The electric opportunity:
HOW WE STOP THE NEXT PETROL PANIC IN ITS TRACKS?
Attributed to Lisa Conibear, Zoomo UK & EU Regional Director
T
he societal impact of the petrol shortage in the UK has been staggering and has seemingly impacted people in all walks of life. Consumers can’t fill up their car to take their kids to school, shop owners are waiting on critical supplies and delivery workers whose petrol car or moped lays dormant are seeing orders stack up and income lost. At the same time, electric car owners in the UK are feeling an overwhelming sense of validation as chaos continues
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to play out at petrol stations across the country amid shortages and panic buying. Analysis of Google search data revealed that online searches for ‘electric cars’ in the UK were up 1,600% over the weekend, and it makes sense. Electric cars are a great long-term alternative to petrol-based vehicles, and they’re crucial in helping to build more sustainable cities. But the sole focus on electric cars as the answer to the petrol crisis is reductive. Such a narrow focus will also slow down the race to zero emissions. As Mike Granoff, managing
partner at Maniv Mobility, a leading early stage automotive sector VC, has said: “Electrification is about more than cars.” This couldn’t be more true. If we all hopped back onto our Google search history, backspaced ‘cars’ and added ‘bikes’, we’d find an exciting and practical answer awaiting us. This is because the nature of mobility, especially in big cities, is fundamentally changing. We now have to consider not only the type of engine we use, but also whether it is practical to use a 2-tonne vehicle to transport an 80kg human just 2km through a metropolitan area.