F THE NAY-SAYERS EVs are heading in the right direction

The Sun’s tinpot headline of ‘Drivers ditch electric cars in droves to return to petrol vehicles due to lack of charging stations’ drew quite a response from the EV industry, and rightly so. The article in question was in reference to SMMT figures which reported smaller growth in new car registrations compared to last January. Whilst there may be some issues with public charging, EV drivers are not ‘ditching’ their vehicles and returning to gas-guzzling alternatives. In fact, figures from a Zap-Map survey of more than 4,000 EV drivers found that less than 2% would make the switch back to an ICE vehicle, with driver satisfaction at 89% compared to the 71% for petrol and diesel. Even if you want to forget the stats, I’ve never met an electric vehicle driver that would want to swap back.

Electric vehicle sales are booming, and just this month we had the announcement that the Department for Transport is pledging £56 million to grow the UK’s public charging network. The industry is not perfect – far from it, in fact – but this constant, futile taletelling doesn’t achieve anything, and this lazy journalism just has to stop. Forget the nay-sayers; electric vehicles are the future of mobility, whether shoddy tabloids believe to accept it or not.

Right, rant over, let’s see what’s in this month’s issue, shall we?

Our cover story for this issue is a full, eight-page showcase of the Audi activesphere concept. The new design is the German manufacturer’s final installment of its ‘sphere’ concept series, and with a stunning design and a whole host of innovative features, we have rightly slapped this incredible EV on our front cover. Find out everything you need to know about it on page 19.

We also have an in-depth interview with some of the key figures from myenergi, one of the fastest growing companies in the UK. Having recently launched our sister title ‘Electric Home’, this feature gives an interesting look into how the world of sustainable living is influencing electric vehicle charging. Head over to page 7 for our six-page interview feature.

Elsewhere, we have our usual electric motorsport coverage, with a preview of Season 3 of Extreme E which gets underway later this month. We also have some exclusive data from Leasin.com in our ‘EV Report’ segment on page 17, and we have our regular columns and opinion pieces for you, too.

At the start of this month, I was able to take a little bit of time off for a nice trip to New York. I’d never been to the Big Apple before, and despite walking 85,000 steps over four days (and eating a similar amount of calories), the trip was relatively peaceful and relaxing. I was able to switch off for a few days, however, I came crashing back down to earth as soon as I returned home as I saw that the shameless EV-bashing brigade reared its ugly head once again.