Experts have come out swinging in response to claims that electric vehicles are more likely to cause damage to roads and create potholes.
Critics of electric cars have long accused zero emission vehicles of having an impact on the quality of roads because they tend to be heavier.
Electric vehicles tend to be heavier given the weight of the batteries, with larger electric SUVs often weighing more than two tonnes.
Some of the largest vehicles will weigh even more including the Rolls-Royce Spectre at 2,975kg, the Tesla Cybertruck at 2,995kg and the Mercedes-Benz G 580 EQ at 3,085kg.
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The Tesla Cybertruck weighs almost three tonnes
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With the scourge of potholes dominating public discourse and impacting drivers on the road every day, experts are calling on drivers to understand that EVs are not part of the problem.
Stephen Cooke, MD of the Asphalt Group, said: “Let’s be crystal clear, EVs are not the cause of the current state of the UK’s roads.
“The real reason is a lack of investment in the solutions of the future, and a lack of awareness of what’s available.”
Cooke said that “sticking plaster” solutions are unacceptable as they do not address the issue at hand and continue to hammer drivers with expensive costs from car repairs.
Recent data from the RAC found that pothole-related breakdowns have jumped by 53 per cent in the first quarter of 2024 as a result of poor road surfaces.
The breakdown recovery agency attended more than 7,900 breakdowns between January and March as a result of potholes, with the RAC describing it as a “pothole epidemic”.
The Asphalt Group are now calling on the Government to speak directly with the industry to offer a “societal win” which could potentially save taxpayers billions of pounds of money.
Quentin Willson, founder of FairCharge, said: “Blaming EVs for potholes is laughable since they’re only around three per cent of all vehicles on UK roads.
“I’m pleased that road repair experts, Asphalt Group, and the Shadow Minister for Roads, Bill Esterson, have joined FairCharge’s calls for facts and accuracy in the exaggerated media reports linking the weight of EV batteries to road damage.
“Instead, we should focus on how to create long-term solutions for fixing the worst levels of potholes that the asphalt industry has seen for 29 years.”
The Government has pledged to tackle the “scourge of potholes” with £8.3billion worth of funding over the next 11 years.
Bill Esterson, Shadow Road and Transport Minister, said the UK has a £16.3billion backlog of repairs from potholes – something he described as “simply unacceptable”.
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He added: “There are 100 times as many potholes as there are craters on the moon.
“Rather than looking for conspiracy theories and scapegoats, we need a plan to fix the roads.
“That means replacing the sticking plasters and gimmicks with a sustainable approach and long-term resurfacing and prevention in their place.”
