FACT CHECKED: Jeremy Vine “Electric cars are the biggest con trick inflicted on society.”

#jeremyvine #channel5 #electriccars

At Electrifying we like to get the facts straight. Unlike some channels, we freely admit that not everything about electric cars is perfect. Far from it. There’s a long way to go before electric cars are a viable and affordable option for all drivers.

But we’re not fans of false information. And the interview in question was rather full of it. In the interests of balance, we’ve taken a close look at what was said and checked every ‘fact’ carefully. Join Ginny and Tom as they sort the facts from the fiction.

Did you see the interview? Do you think Jeremy Vine and Mike Parry have valid opinions on electric cars. As always, let us know in the comments below.

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00:00 Intro
01:02 “‘I think politicians invented the electric car”
03:01 “Children in Africa have to go into mines and mine cobalt for batteries”
04:56 “An electric car is twice the weight of an ordinary car, so they are being banned from car parks.”
07:49 “Electric cars shred the tyres much more quickly and spray fibres into the air all the time”
09:09 "If all the cars run on electric they’d suck all of the electricity out of the national grid"
10:37 "The biggest lithium mine in the world is in your bottom drawer"
12:23 "You can’t charge them….another 120 miles and bang – it’s all gone"

[martindenny]

Biggest con was 'Buy diesel cars' that went well, many people did and they are now vilified for it

[jupiterfive]

Bear in mind that just last week, power companies were politely asking their customers to try their best to reduce usage and to run appliances such as washing machines during the night due to the demands on electricity that winter invariably brings. Quite how the national grid is expected to cope when millions of EV's are added to the equation is beyond me, especially when usage peaks when many are connected upon returning home from work in the early evening. Just where is all the extra electricity supposed to come from?

[iancorfield]

People I know that have bought electric cars have all regretted it, range anxiety, lack of charging points, length of time to charge, cost of electricity, range not as good as manufacturers say and even worse in cold weather, to name a few, Plus the initial cost which is higher than petrol or diesel models

[pipstein]

Jeremy Vine hosted a similar programme on BBC Radio2, full of guff and inaccuracy . Quentin Wilson a very experienced motoring journalist was a guest and did a fantastic job of tearing through the BS and pointing out all the fallacies while not shying away from the challenges.

[darralnolan]

I had a Peugeot 206E up until last year. Got rid of it because it would do half the miles it was supposed to do and every time I went to go and charge it there was a problem with the chargers I ended up trading it in for fiesta hybrid, the charging infrastructure just isn't there yet and it won't be for another 10 years or so. Getting charge at the moment can be hard enough but so imagine what it's going to be like when more than 50% of the population are driving. EVs.

[nealjones]

We live in a rural hilly area and even my wife's electric bike does only half the quoted mileage. Local electric drivers also quoted loosing another 15% of distance during the cold snap + a lack of fast chargers make it harder to justify running an electric car in rural areas.

[williammincher]

They literally had to ask people in California not to charge their cars because the grid couldn't cope with the demand. This is only the beginning what about when everyone has them

[fungiformenow]

Yes, of course I believe everything you two tell us.

[stevezodiac]

I have had an electric car for 7 years nearly. I only use it now tethered to it's home charger range because the infrastructure started off as being abysmal and is steadily getting much worse because the charger / car ratio is reducing, not increasing. 2 years ago there were 16 electric cars per charger, now there are 30 electric cars per charger, nearly twice as bad. Not only that most of them are broken or not in use. As well as that there is no price advantage doing long journeys on electricity as opposed to diesel. They are now taxing you the same as any other vehicle as well. Smart home chargers can only be installed at home now, that is probably there to measure the electricity you use in your car, apply the fuel duty to it that they are losing on ice cars and then apply vat at 20% instead of the domestic 5 %. About 8 times this year, I have been asked by octopus and now the national grid to lower my electricity consumption as far as possible due to the weather being cold, no wind and problems with electricity supply from France. Then you say that there is no problem charging millions of extra cars ? when we can't satisfy domestic needs now ? Electric cars are a very expensive nightmare and getting worse. I am glad I also have ice cars because I could not use my electric car for all my motoring needs without one. This program seems to be an Ostrich, head in the sand propoganda channel. Keep up the good work, trouble is nobody believes you any more. Do an article about all the Teslas stuck at Tebay and other places for hours waiting for others to charge over tge x mas period. Even Teslas now ! The whole thing is a joke. The public knows the punch line now though.

[stuartcarlton]

I'm not sure you could expect anything factual from many TV and Newspaper journalists and that programme is no different! Research just isn't on their agenda because they would be unable to sensationalise their stories. Sadly, however, there is a very large proportion of the population believe them. Please keep up your excellent work (and research!) Videos such as this should be made widely available (perhaps on the Jeremy Vine Show!😃)

[gzknk]

45 minutes is a heck of a long time to refuel a car compared to 2 minutes for an IC car. And that;'s assuming you can find a working charger that isn't already in use.

[andybowie]

There's something that nobody ever mentions and I suppose a lot of people don't understand... probably the people to whom a car is just as interesting as a washing machine is to me. Its a thing that serves a purpose, to get to work and back and no more. But I enjoy driving my car. There are some who would shake their head in disbelief to hear that sometimes i drive it just for the sake of driving it and not specifically to go somewhere. I have motorbikes too, purely for fun. No, really! Some of us don't want an electric car. I have a v6 engined car. I love the sound it makes. I love that if I need to fill it up it takes about 3 minutes and not an hour or whatever. Not to mention that not everyone has a driveway to charge it at home and would need to find a charger somewhere else. I don't want the choice of what I drive taken away from me. If you can justify the mining for minerals and the drain on the grid and the wasted time it takes to recharge the thing and can live with the range anxiety every time you go for a long drive, scared to put the heated seats on as it reduces your range then fine, thats your choice and I have no issues with that but I wish someone would realise that the ICE is not the cause of all that is wrong in the world and maybe synthetic petrol or hydrogen power is a real alternative for when oil finally runs out. And tell me this, how will the government replace the billions of pounds they currently rake in from fuel duty?

[bensmith]

Who’d have thought that Vine and his show would intentionally spread misinformation!!! Imagine the shock.

[ricjrob]

Love this. If we could rewind time to when the first combustion engines came out I bet you would find the same thing. Horse Owner "Well you can't find any fuel for your car where as my horse just eats grass and there's lots of that about"

[robertgibson]

One aspect I don't hear anyone talk about is in times of disasters when the power is cut for days and weeks. Electric cars are utterly useless. It's diesel and petrol vehicles that do all the work necessary to rescue and rebuild infrastructure. Good luck using your electric when it's had no charge for the duration.

[davidjones]

My faithful old 1990 VW Passat still has its original 1.6 Turbo intercooled diesel engine and came as standard with a 25+ gallon fuel tank. At a steady 60mph it does 55mpg. This gives a range of 1375 miles between fill ups, that's also nearly 23 hours of non stop motoring if i could stay awake that long.
My satnav tells me my home here in the Black Country, West Midlands is
1154 mikes from Warsaw.
1209 miles from Budapest.
1310 miles from Kosovo.
1315 mikes from Stockholm.
1359 miles from Naples.
Any destinations above are achievable on one tank of diesel, and without any need to stop for fuel.
All that said, if I could have purchased a current modern electric car back in 1990 instead of my Diesel VW Passat, how many sets of batteries would i have gone through in the past 33 years? Even if a set lasted 10 years I'd now be on my 4th set. So, 33 going forward, how many of the currently available electric cars will still be on the road in 2056 to run alongside my old Passat which will still be cruising along at 60mph.

[zasadacrew]

When guy was talking about invention of electric vehicles he meant this sudden urgency from governments to push for electric vehicles.
How many people believe that their government is there to represent ordinary people and not their rich buddies?

[-NetGate]

Anyone who wants a combustion car should buy it and enjoy it. I will never buy a combustion car again, simply because it does not satisfy my needs for the cost and pleasure that an electric car offers me.

[paulnoone]

Hello, in regard to the long queues at Tebay over Christmas can I say I was the guy in the red model 3 at the head of the queue, this was the second time only in 18 months I’ve ever queued. It did take ca. 4 hrs to wait - charge and go, however what’s not been mentioned was that there was a problem with the charge stations which during charging tended to deliver only 6 - 7 kw, or a charge rate of ca. 30 miles / hr hence the very long queue. Contrast this to a fully operative charge station that would have charged at ca. 400 miles per hr, or a 250kw station capable of 100 miles in ten minutes. Luddite’s make you smile - If you have a lack of understanding on a subject coupled with a biased view point you’re never going to deliver a balanced arguement - just sayin 😂

[chrisbailey]

There should be some fact checking on sensationalist shows, to stop them saying it's our guest's opinion so we can broadcast things that are not true. Either have an on screen warning like YouTube with Covid or 5 mins at the end for an informed response. The I-Pace man seems just to have done it for publicity, and some lapped it up without thinking that a very odd way to operate and choose that particular EV.