment of $800m rising to $2bn by 2028 to support the fast growing Energy Storage market in Europe, the Gigafactory will create hundreds of direct and indirect jobs, transferring vital skills from Korean battery experts, as well as boosting the economy in this strategic sector crucial to achieving the Netherlands’ and Europe’s net zero ambitions.
Eurocell will produce ‘production ready’ technologies in just 12 months, far faster that other Gigafactories, using its proven battery product which is verified and validated for scaled-up manufacturing.
Eurocell, the Anglo-Korean battery company, is in advanced discussions to build its first European Gigafactory in the Netherlands.
Research from Omio compared all English cities and ranked them based on a number of factors including vegetarian and vegan food options, carsharing, low bus transport fares, low pollution levels and, of course, electric vehicle chargers.
The production car is expected to launch as the Polestar 6 electric performance roadster, with interested customers already able to reserve a car online.
The hard-top convertible will be built on Polestar’s bespoke bonded aluminium platform. Developed in-house, it will feature the high-performance, 800-Volt electric architecture already confirmed for Polestar 5. This includes output of up to 650 kW (884 hp) and 900 Nm from a dual motor powertrain, a targeted 0-100 km/h sprint time of 3,2 seconds and a top speed of 250 km/h.
Motability Operations has launched a series of pilots with Zap Map, Bonnet, Co Charger and other British startup businesses to help improve EV accessibility.
Electric mobility brand ZEEKR has broken two Guinness World Records for the fastest drift ever achieved by an electric car and the fastest electric car slalom.
Ford’s chief executive Jim Farley and executive chair Bill Ford told employees that a total of 3,000 salaried and contract jobs, mostly in North America and India, will be cut as the company looks to restructure its labour force.
In the email, Farley claimed that Ford’s cost structure is “is uncompetitive versus traditional and new competitors” and that it would be “reshaping virtually all aspects of
the way we have operated for more than a century.”
Farley had previously stated that the company had too many employees and that not enough of its workforce had the skills required to cope with the shift over to electric vehicles. The decision comes after Ford detailed its global EV targets last month, outlining its ambitions of an annual run rate of 600,000 electric vehicles by late 2023 and more than 2 million by the end of 2026.
Polestar has signed a multi-year agreement to supply battery and charging systems to Swedish electric boat company, Candela.
Kia has revealed details of the final intensive testing program undertaken by the Kia EV9 ahead of its world debut in 2023.
Polestar has confirmed plans to enter its electric roadster concept into production with the aim to launch it in 2026.
Ford is to axe 3,000 employees across North America and India as it looks to accelerate its shift towards electric vehicles.
As the co-founder and CEO of ChargeSafe, Kate and her team assess charging points all over the country and rank them based on their levels of safety and accessibility. Here, she outlines the mission of ChargeSafe and how CPO’s can make their networks safer.
I started driving an EV as part of my full-time position with myenergi, I had a company car as one of the perks. My role was events and relationships manager, so I was driving up and down the country all the time in an EV.
I was driving back from Grimsby to Portsmouth on a Friday evening. It was just before COP26 in Glasgow. I had a lot of things on my mind. I needed to get back to Portsmouth to pack, to drive back up to Glasgow and it was really late so I was driving along the A3 and came across a section of the road that had been shut off for roadworks which my navigational system hadn’t advised me on.
I was stuck in Farnham which is an area that’s unfamiliar to me. I don’t normally have to divert through there, I don’t know where I’m going and I was losing that excess mileage so I thought I should probably stop to charge, and in stopping to charge, I lost even more range because I was driving around looking for these chargers. It’s about 11pm, it was very dark and it was pretty abandoned. There was nobody there but some youths in a car. They were just chilling but it was enough to make me feel a bit vulnerable because it was quite late. I’ve got out to plug the car in and notice that there’s no contactless payment, so I would have to register via an app to use the charger, and the longer that I stood there just trying to work this out, the more vulnerable I felt. I’m stood outside of the car, it’s unlocked, I’ve got my keys, I’ve got my card and my phone on me and I just freaked out and thought no, there would be a better one. I jumped back in the
When a hairy charging experience left Kate Tyrrell searching for a safe and secure EV charger, she decided to take matters into her own hands.
car and found another charger around the corner at a supermarket, where I assumed they’re going to have good lighting, it will be more visible and I’ll feel safer. I drove into the car park and the supermarket is apparently very energy savvy as they had all their lights switched off, so that wasn’t a great start. The charger was located underneath a tree in the back end of the car park, and it wasn’t visible to the road, so if anybody drove on the road next to the charger, they just wouldn’t have seen me sitting there charging. To the right of that chargepoint, there was a dark alleyway - I don’t know who could be around and I was a bit shaken up and a bit scared by this so I jumped out the car again, tried to plug in and it didn’t initiate, so then I’m on the phone to the chargepoint operator in tears. They couldn’t get the charger to work, so I had to hang up and I ended up going to a petrol station nearby to use another charger, which also wasn’t working and away from the well-lit forecourt. The next charger was 24 miles away at a service station on the M3, and at this time I had 22 miles of range left. I had to drive along the M3 at 15mph on the hard shoulder with my hazards on and my partner was on the phone telling me exactly where I would find the charger at the service station, which was lucky because as you drive into the service station it’s not immediately obvious where they would be.
The next charger was 24 miles away at a service station on the M3, and at this time I had 22 miles range left. ” “
To get the absolute five star we would want it to be completely visible to any passing by vehicle or footfall, and so ideally it would be placed near a facility that has usable food and drink access with staff on it 24/7. Lights directly over the charge points themselves and lighting in the local area and leading up to the chargepoint. Security cameras en route so that you’re filmed driving towards the charger, as well as over the charger so that if something was to occur, you’ve got video footage of whatever happened. There would be clear signage leading up to the chargepoints, so you’re not playing hide and seek with it, and you know exactly where it is when you’re driving into the vicinity, and the road quality would be good, so you’re not going to go down a pothole and give yourself a flat tyre, meaning you can’t drive away from the chargepoint. Even late at night, at least a 24/7 security guard nearby, and so in the worst-case scenario, if you’re screaming, someone is going to help you, and that is the grim reality of the personal safety at chargepoints. Then, on the facility side of things, making sure that they’re accessible and that they’re clean and nicely staffed.
Starting a business is just a wild ride. At the time when ChargeSafe started. I had a job that I loved. I loved the business. I liked my boss. I loved the job. It was so good and then I was going to have to leave my job to pursue this job of making charging inclusive for everyone, and so that was difficult to accept.
We looked at what value we could bring to chargepoint network operators and in the very early days, during the first week of COP26 I put out a tweet saying, “hey everybody, what would make you feel safer at chargepoints” and it gained a lot of traction. It also caught the interest of Ian Johnston from Osprey, and he DM’d me and said he was watching this with interest. That was great - we already knew that at least one chargepoint network operator might be interested in something that we had to offer as a solution, which then made it a viable business. We’ve got Osprey signed up as our first chargepoint network subscriber, meaning that they get raw data on their sites and they can understand where to put their budget in order to make improvements on legacy sites and future sites, rather than splashing money on things that they might not necessarily have to pay out for. We have also just announced 3ti, a company that builds solar car parks. We’ve done an inspection on their ‘Papillio’ unit as it is right now which scored 4.09, and they’re going to make revisions to that unit using our recommendations to make it safer and accessible, and then when they release their second version come September, we will reinspect that unit. It’s really exciting to be involved with a CPO, but also someone who’s looking very much at the development stage.
This works in two different ways. We’ve got ChargeSafe Pro and ChargeSafe Flight. ChargeSafe Light will work using public inspectors, so the next time you’re at a charger, you could log into our online portal, register as a user and answer ten very simple, very quick questions about the environment which will give us an idea of what that looks like. If anything comes in at a three star or lower, that will red flag on our system as a priority for us to go out and do the pro inspection, which is 63 points. With ChargeSafe Pro, that’s where inspectors that we employ will be driving around the country full time, purely just to inspect these units, and that’s using the 63-point inspection that is designed to deliver a completely unbiased, independent score on how
the charge point is rated on the safety side of things. It’s much more of the qualitative type of data that we’re gathering. What’s the environment like? How would you rate it out of five stars? How good is the lighting? Then there are assessments that are much more quantitative - physical measurements that you’re taking with a tape measure. That side of things will be verified by third party at random. We will pull out inspections that our inspectors have done just to ensure it’s been done appropriately without bias. That will be contracted to a third party so a completely external function from us, just to ensure that we are doing exactly what we say we’re doing.
I’d really love to be a part of that process. We’ve spoken to OZEV about some bits and pieces and they’re really keen to have our feedback on some stuff and I really want to work with them, and I think collaboration is key in this industry. Let’s all work together. Let’s fix and produce solutions for the problems that we’re having. We all know as EV drivers that things could definitely be improved. What I say to anybody who’s looking to adopt the EV lifestyle is that the infrastructure will never be as bad as it is today. It’s improving every day. We’re putting more chargers in the ground every day. We’re being more conscious about where they’re going, and we’re looking at safety and accessibility every single day. It’s a really exciting time to be in the industry and as long as we go in there with an open mind and with a moral heart, integrity is really important here and to build a real, functional, sustainable future infrastructure.
For the rest of this year, I would like to have at least another two chargepoint network operators as formal clients and to start hiring inspectors. Ideally, I would like to have three inspectors by the end of the year so that we’re collecting as much information across the UK as possible, and I’d like them to be dotted all over the country and hopefully we would have inspected every single rapid charge point by the end of 2022. I think there’s 5000 currently. If we could get three full time inspectors, there’s no doubt in my mind that we would be able to achieve that and the application would be built and functional by the end of 2022 into 2023. We were already thinking about Europe. We’ve had calls with people and businesses in France and it would be really exciting to do that. We could just replicate this model and take it over to Europe. Long term, in ten years, it’s to just continually maintain that framework to be able to deliver updates to chargepoint network operators. As things change, by then everything will be safe and accessible and working beautifully, and by then our standards will be like an accreditation, so each network would be ChargeSafe certified on an annual basis rather than a month-by-month raw data release. The really important thing is to just roll with the punches and be adaptive and involved and not be stuck in one particular mindset about what we want to achieve, but big ambitions and completely fluid to which direction we lead in.
Have you had any conversations with government about improving the standards of public
To get the absolute five star we would want it to be completely visible to any passing by vehicle or footfall. ” “
A dramatic final weekend in Seoul signalled the end of Season 8, which also marked the end of Formula E’s ‘Gen2’ era. As the series prepares for a new generation of fully electric street racing next year, we take a look back over a season that delivered classic races, thrilling action and moments to remember forever.
Reigning Formula E World Champion Nyck de Vries began his title defence in the best possible way, as the Dutchman came out on top in Saudi, pipping teammate and pole-sitter Stoffel Vandoorne to the top spot in the first race of the season.
De Vries’ success in Diriyah would be one of only two wins in what was ultimately a disappointing season, finishing ninth overall in the Drivers’ Standings.
In the second race of the weekend, ROKiT Venturi’s Edoardo Mortara ignited a tense battle for the Championship that would stretch right until the final day. Mortara displayed great pace throughout a narrow street circuit and became an early title favourite.
It was a dream weekend for the Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team in Mexico City, as the team secured its first ever win in the series.
It was a maiden victory for Werhlein, too, who had qualified in pole position earlier in the day. Porsche executed their gameplay perfectly to engineer a one-two finish for Werhlein’s teammate, Lotterer, who pipped DS Techeetah’s Jean-Éric Vergne to second place.
It was redemption for Werhlein who had come agonisingly close to securing his first win in the series a year prior, also in Mexico for the Puebla E-Prix. It was undoubtedly an historic moment for Porsche, but there wouldn’t be too many other opportunities to celebrate throughout the weekend, as the manufacturer struggled to keep up with the leading pack of Mercedes EQ and ROKiT Venturi Racing.
Despite being unable to grab a place on the podium, a fifth-place finish was enough for Edoardo Mortara to retain his place at the top of the Drivers’ Standings, as the series prepared for the European leg of the season.
Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans enjoyed a perfect weekend in Rome, as the Kiwi secured back-to-back wins to catapult himself to the top of the Championship.
In Round 5, Evans climbed from ninth on the grid to bag his first win of the season, with Mercedes EQ’s Stoffel Vandoorne once again failing to capitalise on his pole position. A huge crash on the very first lap provided Evans with the perfect opportunity to jump up the order and ultimately to the front of the grid. Once he secured the position, he never showed any signs of letting it slip and eventually cantered to his first win of the season, finishing five seconds in front of second placed Robin Frijns.
If Saturday’s win was slightly fortuitous, then Evans’ win on the Sunday was simply down to strategy, as he executed his Attack Modes brilliantly, activating both of his extra power boosts at the very last opportunity to push his way to the front of the pack. A late Safety Car threatened to ruin all his hard work, but the Jaguar man remained calm and held off a late surge from DS Techeetah’s Jean-Éric Vergne to take the top spot on the podium.
Mercedes-EQ’s Stoffel Vandoorne raced to victory on the streets of Monaco to secure his first win of the season. The Belgian managed his energy perfectly throughout a stuttering Monaco E-Prix and emerged on the right side of a full-course yellow to get the better of Jaguar’s Mitch Evans, who was looking for his third win on the bounce following his pole position.
Vandoorne, who had come so close to winning a number of races this season, had to wait patiently to lead the race, eventually coming out in front after Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein was forced to retire due to technical issues.
Locked in a tense battle with Evans for a large portion of the race, Vandoorne kept his cool to lift himself to the top of the Drivers’ World Championship, ahead of DS Techeetah’s Jean-Éric Vergne who finished third.
Having failed to land a podium finish since his victory on the opening weekend, Mortara returned to winning ways as Season 8 headed to the iconic Tempelhof Airfield in Berlin.
As the season reached the halfway point, the victory came at the perfect time for the Swiss-Italian, as Evans and Vandoorne had begun to grab a hold of the championship. The weekend got off to the perfect start for Mortara as he grabbed his first ever FE pole position, a result that even surprised ROKiT Venturi team principle Jérôme d’Ambrosio. There were more surprises in qualifying, as Mahindra’s Alex Sims and DS Techeetah’s Jean-Éric Vergne setting the exact same time, down to a thousandth of a second. As Sims went first in the duels, he went through to the finals, much to the frustration of JEV.
During the race, Mortara adopted a similar strategy to Evans’ in Rome, using both of Attack Modes towards the end of the race in order to be able to hold on to his lead and claim his second win of the season.
In Round 8, Mortara landed a second Formula E pole position in as many days, but unlike the previous day, the ROKiT man was unable to turn that into a victory, as Mercedes’ Nyck de Vries enjoyed more success in Berlin, a city where he claimed his first Formula E World Championship.
Stoffel Vandoorne added another podium to his tally with a third-place finish, gaining ground on Jaguar’s Mitch Evans who could only muster a P5 and P10 across the weekend.
Mitch Evans bounced back from his disappointment in Berlin to win the first ever E-Prix in Indonesia. Evans managed the race, and the heat, brilliantly, saving his final Attack Mode of the race until the very last moment to snatch the win off Jean-Éric Vergne, who has still yet to win a race this season.
A dramatic, three-way battle in the last lap of the race saw Vergne apply a tonne of pressure to the New Zealander, a scuffle which allowed Mortara to close in. With Mortara all over the back of Vergne, the Frenchman aggressively defend his position instead of attacking Evans, and the trio finished the race in that order and within a second of each other.
While Vergne is still to win a race this season, this result saw him move closer to Championship leader Stoffel Vandoorne. Mitch Evans now sits in P3 behind Vergne, and Mortara in P4, with only 12 points separating the four drivers.
Venturi’s Edoardo Mortara continued a run of great form to claim his third win of the season in intense conditions in Marrakesh.
Mortara held off strong competition from the DS Techeetah pair of Jean-Éric Vergne and polesitter Antonio Felix da Costa to reignite his title fight. Having qualified in second place, Mortara kept constant pressure on Da Costa and timed his Attack
Mode’s well to eventually build a sizeable lead from the chasing pack. With the majority of the grid opting to use their extra power boosts early on, the race soon became a straight battle between the drivers.
The closing stages of the race soon boiled down to strategy, particularly for DS Techeetah. With Mortara leading the race, second placed Da Costa allowed teammate Vergne to pass through, meaning the Frenchman would take the championship lead if things stayed as they were.
However, in typical Formula E fashion, the landscape changed quickly and with only a few laps remaining, Vergne’s pace was unable to cope with Mortara’s, who had began to peel away. Da Costa was confident in catching the ROKiT man and urged his team to instruct Vergne to let him through. Vergne obliged and Da Costa put his foot down, closing the gap in front almost instantly.
Mortara held on, however, to claim a victory that lifted him to the top of the drivers’ standings, ahead of Jean-Éric Vergne who just finished outside the podium positions following a late surge from Evans.
Racing’s Nick Cassidy claimed his first ever Formula E victory in a chaotic New York E-Prix that was cut short due to rain.
As Cassidy battled with Lucas Di Grassi of ROKiT Venturi Racing and Mercedes EQ’s Stoffel Vandoorne, the Envision man remained cool and executed his Attack Mode strategies well to lead the pack for the majority of the race.
As the race entered its closing stages, it had been planesailing and relatively uneventful until a sudden downpour saw a number of cars skid, causing a multi-car pile-up. The puddle was placed directly on the braking zone of Turn 6 and caused leader Cassidy, di Grassi, Vandoorne, Mortara and a number of other drivers to fly straight on and into the barrier. The race was red flagged and after a lengthy delay, the decision was made from race control to end the race with just over seven minutes remaining on the clock. On countback, the results were taken as of the lap prior to the one in which the stoppage was called, as per article 41.9 of the regulations – meaning the victory was given to Cassidy, with di Grassi and Frijns rounding out the podium.
The events on Sunday were much more straightforward, as DS Techeetah’s Antonio Felix da Costa claimed his first win of the season as he led from start to finish in Round 12 on the streets of New York.
Starting from pole, Da Costa took his opportunity with both hands and cruised across the finish line. Stoffel Vandoorne of Mercedes EQ regains his position at the top of the drivers’ standings with a second place finish, jumping 11 points in front of Mortara who endured a disappointing weekend in the Big Apple.
Avalanche Andretti’s Jake Dennis led from start to finish in his home race as he made it two wins in two years at the London E-Prix. It was dominant victory from Dennis, who qualified in pole ahead of Mercedes’ Stoffel Vandoorne, to claim his and Avalanche Andretti’s first win of the season.
In Round 14, ROKiT Venturi’s Lucas Di Grassi spoilt the party for Jake Dennis as he secured the win in the final race of the London E-Prix double-header.
In the last race before the final weekend of the season, all eyes were on the championship leaders, with Jaguar’s Mitch Evans, ROKiT Venturi’s Edoardo Mortara and championship leader Stoffel Vandoorne of Mercedes EQ all qualifying outside of the top ten.
Vandoorne, Evans and Mortara had all began to surge up the field, with Evans eventually working his way up into fourth, helping to close the gap in the drivers’ standings to Vandoorne. However, as the race entered the closing stages, Evans’ car lost all power into Turn 12 and ran off track. Evans looked visibly dejected as Vandoorne’s fourth place finish put him almost out of reach in the championship.
Despite claiming yet another victory in the first round of the Seoul E-Prix double-header, Jaguar’s Mitch Evans was unable to prevent Mercedes EQ’s Stoffel Vandoorne claiming his first ever Formula E World Championship.
Evans pushed until the very last moment, and after setting up a title decider with his victory in Round 15, the Kiwi needed another win and for Vandoorne to finish eight or lower on the final day.
However, that outcome seemed almost impossible after Evans qualified in 13th, with Vandoorne in fourth. Although Evans battled his way up to seventh on the grid, Vandoorne crossed the line in second place behind Edoardo Mortara, comfortably wrapping up the Drivers’ Championship.
The win also sealed the Teams’ Championship for Mercedes EQ, with the German manufacturer claiming its second title in as many seasons.
Land Rovers are perhaps the most common vehicle to electrify, with a number of EV conversion companies trying their hand at transforming these classic off-roaders over to electric.
However, whilst many of these conversions see the Land Rover’s original engine replaced with the fastest possible electric motor, in order to achieve those headline 0-60 figures, Everrati’s approach is a little bit different.
Tucked away in a quiet corner of Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire, is a team of EV conversion specialists beavering away on all different types of electric classic cars. From fully electric Porsche 911’s to a frightening GT40 conversion, Everrati have built a reputation of converting cars in a way that retains the true identity of each and every vehicle, and the same approach has been taken with the Land Rover.
So how do you define a classic Land Rover Series IIA? According to Everrati, it is “a perfect combination of classic good looks and rugged capability, perfect for both urban and country environments alike.”
Although this 1960’s utilitarian vehicle has been made fit for the 21st century, Everrati’s approach means this vehicle stays true to its original self, and that begins with the design
An important step in the process of converting this car to electric is what Everrati calls “fortifying the fundamentals.” Everrati has intentionally left the design of this car alone, and instead, the process begins with stripping it down, removing all the bodywork and adding a protective zinc coating to prevent future corrosion.
All the traditional elements remain; the colour, the headlights, the grille. All the tiny details that make a Land Rover a Land Rover are still here, but they have been polished and accentuated to make it as good as new. In fact, the only giveaway that this is an electric Land Rover, is the subtle and discreet charging port, which is still hidden behind the original fuel cap.
It is more of the same on the inside, with the perfect blend between premium materials and a rustic sense of nostalgia.
The furnishings are fitted with a rich, brown leather, and the benches in the back are too, which complete the warm, wooden interior. Up front, it is more of a ‘nuts and bolts’ vibe, with a cold metal dash which features all the original gauges and dials, which have been upgraded for range and charging. The switches for the wipers are still reminiscent of the Land Rover’s original era, and there are other cute details such as the traditional ‘high and low range’ plate next to the huge, wooden steering wheel.
Other modern touches include heated seats, navigation and air conditioning, but this car is fully customizable so depending on your budget and whether you can supply a donor car or not, this car can be exactly how you want it to be.
Replacing this Land Rover’s dirty old, gas guzzling engine is a brandnew EV powertrain, designed by Everrati.
The state-of-the-art 60kWh battery pack gives this Land Rover 150bhp and 300Nm of torque, which completely transforms the nature of this car. It will also offer you a range of up to 125 miles or there abouts, so it is pretty much suited to the real world, particularly with its combined AC and DC Fast charging.
The performance of the Land Rover has been improved with a 0-60mph time of 13 seconds, which is ten seconds faster than the original, but this conversion is much more than just speed.
This is still a classic off-roader, designed and built for ruggedness and dependability. This Land Rover easily copes with any form of terrain and feels indestructible, just like any Landy should. However, thanks to its electric powertrain, it also means you can drive this in and around town comfortably, and also in ultra and zero emission zones.
It may be electric, but you will not enjoy all the benefits of an electric vehicle. In any other EV, the level of noise would be unacceptable, and it does bounce and rattle constantly. However, it is a Land Rover, and that all contributes to the charm and the warming sense of familiarity that you get whilst behind the wheel of this car. You do not expect a smooth, silent driving experience; instead, you welcome the bumps and shakes because that is what you expect from a Land Rover.
The Land Rover features both 2WD and 4WD configurations, as well as the high and low range settings, too, so you can drag every ounce of performance out of this car to tackle any environment.
There is so much legacy and heritage with Land Rover’s that converting a classic such of this is always going to raise a few eyebrows and bring on comments of “sacrilege.” However, as I said at the start of this review, this project is so much more of an EV-party piece.
Everrati has taken a holistic approach to this conversion. The team, headed by co-founder Justin Lunny, has considered the true identity of this vehicle and ensured that the core DNA of the Land Rover is present throughout. From the untouched exterior, the plush interior and driving experience that is still reminiscent of being behind the wheel of an original 1960’s model, this is the most authentic Land Rover conversion you are likely to find.
Yes, it’s a Land Rover. Yes, it’s electric. But once you’re behind the wheel, as far as I’m concerned, this is just another classic Land Rover.
From afar, you might mistake the Cupra Born for the Volkswagen ID.3. However, up close, you will notice that this small, electric hot hatch offers a lot more Spanish flair and exuberance than its plain, German counterpart.
Although there are similarities, the Cupra Born is billed as the sportier version to the ID.3, offering a more distinctive design and an improved driving experience – But is that actually the case?
The 77kWh V3 Born is the most expensive model in the lineup, starting from £41,975. Standard models, which feature a 55kWh battery, start from just under £35,000 and offer an official range of up to 259 miles.
There is not a significant drop-off in range and performance between the different models, so in our mind, it makes sense to go with the most cost-efficient entry-level models. Especially when, in order to make room for the extra battery in the back on the 77kWh version, you will lose your middle seat in the back.
If we take the entry level model of the Cupra Born, which is priced from £34,660, and compare it to the standard VW ID.3 at £35,505, then it seems to make a bit of sense to go with the Cupra. Other versions of the ID.3 may offer you more range, but if you’re willing to compromise on that, you can enjoy a better driving experience, a better design and still save yourself a little bit of money.
Once again, it’s pretty much identical to the ID.3 (shock!)
The interior features a 12” infotainment screen which replaces all the usual buttons that would control air conditioning, driving modes and other regular features. The system works well and doesn’t suffer from any annoying lagging issues that plagued early models of the ID.3. It also supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto so you’ll be able to sync your phone up easily and use that operating system over the built in VW one if you’d prefer.
There is also a very small – and very basic –drivers display which is mounted to the back of your steering wheel, which will give you only a few details such as speed and range. Thankfully, this is coupled with a heads-up display which is projected onto the road which also tells you your speed as well as a handy little lane-assist function.
In terms of all the furnishings, it does feel like a bit of an upgrade on the ID.3. Suede suits give the interior a premium touch, and the rest of the car is coated in other luxurious materials. Just like the exterior, there are small hints of copper detailing which bring a welcomed sense of colour to the inside of this car.
It is a small car, so headroom and legroom isn’t the best, particularly if you’re well over six foot.
There is no transmission tunnel, however, so you can stretch your legs out to the side if needs be. There is 385L of storage space in the boot but disappointingly, there is no front storage space, so your charging cables will have to go underneath all your shopping!
There is just one setting for regenerative braking in the Cupra Born, but, even with that activated, it feels pretty non-existent. You can trigger the regen braking by flicking the drive selector into ‘B’ mode and it will gradually start to slow you down, but it is not enough to rely on for one pedal driving, unfortunately.
For an electric car, it is also quite noisy when you’re behind the wheel. There is a noticeable amount of wind and road noise, and at low speeds, the whirring from the battery is clear and obvious. If you’re looking for that true, silent electric vehicle driving experience, then there are much more quieter cars out there.
There’s so much to like about the Cupra Born. For an ordinary, everyday electric car, the Born delivers a level of performance that can draw a smile onto your face whether you’re sprinting up country lanes or just popping to the shops. There is no compromise on range or practicality, either.
It may not be worlds away from the Volkswagen ID.3, in terms of range, styling and price, but for me, I would take the Cupra Born every single day of the week.
...you can enjoy a better driving experience, a better design and still save yourself a little bit of money. ”
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Above all else, electric vehicles are synonymous for one thing: Neck-snapping acceleration. Even in your regular, everyday electric vehicle, you have massive amounts of torque with just the tiniest squeeze of the throttle, meaning you can leave pretty much any car for dust off the line. But which ones are the fastest?
Strap yourself in and check out this list of the top ten fastest electric vehicles in the world!
FAST FACTS Torque: 600NM 0-60: 2.5 seconds Price: $77,400 (£61,744)
Top Speed: 168mph Horsepower: 1,006bhp
FAST FACTS Torque: 720NM 0-60: 2.5 seconds Price: £109,990 TESLA MODEL X PLAID LUCID AIR Top Speed: 235mph Horsepower: 1,065bhp
it also boasts 1,006bhp and 420NM torque. The Model X Plaid is easily the fastest SUV in production, with a top speed of 168mph achieving a quarter mile time of under ten seconds. Simply frightening for a car of this size. Lucid Air is combined with a twin motor configuration which produces 1065bhp and 0-60mph time of 2.5 seconds. As well as this, it will also offer a range of 520-miles and fast charging capabilities of up to 300kW, making this American EV fit for the new era of electric vehicles.
One of the more unfamiliar entries on this list. The Faraday Future FF91 is a Chinese electric saloon that was unveiled all the way back in 2017, and despite it earning a place as one of the fastest EVs in the world, the future of the FF91 is in doubt, with Faraday claiming it is in desperate need of funding
to produce the Future FF91. Fingers crossed that we will see the FF91, though, as it offers a stupendous 0-60mph time of just 2.2 seconds, with 1035bhp for good measure. However, with the company supposedly needing $200 million to start production of the FF91, we might not be seeing this anytime soon.
This particular Tesla model is potentially one of the most talked about electric cars in the world, mainly due to its ‘ludicrous’ mode. It has done the rounds on social media, and whilst EV owners may get annoyed when their family and friends keep asking if your Renault Zoe has a ludicrous
mode, it is still something to get excited about. With that mode enabled, the Model S Plaid can shoot from 0-60mph in 1.99 seconds, and it’ll keep going until you top out at 216mph. A car that looks like your everyday electric vehicle just knocking out 216mph? Now that is genuinely ludicrous.
You know a car is special when a former F1 World Champion is the very first customer and last month, Nico Rosberg took delivery of the very first production Rimac Nevera, the fully-electric hypercar engineered by Croatian automotive manufacturer Rimac Automobili. Even for a Formula One champion, this Nevera will be more than a handful, as it outperforms Rosberg’s title-winning
Mercedes F1 W07 in certain areas. The W07 produced 900bhp compared to the Rimac’s 1,914bhp. The Nevera’s top speed also blows the W07’s out of the water, too, at 258mph compared to 220mph. The Rimac is officially the world’s fastest accelerating car, with the Nevera setting a ¼-mile in a production car world record time of 8.582 seconds. I’d buckle up if I were you, Nico.
Naturally, the cost of living crisis has tightened many people’s budgets, so our role as a finance provider is to help consumers with these affordability issues, which is why we continue to develop propositions to assist customers make the transition to electric cars. ”
Data from VWFS’ online EV-4-Me quiz, designed for consumers to discover how an EV would fit into their lifestyle, found that drivers can expect average annual running costs of £722 when behind the wheel of an electric vehicle.
This is £1,933 cheaper than a comparable petrol car (£2,655 annual cost) and a substantial £1,636 less expensive than a diesel car (£2,358 annual cost). These yearly running costs incorporate fuel, servicing and Vehicle Excise Duty and equate to monthly savings of £160 and £136 for petrol and diesel drivers respectively.
These insights are particularly pertinent when we consider that average petrol prices are at 176.88p per litre, while diesel currently costs 187.42p per litre.
Research from the Volkswagen Financial Services UK insights team found that affordability remains the top issue for would-be EV drivers, with 38% saying they cannot afford an EV, although 72% would make the switch if money wasn’t an issue.
When looking solely at fuel costs, data from VWFS | Fleet’s fuel cost comparator illustrates that EV drivers using a home (7kW) charger can save £804 in annual fuel costs versus driving a petrol car, and £671 in savings compared with driving
REMAINS THE TOP ISSUE FOR WOULDBE EV DRIVERS, WITH 38% SAYING THEY CANNOT AFFORD AN EV, ALTHOUGH 72% WOULD MAKE THE SWITCH IF MONEY WASN’T AN ISSUE. ”
around cost, range and charging are proving to be less of an issue as EV technology continues to evolve at pace. Manufacturers and retailers have a greater duty than ever before to help educate consumers that the overall cost of an EV is not as big a barrier as once perceived, and in fact can be cheaper than most comparable petrol or diesel models.
“Naturally, the cost of living crisis has tightened many people’s budgets, so our role as a finance provider is to help consumers with these affordability issues, which is why
a diesel. These figures are based on driving 10,000 miles annually in a CUPRA Born.
Mike Todd, CEO at Volkswagen Financial Services UK, said: “The case for making the switch to electric is getting stronger all the time and some of the anxieties that drivers may have
we continue to develop propositions to assist customers make the transition to electric cars. Practical tools like our EV-4-Me quiz are great ways of showcasing the savings that can be made by embracing greener and sustainable travel.”
Electric vehicles can cost around a quarter of the price to run as petrol and diesel cars, according to Volkswagen Financial Services UK.CEO at Volkswagen Financial Services UK
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...AFFORDABILITY
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One of Osprey’s most recent electric vehicle charging hubs, located outside the Paisley Pear pub in Brackley, Northamptonshire, could well be its most significant.
This new EV charging site is Osprey’s first accessibly designed charging hub, and not only does it offer drivers’ eight 150kW fast chargers, but it has been tailored to cater for the needs of disabled users whilst also prioritising safety.
As well as strengthening the partnership between Osprey and pub chain Marston’s, the hub also marks an important step for the electric vehicle industry, as the importance of safety and accessibility shifts sharply into focus.
Speaking on the Everything EV Podcast, Ian Johnston, the CEO of Osprey Charging, outlined the network’s commitment to accessibility and
inclusivity: “We’ve always had a core purpose to be the most open network we can be. Accessibility is integral to that. You can’t deliver a site like this with great accessibility without the buy-in from your host, because it does require more space and a lot more flexibility within the site. This is a design we are rolling out on all of our sites now, but we are taking these elements into our smaller, compact sites too.”
Osprey’s site is the highest rated charging site in the UK, according to industry body ChargeSafe. With its mission to inspect and assess charging points all over the UK, ChargeSafe scored Osprey’s Paisley Pear site 4.46/5, based off the regulators 63-point checklist which reviews all aspects of accessibility, safety and usability.
“There are some very specific elements which go into that, but if you get one of them wrong, it will render the site completely inaccessible to many
drivers,” Johnston explained. “Firstly, it’s about the space we’re giving people, so for drivers that have mobility aids, you need to give them the space to be able to get out the vehicle and to move round the vehicle. The second thing is approaching the charger; so, what you can’t have is chargepoints where there’s a step or a curb that prevents you using the chargepoint. You then move into the choice of hardware; at Osprey, we’re very particular in the chargepoints that we use, because we care so much about the user experience. It’s about the screen height, the payment device and critically, the cable management system as well. We’ve got this amazing, futuristic system, but the most important part is the fact that you can move this cable around with just a single hand.”
Moving forward, Johnston explained that his and Osprey’s mission is to accelerate the rollout of accessible charging hubs in the UK, to help push forward the nation’s transition over to electric vehicles.
“This is the first of three hubs we’re launching in the next ten days. We have another 19 in construction today. The plan is that the network, which is around 320 chargers today, we hope to be around 650 by year end, and 1,200 by the end of next year. We just keep doubling the size of the network with more and more hubs and continue to improve the experience that drivers are having in the UK, to help that transition to electric vehicles. That’s the plan and that’s what we’re going to do.”
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