Jim Hughes, a senior contract engineer at Actemium Coventry, swapped his diesel company car for an electric vehicle (EV) three years ago and has never looked back. Here he shares his experience of making the switch.

What does your job involve and how far do you need to travel?

As a senior contract engineer at Actemium Coventry, I travel all over the country overseeing the installation of EV charging solutions, including the charging points, grid connection, battery storage and even local energy generation through solar cells. Projects range from office car park charging for employees and visitors to entire fleet charging solutions for vans, trucks or buses. Some simple installations are complete in a day but most last between two and five weeks. I’m typically on site several times a week and that could be anywhere from Carlisle to Plymouth, so I spend a lot of time in my car.

Why did you choose to go electric?

I switched over to an electric car when I joined the EV charging team at Actemium Coventry three years ago. Prior to that I had spent 10 years at Actemium Birmingham Automotive and had a passing interest in EVs but when I took up the challenge at Actemium Coventry I immediately wanted to change. If I were going to be responsible for installing EV charging and promoting the use of EVs as part of the energy transition, then I had to drive one myself. Beside the environmental benefits, the tax breaks on EV company cars made it a smart choice financially too.

How smooth was the switch from diesel to electric?

My first EV was a Hyundai IONIQ, which was a lovely car. It was a nice drive – much better than a diesel or petrol car – and had all the mod-cons and niceties. Sadly, the range (130-140 miles) wasn’t great enough for me and I was having to spend a lot of time charging so I passed it onto a colleague who doesn’t do as much mileage. Now I have a KIA Niro which has a much greater range (260-270 miles) and it’s like sitting in an armchair. When I switch on the cruise control on the motorway, it pretty much drives itself. It maintains a safe distance, comes to a stop in traffic jams – all I need to do is turn the wheel. And it’s so quiet, which means I can listen to the stereo better, but I appreciate that it makes a replacement engine noise at low speeds to warn pedestrians.

How do you get on with the charging?

It’s really easy. I have charger at home, I can charge at the Actemium Coventry site and the network of DC chargers across the country is improving all the time. You do have to be aware of the charge you have and plan your journeys a bit differently. You need to check where the local chargers are and if they are operational, but you can do that on your phone. There are apps that give you charging locations, status, rates and other people’s experiences at the sites.

How does driving an EV match your expectations?

It’s better than I expected. You can be a bit apprehensive when picking up new technology. You wonder how you will get on with it and how the charging will go. But after the first few weeks when I had been out and about and found the charging no problem, I fell in love with it. I would recommend an EV to anyone over a petrol or diesel car and not just because I’m in the business of EV charging installation. It’s a nice drive and if I didn’t have an EV company car I would buy one for myself.