Making the switch

Find out more about how much an electric vehicle costs in our detailed guide, available here.

When ordering your vehicle, you can add the electric charger option to your rental. Not all properties are suitable for an electric charger installation, but this is something our suppliers can advise on.

Wherever possible, our supliers will install an untethered unit (where you plug into it with the car cable, rather than one with a cable hard wired in). They'll give technical support, service and warranty for three years, and they can control your unit remotely if something goes wrong with it. This charger will be yours to own and you can get more help with apps allowing you to monitor your usage and costs. The unit can be mounted either indoors or outside.

EVs need less maintenance as the engine has fewer moving parts and no exhaust or gears. You also won’t need to change the oil, and the brakes should wear less thanks to regenerative braking.

It's best to consider how much daily driving you do. Factor in your commute, your weekend errands and any other aspect of your life that you may need a vehicle for like a school run. Check our online EV readiness tool.

There are four types of chargers in the UK - slow, fast, rapid and ultra-rapid and they're measured in KiloWatts (kW).

If charging with a domestic three-pin power socket or 3kw charger, it will take around 12 hours.

With a 7kW fast charger at home or at a supermarket, it takes around three to four hours.

A rapid AC/DC charger at motorway services, will go from 20% to 80% charged in approximately 30 minutes. Just remember some fast chargers are more expensive than standard charging stations.

This depends on the model you have, but right now, on an average electric car, the range is between 100-300 miles. Factors such as your driving style, speed, topography and weather can also have an impact.

Right now, the Tesla Model S and Mercedes EQS have the longest range out of all EVs available in the UK - boasting 405 miles and 453 miles respectively.

As battery technology improves, we can expect the range across all EVs to get better.

The automotive industry is heavily regulated, ensuring all products are safe, and electric cars are expected to meet the same stringent regulations as their non-EV counterparts.

Batteries are kept well-protected in a crash resistant structure at a low point in the car a good distance from any potential impact areas. If an accident occurs, EVs have safety systems that can isolate the battery, preventing overheating.

There are several different types of sockets used in the UK. What you have will be loosely based on the manufacturer:

Type 2 - is the standard for European and Asian vehicles from 2018 onwards and can charge at a level of up to 43kW.

CCS - widely used in Europe, this is a version of type 2 connector with two additional power contacts. It allows very fast charging. The socket is always combined with either a type 2 or 1 socket

CHAdeMO - mainly used in older vehicles and the Nissan Leaf and the Mitsubishi Outlander.

Tesla uses its own Tesla connector standard although adapters are available.

Once you know what types of chargepoint your vehicle can use, it will help you filter by charger type when planning your route.

This varies depending on which network you charge with and how fast the charger delivers the electric (normally if it's faster it will tend to be more expensive. Changes in energy supply costs recently will also mean the costs are likely to change regularly.

Contact your broker for a full list of the latest available models. To find the contact details for your broker, log in to My LeasePlan

There are many benefits to going electric.

• 1.
  1.

  Cheaper to run - compared to petrol/diesel, including maintainence and vehicle tax costs. In some places, EV drivers can use bus lanes during bus operation hours, making journeys more efficient.

• 2.
  2.

  Enter clean air zones - with major cities establishing clean zones, EV drivers can still drive through major hubs without the standard time restrictions or costs other have (as long as they are registered).

• 3.
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  Enjoy a more comfortable ride - with instant accelaration and a quiet engine.

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  Kinder to the environment - they don't pollute and so don't release toxic gases into the air.