Mansfield and Ashfield drivers turned off by electric cars

Despite manufacturers lowering prices and increasing the range of their cars, during 2018 there were only 37 new electric vehicles registered in Mansfield and just 29 in Ashfield.

The latest Department for Transport statistics show the number of registered electric or plug-in hybrid cars, vans and micro-cars called quadricycles in Mansfield, Ashfield and Newark & Sherwood.

By December last year, there were 139 electric vehicles in Mansfield and 144 in Ashfield.

By contrast, neighbouring Newark & Sherwood has been keener to go electric with 243 electric vehicles registered - a rise of 45 per cent on the previous year .

This is much lower than the vast majority of the country, and goes against the increased accessibility and practicality of electric cars in recent years.

The latest Nissan Leaf, the UK's most popular entirely electric car, can now travel 235 miles before it needs to be recharged, 80 miles more than the previous version.

Over the next year BP will install charging points at its petrol stations, following Shell's roll-out in 2017.

Dyson has also said it plans to release an electric car by 2020.

One advantage electric car users have over other vehicles is that they do not have to pay road tax, as they do not release any emissions.

Electricity is also far cheaper than petrol and diesel, and green drivers have the satisfaction of helping save the planet.

However, in November, the Government reduced the maximum discount electric car buyers could get from £4,500 to £3,500.

Unsurprisingly, plug-in vehicles still make up a tiny percentage of the cars on the road in Mansfield with only 139 electric cars out of 61,725 vehicles in total.

In Ashfield, the total was 144 electric cars out of 72,844 vehicles in total, and in Newark & Sherwood it was 243 electric cars out of 79,624 vehicles in total.