{"id":521878,"date":"2025-10-23T09:54:17","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T09:54:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/521878\/"},"modified":"2025-10-23T09:54:17","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T09:54:17","slug":"is-manchester-ready-for-an-electric-car-revolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/521878\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Manchester ready for an electric car revolution?"},"content":{"rendered":"

– Advertisement –\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

There are 170,000 cars in Manchester<\/a> for 551,000 people. And one day soon, the vast majority will be electric.<\/p>\n

Last year, a fifth of all new cars sold were all-electric. On average, electric models are still more expensive than petrol or diesel cars, but some EVs are now cheaper than their fossil fuel counterparts.<\/p>\n

Is Manchester ready for an EV revolution? <\/p>\n

The electric revolution promises quieter streets and cleaner air. But it also presents problems.<\/p>\n

EVs are usually much heavier than traditional combustion engine cars, making them more dangerous if they hit a pedestrian or cyclist.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re so heavy that they can break kerbstones down faster, due to the weight of the batteries pressing down for extended periods of time when parked.<\/p>\n

Where are all of Manchester\u2019s EV chargers?<\/p>\n

\"ElectricIs Manchester ready for an Electric Car revolution?<\/p>\n

But the big issue Manchester Town Hall <\/a>is now grappling with is how residents will be able to charge thousands of battery-powered cars.<\/p>\n

While some have driveways where they can install a home-charger, \u2018very few\u2019 Mancunian homes have off-street parking.<\/p>\n

In London, this is sometimes solved by installing chargers inside lamp-posts. But that\u2019s not considered viable in Manchester as only 3pc of the city\u2019s lamp-posts sit on the \u2018kerb\u2019 side of the road to house EV chargers.<\/p>\n

It means owners need to charge their car at a public charger nearby, or drape a cable across the pavement.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a problem on Nicolas Road in Chorlton<\/a>, according to local councillor Tina Kirwin-McGinley.<\/p>\n

Dangerous car charging techniques <\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are hanging leads over trees,\u201d she told a council environment scrutiny meeting last week (7th October). \u201cThe lead is not on the pavement, so it\u2019s not a trip hazard, but I am sure it cannot be very safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leafy and lined with classic redbrick terraces and semis, Nicolas Road\u2019s proximity to well-rated Oswald Road Primary School and parks means it\u2019s easy to see why well-off Mancs want to raise a family here.<\/p>\n

Semis regularly sell for more than half a million pounds, and plenty of its inhabitants work in professional fields.<\/p>\n

Many EV owners here joined the electric revolution with a company car. Mum Lauren Beebe is one.<\/p>\n

She seems to like her hybrid Mercedes, but hasn\u2019t forked out the \u00a3800 for a home charger, because she hasn\u2019t got a driveway.<\/p>\n

\u201cUntil I know how much charge I need versus how much it is for petrol, I will not shell out for an \u00a3800 charger at home,\u201d explained Lauren, a national sales manager for a paint company.<\/p>\n

\u201cI cover the whole UK, so if I go fully electric to get a free charger [at home], I would still mean I am out on the road charging.\u201d<\/p>\n

Does car charging take too long at the moment?<\/p>\n

She\u2019s worried that being fully-electric will mean taking meetings from service stations while she re-charges, which she says takes too long at the moment. And when you have to regularly drive from Dorset for work, like Lauren does, that\u2019s \u2018a barrier to going fully electric\u2019.<\/p>\n

Sarah Phillips, a 39-year-old actuary, has had an electric car for years. Before she moved to her home with a driveway and home charger, she had to drag a cable over the pavement for her hybrid.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t ideal, but you could get a cover over it,\u201d she explained. Another option was going to the then-free-to-use public charger on Oswald Road, a two-minute walk away.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was great,\u201d she added, but admitted that since it now costs to charge, her family wouldn\u2019t have gone electric unless they could charge on a driveway at home.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s happy they waited: \u201cIt\u2019s great. I\u2019ve had no issues. It works really well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Husband-and-wife Steve and Jenny Lee have an all-electric Hyundai through his work in the chemical industry. He has to work in the office five days a week, giving him an ideal opportunity to charge the car.<\/p>\n

That explains why the duo didn\u2019t fork out the \u00a31,000-plus quoted for a home charger.<\/p>\n

But despite the relative plain sailing, Jenny said she wouldn\u2019t make the switch.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I were buying a new car now, I would not buy electric,\u201d she explained. \u201cWe went to London [last weekend] and got to a service, and all the chargers were full.<\/p>\n

\u201cCharging availability has got better, but the ones at the services are expensive.<\/p>\n

\u201cFactoring in more time [for journeys] means you have to take a break. That\u2019s a positive, but not if you\u2019re commuting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lauren, Sarah, Jenny, and Steve are at the forefront of the electric revolution, solving charging problems as they come up. But councillors are \u2018really concerned\u2019 about how authorities will solve those issues on a city-wide scale.<\/p>\n

The challenge of finding EV chargers <\/p>\n

\u201cI do think we need a proper systemic way of meeting all of these safety things,\u201d said Coun Mandie Shilton-Godwin.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe question of enabling people to walk on the pavement is so important. [We have] 170,000 cars, and very few people have their own off-street parking.<\/p>\n

\u201cFinding off-street charging is really challenging. Are we going to talk about people being unable to drive their cars because they cannot charge them?\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking for a car charger in Manchester? See a full map here<\/a><\/p>\n

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