I feel a little duped by electric cars – I tell most of my friends not to get one, says car-loving actor Rowan Atkinson
PETROLHEAD Rowan Atkinson has slammed electric cars as he revealed he’s warned his friends to avoid them.
The Mr Bean star, 68, brought his first hybrid 18 years ago but has now said he now feels “a little duped”.
Mr Atkinson, who has a degree in electrical and electronic engineering, said greenhouse gas emissions are 70 per cent higher in the production of electric cars than petrol vehicles.
“Electric motoring isn’t the environmental solution it is claimed to be,” he wrote in an essay for The Guardian.
He accused car makers of following a “fast fashion” model and urged motorists to keep their vehicles for longer.
“It’s sobering to think that if the first owners of new cars just kept them for five years, on average, instead of the current three, then car production and the CO2 emissions associated with it, would be vastly reduced,” he added.
Mr Atkinson claims cars already in production should be altered to make them more environmentally friendly, rather than banned altogether.
All petrol and diesel vehicles could be banned by 2030, according to current government plans.
Mr Atkinson claims when friends ask if they should make the switch to electric he asks them to “hold off for now”.
The only exceptions, he adds, are if the car is an old diesel or they’re doing a lot of city centre driving.
Atkinson, a self-confessed petrolhead, boasts an incredible car collection including a £400k Rolls Royce and a Bentley with a built-in TV.
Atkinson’s luxurious fleet of motors are estimated to be worth over £12million.
And they are a far cry from the Mini Cooper he zipped back and forth in while playing the ever-popular Mr Bean.
Just recently he put up a rare classic car for auction which is set to fetch a fortune.
His best motors include a 1997 McLaren F1 worth £9.9million, a 2014 Bentley Mulsanne Birkin worth £303,000 and a £415,000 Rolls Royce Ghost, according to The Richest.
Meanwhile, it’s been revealed recharging electric cars at public points costs more to run than petrol motors.
And an industry body warned electric cars could worsen potholes.