Can I tow with an electric car?
Yes, you can and in some ways with their instant power, they are better than fossil fuelled models.
Finding a suitable vehicle is much more difficult; as manufacturers are already struggling with range anxiety and as a result, they are not putting their EV models through the mandatory testing required to seek ‘Type Approval’, as this would drastically decrease their efficiency range.
There is also the weight of the EV to consider, as obviously they are much heavier than a similar fossil fuelled model and may already have ‘beefed-up’ suspension components all adding to total weight.
Most EV’s feature regenerative braking, which coverts kinetic energy caused by braking and pumps that ‘free’ energy, back into the battery. Just lifting off the accelerator pedal in some EVs creates a braking effect that could have unwanted effect on a trailer, if you’re unprepared and especially if going downhill.
Also an excess of kinetic created by the car and trailer together, has the potential to damage the expensive power-train.
Hence if the vehicle has not been ‘Type Approved’ for towing, do not go ahead anyway, as in the event of an accident you could be in trouble with the Police and your insurance company! Plus of course the effect on the vehicles warranty?
At time of writing this article the Tesla Model X has a clever “Trailer Mode” which disables many of the car’s driver assistance features, like cruise control and has a system that detects trailer sway and automatically applies the brakes to individual wheels to counteract sway.
But with a price tag of just this side of £80,000 it is well beyond those that have been used to ‘cheap’ towing vehicles!
Towing can of course reduce manufacturers claimed range significantly so requiring more stops for recharging. Also and importantly, how many public charging points can accommodate car and trailer?
There is a whole world of reasons why people want to tow a trailer, car/water sports, horse box/livestock, industrial maintenance/services, farmers, caravans, mobile food outlets, etc all are now being heavily discriminated against, as the city centric ‘Westminster Bubble’ seeks to destroy the fabric of the English way of life and the enjoyment of millions of people
The ‘War on the Driver’ has many facets!
Footnote. There are always continuous improvements to vehicles, but these are a long way off for those wishing to continue to use their vehicles for towing, whether that is business or recreational purposes.
