Is the electric car revolution running out of juice?

We’re in the middle of a perfect storm for electric cars this week. Not only has a planned electric car battery factory in the North East gone bust, but rocketing energy prices mean the cost of charging has soared.

Additionally, provision of charging points isn’t keeping pace with demand, and a glut of Teslas has prompted the firm to slash prices by up to £9,100.

And all the while ministers have decreed that the sale of new pure petrol and diesel cars is to be outlawed by 2030 (just seven years away), with only fully electric cars to be sold from 2035.

This week, the Britishvolt battery company, which planned to build a factory in Northumberland, has collapsed into administration.

Why does this matter? Well, as countries around the world switch to electric cars, demand for them is increasing. So if a nation like the UK is to build more electric cars, it needs around six or seven car manufacturing plants to supply one million vehicles.

Currently the battery plant supplying Nissan’s Sunderland factory is the only one in the UK. Without more plants, firms will have to import batteries, which may not be economically viable, and could lead to closures of car plants in the UK.

The UK is Europe’s second biggest market after Germany and ahead of France.

But the car industry is international and all nations will be pushing hard for electric cars, of which there is a limited supply.

Source of data and images: dailymail