Leeds to London in an Electric Car: Still Not Enough EV Chargers in 2024?

[@steve-zschannel2729]

Nice, concise and to the point, well done Martin 👍

[@AndyJHiscock]

I rarely charge in service areas. When the battery is about 20% I just ask android where my nearest Instavolt or Ospray chargers are. You'll find about 5 miles off the motorway are empty rapids in pub car parks, Maccy Ds, Costa coffee areas, theirs loads. I think I can count on one hand how many times I've had to queue last year and it can't me fore than 5 minutes.

[@timoliver8940]

I’ve been the owner of a Mini Cooper S E for almost 3 years and as it’s PCP was nearing its end i’ve changed cars and 10 days ago took delivery of the new Mini Countryman S E Sport L3 so with a much bigger battery and will be starting to try some road trips - 1st one is planned for the end of May Bank holiday weekend with a trip from Glasgow to Harrogate and back. I have never needed to charge on public chargers before so really taking the bull by the horns and venturing 220 miles each way on mostly motorway on a Bank Holiday weekend so I’m hoping it all goes smoothly with no queuing!

[@stuartburns8657]

God have mercy and we salute your bravery

[@stephenhopwood9787]

Please can we see a similar test but going cross country, not down motorways. I make regular trips from Norwich to Bath, via Bicester. A roads all the way and no services as such. What are the options?

[@ianrob4760]

I firmly believe that the availability issue is over, I have never had an issue as long as you plan of course. the real issue is now price of course and we need disrupters Tesla are starting with the rollout of of anyone who can use them but the big players here are Gridserve IMHO.

[@FFVoyager]

The change since I got my EV (3 years ago) is astonishing. In my experience it's still worth avoiding chargers at service areas at mealtimes on holiday weekends - but that's not really surprising.

[@ianrob4760]

@@FFVoyager ah but remeber if you look away from them chargers in towns etc which will be free

[@FFVoyager]

@@ianrob4760 often they will be.

[@johnnyhollis9977]

That's with the tiny amount of EV's currently on our roads that probably also have home charge points. What will things be like when millions of cars are all chasing 30 minutes to charge their vehicles. Tesla owners started getting annoyed when their exclusive charging stations started to open up to any old EV capable of using them!

[@ianrob4760]

@@johnnyhollis9977 you will have even more chargers maybe, just as a thought ? Go outside of the motorways and loads oof places for them. Tesla drivers have tons to use on the old V3 but Tesla are also an energy company and see a market to exploit with the rest of us. Especially as Tesla have lost their USP and are stalling in developments.

[@pqvid]

Thank you, very reassuring for all who still doubt.. Especially the speed at which they build out. It's really no comparison - a decent service station requires maybe 1-2 years for all the works, alone the cement enclosure to protect from all the gas and oils spills... A charging station can be built in 1-2 months, the main works being a high-voltage connectivity and then some cabling in the ground. You can also remove a charging station with zero impact. After a gas station the place will still require lots of checks for increased pollution etc. I don't mind living next to a charging station. I would rather not live next to a gas station though...

[@MarkHewitt1978]

Nice video. It's remarkable how far the charging landscape has changed just in the past couple of years. The first charge I ever did was in my PHEV at Blyth services where there was one AC charger and one DC charger. Just look at it now!

[@Jaw0lf]

It was interesting to watch you drive along these roads at the beginning as I live in the area above Newark. There are also Tesla chargers if you head in towards the town centre, 2 or 3 at Starbucks North of the A1 exit and a bunch of EV Power across the road, but they have been awaiting grid connection. So Newark charging has really picked up. I recently stopped at Grantham and was surprised to see how many EV chargers were available! Peterborough was where I charged at the same charger you were using, after pushing my Kia E Niro and suddenly losing some range, so arrived with 1% charge. Too close so now I stop if near 20% when near chargers! Great video and now subscribed!

[@stewartburnett7303]

Just planning a trip from Manchester to Scotland, last time was May 2023. Wow, so many new chargers, M6/M74 used to need a bit of planning. Lots of new Gridserve and Applegreen and the occasional Swarco seem to have fixed that. Couple of points; 1. The older Gridserve chargers are cheaper, so if you've got a bit of time on your hands save a few £'s. 2. I've noticed that chargers get very busy at lunch time (12:00-13:30) so if you can manage an early or late lunch stop - I'm planning to get to a charger around 11am on the way north.

[@richardpiper4828]

Martin, just for your information an alternative to the MSA at Peterborough is a Starbucks site on the opposite side of the junction with 2 InstaVolts. I tend to avoid the MSA as Ionity are expensive and the Gridserve rapids are the old models with two cables running off one stall. Fine if you are the only EV hooked up but if some bowls up after you it will cut your charging speed especially if their state of charge is lower than yours. Good to hear that Birchanger now have a proper bank of rapids because this is the only MSA on the M11 and the last place to charge before getting into London without having to divert.

[@clarkwgriswold157]

I’ve got a Zoe. Had it for 2 months and have covered 3000 miles. Very few issues with public charging. I thought I’d have to meticulously plan longer journeys but that really hasn’t been the case. I look at Zap Maps near my destination but that’s about it. A great and very easy introduction to EV’s. Thanks for the video Martin.

[@petermallinson1168]

Thank you for a very informative video. I too travel the A1 often, and usually change once at my destination.

[@thumper1747]

Hi Martin, I remember reading a Chris Harris article in Autocar back in the late 90s when drove from London to Scotland on A roads. He likened the experience to driving many years before motorways. It’s all about the journey not the destination 👍

[@rusty911s2]

Excellent as ever: very interesting, well presented and super useful. Thank yoi!

[@Kylo_Renifer]

Martin, What make and model is the electric Audi to the left of frame at 8:46 in the video? I don't think I have seen one here in the U.S.

[@foppo100]

I've had our E.V now for just over a month.I started to drive when I was 18 now 75 time does fly.Dropped my daughter of today we all had a great day watching a crazy film called super juice.Vey busy on the roads lots of traffic.My misses likes her rock music on, so who am i to argue.These cars are so relaxing to drive and the take off speed is something special.Iam getting used to driving the car now I would struggle go back to a combustion contrapcion.

[@bobble1476]

can you do a video on cost of chargers and speed is it cheaper to do a slower charge at a reduced rate or a higher charge for a faster charge

[@FinnJolly-ey7ew]

Such a refreshing video , good pacing and data.

[@alslad]

I did a Leeds to London trip in my MG5 in February. Decided the M1 route was better than the A1 in terms of chargers at the time/distance i would be wanting to take a break. Single half hour charge/comfort stop at same location near Daventry. Hassle free

[@geoffersvoiceofreason2534]

You realise though, that all those ‘15 year old diesel drivers who can go 800 miles on a tank’, always drive non stop!

[@alslad]

@@geoffersvoiceofreason2534 yes very macho to do a througher and risk their lives and others. I owned diesels exclusively for nearly 30 years and never did more than 2.5 hours without a stop regardless of what the tank gave me

[@fyank1]

I live in Cheshire and do a regular trip to Bournemouth. Don’t charge en route so charging network en route is irrelevant. Recently travelled back from Ayr and again no requirement for en route charging. Not a problem.

[@Lewis_Standing]

It's a weird gap on the M1. A1 links Leeds and London too and has plenty.

[@maygarland6123]

i drove that road in my i3 3+ years ago and if i didnt have a rex it would have been a nightmare what a difference! amazing :) thanks

[@nathanpitman6842]

Have just done a 300 mile journey in my i3s and although there are chargers at motorway service stations there are woefully less than required.

[@norriaty]

On paper an EV works brilliantly for me and would save me a huge amount of money on fuel as I do about 100 - 125 miles a day. However, despite some great deals on used vehicles I was really panicking about purchasing one because of all the horror stories and negative comments I have been reading online. Big mistake! I purchased a CUPRA Born a couple of months ago and it is the easiest car to live with! I doubt I’d ever go back to ICE. My wife has an ICE car which we’d planned to use on long journeys but we love the EV so much we decided to take it from Yorkshire to Cambridge on Good Friday to see how easy it would be to charge. No problem whatsoever and we needed to stop for just 25 mins (at the same Peterborough charger in this vid!). I’d definitely recommend using the fall in used prices as an opportunity to jump into an EV.

[@michaeldawson6309]

The i3 is so practical even in 2024. Great value too. p.s Have you relocated from London yet?

[@grahamf695]

Thanks Martin for a great video - presented in a very unemotional and factual way, which is what we need. Just to mention that I am on the Intelligent Octopus tariff, so overnight I am paying only 7.5p per kWh - roughly 2p per mile in my i4.

[@MyMateYourMate]

Very useful - and gives a clear message. Thank you.

[@peteglass3496]

The A1 route has probably been one of the leaders, while the M1 has a way to go although even that is improving and has a Gridserve forecourt just beginning construction up north.

[@timrothwell33]

That's a really great video. We have been to most of those charging stations as we quite often travel Essex to Lancashire/Lancashire to Essex and Essex to N Yorkshire/N Yorkshire to Essex

[@harrycummings6501]

Great video Martin, I wish things were as simple and good crossing the Country on the M62.

[@melcragg7814]

Beautifully crisp video quality

[@DrDave_63395]

Was your trip from Leeds (title) or Newcastle (video) to London. Starting with the charge at Ferrybridge it could be either. That said thanks for making this video to show the generally good availability of chargers at least on the A1M.

[@wiselyauto]

Castleford to be exact, which is a couple of miles out of Leeds. The reason why we mentioned Newcastle is because it's the whole of A1(M) which we complete often and the similarly good availability of chargers counties all the way until Newcastle.

[@DrDave_63395]

@@wiselyauto thanks. Glad to know there is a good supply of chargers all the way up to Newcastle. I’m going that way in our Ariya mid May and was planning on using the Ferrybridge services.

[@oliver90owner]

Did you forget the Superchargers,open to all, at Cambridge?

[@Rexbilly9819]

Need to reduce the VAT on public charging from 20% to 5% to match home charging. Public charging needs to be less than 45p KWh to match the cost per mile of fueling a diesel ICE car.

[@mistymu8154]

I disagree with the criticism of Shell and BP. Lately, I've noticed many Shell and BP forecourts adding 4 to 6 ultra-rapid chargers, with BP often including MFG charge points. BP Pulse even built a large hub at the NEC, and Shell has introduced an electric-only forecourt. While it's understandable that the EV community is sceptical of traditional fossil fuel companies, we should acknowledge their efforts when they invest in EV infrastructure. Recently, I completed a 500-mile round trip in a single day with zero issues and no queuing, and just a few days before that, a 1,100-mile round trip to Northern Ireland-again with no issues or queuing. I didn’t do any special planning for either journey, mostly relying on the built-in sat nav in my ID.3. At one point, I even ignored its suggestion because my passenger wanted to stop early at Reading Services, where there’s a good selection of Gridserve and Tesla V4 Superchargers (open to non-Tesla vehicles). The experience is definitely getting easier as more motorway services are adding larger charging hubs. I think it would be even better if vehicle manufacturers improved their navigation systems to be more like Tesla’s, or partnered with Google or Apple to integrate their maps with the car and charging network.

[@Madonsteamrailways]

And where do I charge my Zoe on a regular basis? I have three charging stations on my patch!! One is Tesco at Brookfield, two are BP Pulse. I normally use the one at M&S Food in Hoddesdon.

[@The_Silversurfer]

A great vlog Martin. Very use charging information. If you are looking for a ev especially a i3. These guys are very professional and more importantly very knowledgeable of i3 cars. Recently brought a car from them. Buy with confidence

[@wiselyauto]

Thanks for the kind words and doing business with us! 🙏

[@Madonsteamrailways]

And another at South Mimms Services. That’s a very nice place to stop and put more electricity into the car!! I use it quite a bit.

[@EricTheBlue61]

Excellent video as usual Martin. Most of my long trips are up and down the M4 and by comparison with the A1 it's rather less well served. BTW If you'd stayed on the A1 until South Mimms they've recently installed (I think) 10 new Applegreen units to add to the ones they had before and there's an absolute forest of new Tesla chargers waiting to be switched on. Soon they won't have room left in the car park for ICE vehicles!

[@bitmanev4331]

Nice red Fisker Ocean 🤩

[@Flatfoot45]

An ICE driver (but keen to change) this its all very reassuring. I've noticed also the number of supermarkets (with cafes) near me that are taking an increasing role wit ten or more chargers. Excellent video, thanks.

[@stuartburns8657]

2 x fully paidoff diesel owner doing less than 5000 miles in both vehicles yearly. Neither keen to change nor does it make financial sense

[@andrewwaller5913]

Stick with your diesel.

[@stuartburns8657]

@@andrewwaller5913 Will be doing until 2027-28 i hope

[@fenegroni]

Great video very informative balanced and concise

[@kemokems]

Another great and informative video, thanks!

[@CandycaneBeyond]

😢 my 2014 doesn't connect to the BMW app. Fortunately most chargers have an app and it will have to do.

[@stephenclay6852]

Not enough chargers between London and Leeds. Blimey what are you driving. I would need one charge to get me there and back in my Kia Ev6 setting of from London on a 100 % battery. I know the A1 is not the best route for chargers but soon to get a new grid serve charging hub by the end of the year but there are plenty on or just of the M1.

[@rogerphelps9939]

Same for my Enyaq IV80

[@johnnyhollis9977]

Main routes are dribbling out a few more chargers for the few amount of EV users on the roads at the moment which is good news. However, if the ratio of ICE and EV was reversed I wonder how many chargers would be needed and how much power would be needed to supply all of them at an acceptable rate. Make the most of the chargers that are available to the few now because in a few years the situation will start to change. I am not against the technology but I prefer to wait and see how this pans out!

[@geoffersvoiceofreason2534]

138% increase in new hubs (6 or more chargers), 55 new hub locations, 55% increase in Rapid charger installations. In the last three months alone! There are 32,323 charging locations in the U.K., 90,423 connectors. That is, I would suggest, hardly “Dribbling out a few more chargers “.

[@johnnyhollis9977]

@@geoffersvoiceofreason2534 The amounts of chargers being rolled out is still pitifully poor to the theoretical amount of EV users that will require them. I have just 2 charge points in my area because I do not live on a main route. They are hardly ever used and yet there are thousands of older properties that are not capable of having home chargers let alone street chargers. Charging stations need to be rolled out in their thousands annually just to stand a chance of this working. Making some charge stations exclusive to one brand only is madness. The payment system needs to be sorted out too and that at least seems to be happening. People don't want to have loads of charging apps that may or may not work. This needs to be sorted out to attract customers to buying an EV. My friend who is a veteran EV user never takes his on long journeys and hires an ICE car. I will wait for a few more years to see how this goes!

[@geoffersvoiceofreason2534]

@@johnnyhollis9977 I think we will have to agree to disagree on the definition of “pitifully poor”. I don’t think the installation of 19,096 rapid or ultra rapid chargers in a year (March 2023-March2024) is pitiful. And those numbers do not include Tesla points which are not open to all. So, “thousands of charging stations” are being “rolled out annually “! Only Tesla have restrictions on who can use their chargers and even they are opening many of them up to all now. I do have 8 apps on my phone but in over twelve months I have never used them. It is now law, in the U.K , that all new chargers accept contactless payment. The reliability of the units is also mandated now. I don’t know what model your friend has. Does it have a smaller battery? My car has a 64KWh battery and I do 190 mile trips regularly, no problem. No need to charge on route. (I do give it 20 minutes or so because I am stopping anyway for a ‘comfort break’.) If you have no availability to have a home or street charger, don’t buy an EV yet, simples.

[@johnnyhollis9977]

@@geoffersvoiceofreason2534 I am sure that things will work out one way or the other. Charging for the masses may still be a problem when one takes into account how many vehicles go through service stations in 30 minutes on a busy day. My friend has a large top end Volvo, only a year old. To be fair his business trips do take him to some remote parts of Scotland where timing for business meetings are crucial. Planning for recharge stops is just another complication that he tries to avoid! I live in a village in a fairly remote part of the UK and we only have one tiny charging point for 2 cars within 12 miles! I do have a large garage and drive that could easily accommodate a home charger. Having said that the power grid would need upgrading to accommodate the additional power requirements. I will wait and see how things develop a bit more!!! 😉👍

[@karimbenallal4454]

I have the 28kwh Hyundai ioniq. 130 miles to a charge on a good day. I've driven from south west Wales to Edinburgh no issues. The price of public charging Is crazy expensive and I hope the prices will come down next year or I will be going back to an ICE car as it's cheaper to run as I use public charging most of the time

[@jonathanfarmer7109]

Electroverse - Never leave home without it

[@gileshalliwell3591]

This is good news because, though I love the Tesla, I don’t love where it is made and do want my next EV to be European or U.S. made… Great video, so useful and informative as always!

[@c4715]

You said the Starbucks instavolts where all reliable and zapmap showed they were all out of service 😂

[@jjolla6391]

interesting that there are now so many charging stations - acres and acres of bays - seems like a waste of paved concrete, wiring, and real-estate costs. Just imagine when % of EVs on the road rises from 17% to 100% ..

[@foppo100]

The batteries will improve like combustion engines did.The range will be minimal 400 miles and destination charging will be the norm.Many of those chargers on motorway charging way over the top will be gone.There will be no need to have them.

[@jjolla6391]

@@foppo100 it doesnt matter how far batteres improve. in order to fully charge 400+miles in a few minutes would require hugely thick cables that need to also be cooled as they charge. there is a fundamental limit of how many electrons can travel along a copper wire below a temperature threshold.

[@pmbpmb5416]

How is the insurance on these vehicles ?

[@michaeldawson6309]

Mine is £279 and I am 63 with 4 years NC earned after a company car.

[@justice4g]

I'm looking at buying a 2017 but it doesn't have the 4G module so would be losing all connecteddrive services soon, should that be a deal breaker?

[@martyndavies1482]

It'll revert to 2G services, so slow as heck but not losing the service.

[@justice4g]

@@martyndavies1482 unfortunately 2G already shut down in my counry

[@martyndavies1482]

@@justice4g Ah, was UK-centric thinking. That does suck. Probably won't be the last car to suffer from an obsolescence issue.

[@Rajesh-mc2py]

Awesome 😎

[@mollyfilms]

That all great, but come down to Devon and Cornwall. Well you can possibly get here but you won’t leave! Nothing charging wise

[@geoffersvoiceofreason2534]

Just made a quick count on ZapMap and found 141 Rapid charging points in Devon and Cornwall! Started to count the number of sites with 4 or more units, got to 33 before I gave up and I hadn’t finished with Cornwall. By the looks of it Devon is even better off. Hardly accurate to say “Nothing charging wise”. Really, is it?

[@colintwyning9614]

I have travellled to devon and cornwall 4 times in 3 years everytime it gets better. Huge Gridserve at exeter for eg. and charge at destination, even if its only 13 amp plug.I am back in London. You cannot compare the A1M with Cornwall.

[@djtaylorutube]

Been there done that, no issue. What's your personal experience with charging?

[@johnharvey1786]

The East side of Devon and Cornwall seems to have improved a lot recently but just have a look at the West side. The area around Bude is very poorly served. There are similar poorly served areas in North Norfolk. It’s these holiday destinations that need EV charging as well as commuter routes. Similarly the area around Ely, in Cambridgeshire is poorly served. It’s getting better but still a way to go in some areas.

[@jeclark]

Took a 2 week holiday in an EV in Cornwall last summer including Lizard, Penzance, Land’s End, St Ives, Port Isaac, Tintagel and many other places, starting and ending in Kent. Had no trouble getting charged as needed and there have been lots more chargers installed since.

[@prjackson7802]

Great video

[@Madonsteamrailways]

If you’re driving an early BMW electric car, I very nearly had one. It’s nowhere near as good to park as my current Zoe for parking.

[@nikscha]

Lisi says she wants the hoodie

[@MarcDebenham]

Why wouldn't you just go M1 from Leeds as significantly better route

[@XkannsenX]

I have the exact same model, but I have a lot more wind noise, like whistling, on highway. Any trick to minimize it ?

[@nigellucas560]

Martin, well done. You’ve made a great and convincing point on U.K. charging. So many argue the other way.

[@Dggb2345]

Same thing in Texas

[@andrewwaller5913]

Fuel is almost free in Texas 😂

[@whocares264]

who needs public chargers when you drive a bmw i3 rex

[@tonypate9174]

...BOOSTER CUSHION ..Asap please to man with chunky clunky watch sat in car park ....Bless him

[@patrickh7368]

79p KWh 😮

[@robertowen6499]

Look at the number of non EV cars currently on our roads.If all of those cars were EVs today there would not be sufficient charge points to cope.In five years time (if vehicle numbers increase at the same rate as the last five years)there will definitely not be an adequate charging infrastructure in the United Kingdom.This video concentrates on one of our busiest routes .I live in Wales where the majority of the country is rural and charging infrastructure is still virtually non existent. Probably true of many other parts of the United Kingdom. We do not even have mobile telephone signal reception across much of our landmass yet .You need to be more realistic and honest about the lack of impetus behind the EV charging roll out . Targets will have to be revised downward drastically soon and that is the reality.

[@dopiaza2006]

How on earth can they justify 79p/kwh? Charger operators wil be buying in bulk so will be able to buy electricity cheaper than households. They must be making a fortune by ripping us off.

[@dayoadeosun1520]

Hi, good video. EVs have there place but in my opinion, they are only good for city drive. This journey in my Prius phev (uncharged traction battery) would cost me £19.30 and i won't need to pay for Mcdonalds.

[@paulbuckingham15]

That's just your opinion though.

[@rogerphelps9939]

The Prious is just more Toyota greenwashing. Seems you have never driven a proper EV.

[@dayoadeosun1520]

​@rogerphelps9939 lol, seems that you are hurt by the truth, that a phev would get the job done cheaper. Toyota Prius is no greenwashing but EVs are the not what they seem. So far, I have driven a modelY, EQA and ID4. I wouldn't use my money to buy an EV but would rather buy another phev like a Rav4 phev. EVs are overpriced, cost more to insurance, they depreciate faster than HEV/phevs. More expensive than ICE/hybrids to run them on public chargers. The list continues.

[@stuartburns8657]

Until all non Tesla manufacturers work on a similar Tesla-esq charging network, and or the limited access they allow is intervrsted into car satnavs Im nit bothering. And no I dont want a Tesla

[@rogerphelps9939]

All new Rapid chargers must provide a contactless payment option. I would like it to be made illegal to charge more for contactless payment than using one of what appears to be hundreds of apps. Apps and accounts were OK when Tesla started out but now they should be consigned to the dustbin of history.

[@bobble1476]

yay im the first lol😁😁😁

[@chrishanslip6443]

To much faffing about.

[@geoffersvoiceofreason2534]

What faffing? 15 seconds either end of charge. A lot less faff than going to a petrol pump.

[@solentbum]

@@geoffersvoiceofreason2534 And no need for gloves, unlike a smelly diesel pump.

[@andrewwaller5913]

Buy a diesel. Problem solved.

[@nathansmith7153]

Try buying the right EV for your use case