Drivers have been warned about further problems with electric cars, as the latest battery-powered models continue to prove popular with buyers.
More and more EVs are finding their way onto UK roads, with manufacturers ramping up production and developing cars with bigger batteries to improve range and overall practicality.
The batteries used in EVs make them a lot heavier than petrol or diesel carsGetty
Some experts believe that older multi-storey car parks and bridges could struggle with the extra weight of electric vehiclesGetty
Experts recently highlighted an issue concerning older multi-storey car parks and their inability to cope with the increased weight of electric cars – with the ageing structures possibly at risk of collapse.
EVs are much heavier than the regular petrol or diesel cars of today, and certainly bulkier than models that were around in the 1960s and 70s – when a lot of high-rise car parks were built.
To combat the problem, new guidance on weight limits in car parks is being implemented.
Chris Whapples, a structural engineer, car park consultant and the man behind the new guidance, said in The Telegraph: “I don’t want to be too alarmist, but there definitely is the potential for some of the early car parks in poor condition to collapse.”
But the weighty issue doesn’t end there, as government ministers have also suggested that local councils should be checking the weight limits on bridges – to ensure they don’t collapse with the increase in heavier electric cars moving across them.
Tory MP Greg Knight commented: “Electric vehicles can be up to 33 per cent heavier than the equivalent petrol propelled vehicle and it is important that those, who ensure our roads and bridges are safe, factor them into account.”
With up to 11 million hybrid or fully-electric cars anticipated to be on UK roads by 2030, it would seem vitally important that those responsible for such infrastructure ensure that measures are put in place as quickly as possible to help avoid any potential tragedy.