By 2035, the only new cars on the market will be powered by electric with the sale of petrol and diesels banned.
So, if you’re a teenager planning on driving in the next five years does it make sense to take your test in an EV?
Certainly, the trend is already towards automatic cars. A study by CarGurus found just over a quarter of new cars on sale have a manual gearbox with some top brands only selling cars with an automatic transmission.
And as the percentage of electric cars on sale continues to increase, the number of manual cars available will also continue to fall.
If you’re starting your driving journey, most of your driving life could be spent behind the wheel of an automatic or electric car so it might make sense to learn in the same type of car.
So let’s explore the question of can you learn to drive in an electric car?
Driving lessons and the driving test in an electric car
The simple answer is yes, you can learn to drive and take the UK driving test in an electric car. And driving schools are responding by making it more common to offer EV lessons.
The test in an EV and the associated lessons are identical to learning to drive in a petrol or diesel car. Of course, there are nuances to driving an electric car that you’ll need to get used to – like regenerative braking.
You’ll also find life with an electric motor smoother and quieter and there’s no need to worry about clutch control.
But once you pass your test, you’ll be given a Category B auto licence – just as if you’d learnt to drive in a car with an automatic gearbox.
With an automatic licence you won’t be able to drive a car with a manual transmission – but as explained above those are decreasing in number.
If you do learn to drive in a manual petrol or diesel car then you get a standard Category B driving licence, also known as a full car driving licence in the UK. This means you can drive any vehicle, including EVs… you don’t need any specialist licence to drive an automatic or electric car.
Finding an EV driving instructor
If you want to learn to drive in an EV, you’ll need to find a suitable driving instructor. But how easy is that?
A study by GRIDSERVE found that just one in seven young drivers are able to find a local instructor with an electric vehicle to teach them how to drive.
The data reveals it’s a postcode lottery when it comes to electric car lessons, with provisional license holders in London most likely to be able to find an EV instructor (41%), followed by the West Midlands (23%).
It’s a different story in Yorkshire and the Humber and the East of England where just one in 10 could find one.
It means that in the past five years, despite record numbers of EVs on the roads, just 9% of parents saw their kids pass the test in an electric car.
The best way to find a driving instructor with an electric vehicle is to research driving schools that offer lessons in an EV. They’ll then be able to pair you with an EV instructor.
Best EVs to buy for your first car
The all-rounder: BYD Dolphin
Value, comfort, range, technology, space…and an odd name: the BYD Dolphin has plenty going for it as an electric car for new drivers. The fact it’s very easy to drive is the icing on the cake.
The long ranger: MG4
The MG4 is an affordable EV favourite at GRIDSERVE. It’s a lot of car for the money, will prove fun to drive once the learner plates come off, and it’ll officially manage up to 323 miles on a charge in Extended Range form.
The head turner: Jeep Avenger
Jeep’s first electric car might look like a chunky SUV but the Jeep Avenger actually cute and compact. With a smart interior, decent range and good view out thanks to a raised driving position, it’s a solid first electric car.
The efficiency expert: Volkswagen ID.3
While there’s a bigger battery Volkswagen ID.3, the smaller 58kWh version is the star of the show for efficiency. Easily managing well over four miles per kWh, it’s extremely cheap to run and also easy to drive.
The city slicker: Fiat 500
Size matters when you’re learning to drive in the city, and the Fiat 500 is small. It’s incredibly easy to drive and park, but it’s also a proper style icon.
The credit cruncher: GWM Ora 03
The Funky Cat is no more! Now called the Ora 03, the quirky electric car deliver a head-turning design, lots of equipment and – above all – immense value-for-money.
