If electric cars are not appealing to you, but you still would like a private vehicle because public transport is not good in your area, then there are many alternatives to consider. There are lots of forms of low carbon electric vehicles, which are known as ‘zero emission powered light vehicles’ for you to choose from. They have very low emissions because they are powered by electricity, they are lighter and have no tailpipe emissions like diesel and petrol vehicles. Zero emissions powered light vehicles differ from electric cars because they are smaller and lighter. It is also possible to get a government grant for buying these vehicles, if you meet certain criteria.

Electric micro car

Electric micro cars are good for city driving and vary in the amount of people it can carry. They are usually for one or two people but can expand to four people or two seats and a cargo area. They come in low powered versions and high-powered versions which changes the speed they can go at. Low-powered versions go up to 45 km per hour and high-powered versions go up to 90 km per hour.  

Electric motorcycles

Electric motorcycles come in three categories of power output. They can also come with a sidecar for an extra passenger. They are the most common form of zero emission powered light vehicles.

Electric mopeds

It is possible to get two-wheel and three-wheel mopeds. A two-wheeled moped have a top speed of 45 km per hour. Three-wheeled mopeds are similar to a small car, with more space and are designed to carry a much heavier weight depending whether they are low-powered or high-powered. Low-powered mopeds carry up to 270kg and high-powered mopeds can carry 1000kg and therefore is good for shopping or carrying work equipment. It is possible to electric mopeds to have up to five seats and move at 90 km per hour. They also have the advantage of moving easily through traffic.

Electric cycles

Electric bicycles, also known as e-bikes, go much faster than an ordinary bicycle and make going uphill much easier. There are lots of types of e-bikes depending on your needs, such as commuter bikes, mountain bikes, cargo bikes and foldable bikes. It is possible to get an e-bike for any type of trip and to travel with more than one person. The health benefits are big and the savings from substituting only some of your car journeys for an e-bike could be huge. It will cost you 4 pence to cycle 10 miles with an e-bike, whilst driving the same distance by diesel car will cost you £1.50.

The cost of charging/fuelling vehicles

Research by The Energy Saving Trust calculated the difference of refuelling different vehicles:

Electric motorbike                                  £1.16

Electric heavy quadricycle                  £2.99

Petrol motorbike                                      £17.52

Electric car                                                 £23.24

Petrol car                                                    £80.30

This shows that huge savings can be made by switching away from petrol cars to low carbon vehicles.