The national grid would collapse if everyone switched to electric cars, an environmental group has revealed. The Environmental Transport Association has criticised Prime Minister Gordon Brown for suggesting all British motorists will be driving electric or hybrid cars by 2020 and says higher taxes are not the way to stop people using petrol.
Electric and hybrid cars are currently an expensive and impractical alternative to petrol and diesel models, the group said. A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association added: ‘Many government ministers already have the use of a Toyota Prius hybrid car, but at almost £18,000 this type of car is out of reach for most people – high motoring taxes cannot cajole every British driver into an electric car if the market is not ready.’
The ETA believes that if everyone switched to electric cars the national grid would be unable to cope and said the question of where this additional capacity would come from was not addressed by Mr Brown. The ETA is a not-for-profit organisation that lobbies for sustainable travel and alternative motoring.
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