⚫️ 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐓𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐲𝐫𝐞𝐬

ELECTRIC vehicles have a 40 per cent higher MoT tyre failure rate than petrol cars because they are heavier, analysis has revealed.

The Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) also found that the overall MoT failure rate for newer EVs from all causes is marginally greater than for petrol vehicles. The report, based on 2021 data, is the latest to highlight the impact electric vehicles are having due to their weight.

Last month, the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA) warned that EVs could exacerbate the pothole crisis on residential roads, while guidance has been drawn up to ensure that car parks cope with the weight of increased EV use.

The IMI said that its research found EVs failed "more on dangerous items" than petrol vehicles, picking out tyres as the main culprit.

Steve Nash, chief executive of the IMI, said: "Most electrics are electric versions of petrol and diesel, so they are relatively heavy, and going to wear tyres more."

The EVs included in the 2021 testing were on average 25 per cent heavier than their petrol counterparts, largely because their batteries can weigh around 500kg. 

𝐓𝐀𝐗𝐈 𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐒 𝐄𝐗𝐓𝐑𝐀 𝐁𝐈𝐓: 

What is it that Coventry Cabbies know that London Cabbies don’t?

Coventry cabbies buy just 26 electric taxis after £1.2million spent on city's charging points

Just 26 cab-drivers bought electric taxis in Coventry in the two years after a £1.2 million investment in rapid charging points. Thirty-nine of the charging stations - necessary for electric taxis out on a busy day were installed in the city between 2018 and 2020.

Funding for the charging points came from the government's Ultra-Low Emission Taxi Scheme, set up in 2015 with £20 million available for local authorities to bid on. 

But as of 2023 there are still more charging points than e-taxis driving around to use them, according to the council.

Figures on uptake of the vehicles in Coventry were revealed in papers for the council's Communities and Neighbourhoods Scrutiny Board, which met on Thursday (31 March). At the meeting, councillor John Mutton told the group that the switch to electric taxis is too costly for drivers he has spoken to.

Another problem that these EV cars are causing by their extra weight, is a proliferation of broken manhole covers and pot holes.

Of course councils are not admitting to the culprit being heavier vehicles and are claiming that the problems are a result of extreme weather conditions caused by the climate crisis. 

They won’t use the terms global warming or climate change anymore, the catchphrase now is Climate Crisis.

Source: Telegraph and Coventry Telegraph Live.