Electric driving lessons: AA Driving School adds electric cars to fleet

The AA Driving School is adding Peugeot e-208, Peugeot e-2008 and Vauxhall Corsa-e electric cars to its fleet, with instructors in London, Liverpool and Cardiff among the first to start offering electric lessons. It claims that introduction of zero-emissions vehicles has the potential to save 1,700 tonnes of carbon a year.

Citing a recent survey, the motoring organisation says 40% of learner drivers would like to switch to electric lessons, with 67% saying they’d consider driving an electric car in the future. Even greater enthusiasm was reported among AA Driving School instructors, with 78% saying they’d switch to an electric car if they could, primarily because of lower running costs.

Mark Oakley, the interim managing director of the AA Driving School, said: “We are really excited to be launching electric vehicles onto our fleet. We’ve been speaking to our instructors for a little while and have been thrilled with how positive they are about the switch, following a successful EV trial last year."

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He continued: “We hope to expand our offering in the coming months. We are fully committed to bringing EV lessons to the whole of the UK and transform our environmental impact over the coming years."

The AA says its electric driving lessons will be broadly similar to those taken in combustion-engined cars, but will incorporate knowledge of charging, EV-specific dashboard readouts and symbols and how regenerative braking works. Refresher lessons covering these topics for qualified drivers who are new to electric cars will also be available.

These areas currently do not form part of the UK driving test, however. In addition, drivers who take the test in an electric car will only be qualified to drive automatic vehicles; should they wish to drive a manual-gearbox combustion-engined car, they would have to take the test again in one.