Motoring

One in every eight new cars is electric. Mainstream and more affordable, there is more to the EV experience than just cheaper running costs

Most people who

Motoring News now drive an EV have made the switch from fuel because they see going electric as a money-saving investment. And who can blame them? The benefits can be compared to solar panel installations or going to university. While the initial cost can be intimidating, it can be easily justified by the long-term savings.

Not only are EVs cleaner environmentally they come with an array of individual and business tax incentives.

• Fully electric cars don’t require a road fund licence, making them free to tax.

• Hybrid cars are liable to vehicle tax as they still emit CO2 – savings will depend on levels of emissions.

If you are fortunate enough to have a company car, it is highly recommended that you request an electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle.

As well as leaving a much smaller carbon footprint, the Niro EV model would cost the employee £27.79, this is around 90 percent less per month than the Niro Hybrid which costs £286.26. The reason? The BIK is much lower for electric vehicles due to the difference in CO2 emissions. Additionally, compare these statistics to similarly priced petrol and diesel models, with similar P11Ds, and the difference is crystal clear

For example, the Hyundai IONIQ comes with a hybrid or electric engine. The range of the electric model is 193 miles (310.6 km), at the cost of circa 3p per mile to charge. A full charge could cost around £6.37*, depending on where the vehicle is charged.

Conversely, the hybrid version can achieve 62.8 miles (101.07 km) per gallon. A petrol car’s range is naturally longer than its EV counterpart - however, say we only intend to go

193 miles (310.6 km). We averaged £1.80* for a litre of petrol, converted to gallons gives us £8.17 per gallon. At these rates, it would cost about £25.10 to fuel this vehicle.

The cost of refuelling the EV is 74.62 percent less than that of the hybrid engine. Although these figures may not be 100 percent accurate, it is undeniable that EVs save you money.

*Energy and fuel prices were estimated at the time of writing and are subject to change.

Concerned about the electric range not being enough? Use Rivervale’s mileage calculator.

The cost of maintaining an EV is far smaller than its petrol and diesel counterparts.

Electric vehicles have significantly fewer moving parts, leading to a reduction in wear and tear. For example, due to how electric engines function, an EV will start to slow down quicker than a petrol car when the accelerator is not being pressed. This reduces the amount of stress placed on the brake pads - reducing the amount of wear that they receive over time.

Although some previous government EV incentives were revoked in June 2022, efforts continue to tackle some key barriers to achieving a successful EV transition.

The aims are:

• For at least 50% — and as many as 70 percent — of new car sales to be ultralow emission by 2030, alongside up to 40 percent of new vans

• To enable the massive roll-out of infrastructure to support the electric vehicle revolution • To set the stage for the biggest technology advancement to hit UK roads since the invention of the combustion engine

The UK has benefitted from improved charging Infrastructure. The Government has pushed for a £20 million cash injection to boost the number of on-street electric vehicle charge points in towns and cities across the UK. This, in turn, will create more access to charge so you can charge your EV near home or at work. But that is not all. Consider the various other charging locations, such as supermarkets and car parks that offer free charging, and you are flying!

In addition to these benefits, you don’t have to pay for parking while using a street car charger – a real plus if you begrudge paying the ever-rising parking charges. Oh, and don’t forget, these charge-parking spaces are reserved exclusively for EVs!

Fast charging has ‘rapidly’ improved - thanks to a rapidly expanding network of charge points. By the end of 2020, there were 20,964 devices. It is now up to 33,281 devices (August 2022), 57.1 percent of which host fast chargers and 18.3 percent rapid chargers.

Imagine this... Your electric Hyundai IONIQ 5 is on 10 percent battery (about 30 miles). You drive to the local supermarket for a quick food shop, plug a rapid charger into your car and return 18 minutes later to find your car is at 80 percent battery (about 240 miles or 386.24 km of range).

Convenient and cheap! In addition, Hyundai says that IONIQ 5 users only need to charge the vehicle for five minutes to get 100 km of range. This is quickly becoming industry standard and certainly alleviates any potential need for range anxiety. However, if you can only use a fast charger, a more affordable car such as the Nissan Juke can perform a fast charge from 20 percent to 80 percent in 60 minutes.

Home chargers provided added benefits. Installing of a home charging point adds value to any property with a drive or private parking - especially once the 2030 petrol and diesel car ban is implemented. Great news for homeowners.

With the introduction of clean air zones in major cities now in full effect, it may be worth considering the switch and EV to avoid being charged. Clean air zones are designed to reduce carbon emissions within certain areas, predominantly dense cities. Drivers will be charged based on the CO2 output of their vehicle when driving in these zones. This is to incentivise more sustainable methods of transport, such as cycling, public transport and, of course, electric vehicles.

Fully electric or hydrogen-powered vehicles are automatically exempt, as they don’t produce any exhaust emissions. Driving a non-exempt car through the London Ultra Low Emission Zone twice a week for a year would run up a cost of £1,248!

Finally, an extra benefit of EVs is that they often include the latest safety technology, letting you drive in style and comfort on longer journeys. Along with this, EVs are exclusively automatic vehicles, making the drive smoother. All the more reason to make the switch!

Get in touch with Rivervale on 01273433480 to discuss EV leasing.

At a time when 66 per cent of British adults say the cost of living has risen for them in just the past month, rising energy prices are now a growing worry for more and more households. Of those who have been impacted by rising prices, 79 per cent blame hikes in gas and electricity bills.

The first thing to remember is that energy price caps are set by government regulator Ofgem. It aims to ensure fair pricing for gas and electricity. New Prime Minister Liz Truss has announced that UK households will now pay up to an average £2,500 a year on their energy bill. Currently, no provider is offering

any cheaper deals - so there is no way Motoring News around higher bills. We believe this will have an impact on drivers.

We can’t ignore the fact that EV charging costs will increase. However, charging your EV will still be considerably cheaper than filling your car with fuel. Petrol and diesel prices

are also at an eight-year price high. The cost of unleaded petrol in August 2021 was £1.35.4. In 2022 it averaged £1.86 per litre - a 27.4 percent increase.

The differentiation is highlighted in this example - the Hyundai IONIQ EV has a range of 193 miles (310.6 km) and currently has a cost of circa 3p per mile to charge. If you add the October 80 per cent energy price increase to this figure, it will increase to 54p per mile. A full charge could cost around *£10.42. In contrast, a similarly priced hatchback, the BMW 1 Series (petrol engine) gets 49.6 miles per gallon. If you wanted to fill this up from empty to achieve 193 miles, at an average fuel cost of *£1.86, then it would cost around *£32.86. So, even with an upcoming price hike, an EV is still much cheaper to run.

*The energy and fuel prices estimated at the time of writing, are subject to change.

EV drivers can also benefit from charging EVs at home or a private business. This is because they pay 5 percent VAT, rather than the 20 percent operator margin for charging at public points.

And, of course, this money saving is only one of the benefits of going electric. Soon the government will rule out the sale of new petrol or diesel vehicles, so the cheaper costs are incentivising people to get ahead of the curve and make the switch now.

If you are worried about the upfront cost of an EV, why not consider leasing? It is often the cheapest way to get behind the wheel of a new electric car. With typically lower fixed monthly payments than other forms of finance, such as PCP, leasing makes more unaffordable cars affordable. It also allows you to cycle through new vehicles as they appear on the market. Naturally, over time, these cars will also be more economical with energy consumption, have larger batteries and even faster charging times.

Contact Rivervale on 01273433480 to discuss EV leasing.

The perfect opportunity for the Chamber to celebrate the local business community’s achievements, to take stock of the outstanding performances of UK businesses,and to encourage and inspire others to follow in their footsteps.

This year we had an overwhelming number of entrants as well as nominations for businesses across all sectors and across the county. Recognising and rewarding excellence in British business, the national Chamber Awards is one of the UK’s most contested and prestigious business award programmes. Each year, organisations of all sizes and from all sectors compete for the coveted titles. Firstly, Chamber members can enter the Sussex Chamber Business Awards (Sussex being one of 53 Accredited Chambers in the UK), which then leads onto the Regional Chamber Awards (12 regions covering the Chamber network). Then, finally, eight winners from each category are announced at the National Awards leading to one overall winner.

We were delighted to celebrate the Chamber News achievements at our inaugural Sussex Chamber Business Awards evening which took place at the beautiful Buxted Park. The hotel kindly sponsored the welcome sparkling reception drinks to kick off the evening. Following a tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Patron to the British Chambers of Commerce, to honour and celebrate her unwavering service, the evening commenced with entertainment from the one and only Perry McCarthy, an exFormula One driver, bestselling author and world famous as the original ‘secret’ racing driver from BBC’s Top Gear – ‘The Stig’. We paid tribute and recognised the incredible achievements by business at the Sussex Chamber Business Awards 2022, which this year had eight categories. A huge thank you to all of our sponsors that made the evening possible.

The Community Champion Award - an organisation that facilitates, participates and enables community engagement, demonstrating the power of giving back.

The Equality Trailblazer Award - an organisation that champions diversity and promotes inclusion in their workforce, their customers and any community outreach work.

The Game Changer Award - an individual who has transformed an idea into a successful, sustainable business by understanding their market’s key challenges, customers and the competitive landscape.

The Global Player Award - a business

that has demonstrated significant and sustained international growth through a clear understanding of overseas markets, proving that borders are not a barrier to trade.

The Planet Saver Award - for organisations with sustainability at the heart of their business. They are fully committed to sustainable best practice and making the world a better and safer place.

The Problem Solver Award - a business that has transformed the market that they operate in or their product or service in order to gain a strong position in their market.

The Rapid Riser Award - an organisation that can demonstrate exceptional levels of growth with a strong plan for sustainable financial performance.

The Workforce Developer Award - a business that has shown how their approach to the learning and development of their team has enhanced their business performance.

The winners from all categories were put forward to the British Chambers - Regional Chamber Awards. It was fantastic to hear 5 out of the 8 Sussex Chamber Business Awards Winners had gone on to win the Regional Chamber Awards! Absolutely amazing.

Businesses are the backbone and driving force of the UK economy. Even in the face of uncertain times, they continue to show their resilience and strength, creating opportunities for employment, investment and growth.

All the best of luck to the Regional Winners as they face the next stage of the National Chamber Awards 2022. The UK’s most contested and prestigious business awards programme.

Being a Sussex Chamber member is a fantastic way of growing your brand.

By Ana Christie, Chief Executive, Sussex Chamber of Commerce.

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Imogen Pelham started an eight-week internship at Brighton Chamber in July. Here, we ask her some questions about the time she spent at the Chamber and discover what she learned, what were her highlights and, importantly, what’s next.

My internship at Brighton Chamber has been in Digital Marketing and Content. Day to day, this has involved lots of contentbased tasks - like writing posts for social media, uploading and managing content on the Chamber website, and working on blogs.

I’ve worked hybrid from both at home and in the office, like the rest of the team do. I’ve helped out at events, worked on membership projects, produced Net Zero content and social media posts, as well as sharing topical information with members and lots of things in-between!

As this role has been my first ‘professional’ job, working from an office and working on a laptop, I’ve learnt a lot of new skills!

I’ve worked in events before, having attended Glastonbury festival with crew every year since I was eight. Now I pack my summers full of voluntary positions at different festivals with Oxfam. Networking and working alongside the Chamber team has exposed me to different sorts of events, and meeting members has really developed my people skills in a professional environment.

My digital skills have also expanded in developing copywriting and content creation, using new platforms like as Canva, CRM and Hootsuite. I’ve also

learnt how to send out mail merges, which was scary at first.

The first Chamber event I attended was the Summit last April, where I volunteered through the University of Sussex to help the team out. The day was packed full of lots of exciting activities and opportunities to meet people. There was an amazing keynote from Floella Benjamin. This was the first time I met the Chamber team, and it was great fun - and part of the reason I got the chance to do this internship.

I went to a Chamber Breakfast on my first day, and this was a fun and exciting way to start a new position and meet some members. The Bite-sized Learning event I attended on LinkedIn, run by Miles Duncan, gave me lots of new and useful tips - from how to construct an ‘about’ section to what sort of images are most appropriate to use for your header or headshot.

My favourites have been the networking events. At Slo-mo Networking, I got to network and meet lots of members. I really enjoyed the style of the event, sitting in groups of three, and each person in the trio had several minutes to speak about themselves. As well as hearing about members’ businesses, this helped me to perfect ‘pitching’ myself, and getting used to speaking to others about who I am and my aspirations.

The events have been the main highlight of my time at the Chamber, as I’ve had the chance to speak to people in many new and different ways.

I’ve also been helping Amy and Hannah on a membership project, speaking to members about their membership to understand their challenges, successes and how they use the Chamber. I’ve spoken to a range of members in person, virtually, and over the phone - from sole traders to owners of larger business and employees at different levels.

The types of businesses that people work for have been so varied - from individuals working in photography, the music industry, and events to financial services, marketing and law, and it has been great to hear about the different industries and professions. Some I didn’t know existed! After leaving the Chamber, I have a lot of big changes going on.

I am officially moving on from the Brighton chapter of my life - where I have lived and studied, having graduated in July. The few weeks following the end of my internship I will be starting a new position as a Sales Development Representative at Intercity Technology in Birmingham, as well as packing up all my possessions and helping my mum with the big move up from Surrey to the Midlands.

My future plans are to continue to travel and see the world - my next trip booked is to Vegas - and, in the long-term, my best friend and I plan to travel around South-East Asia. I will also be returning to Brighton to help the team at the next Summit.

* Immy’s internship at Brighton Chamber was through the University of Sussex. Find out more about internships on the University of Sussex’s Career Labs page at sussex.ac.uk/careers/services/careerlab

For more information about Brighton Chamber, visit brightonchamber.co.uk