Weight of electric vehicles could cause ‘catastrophic’ damage and ‘lead to car parks collapsing’

Engineers have warned that multi-story and underground parking garages could collapse under the weight of electric vehicles.

Electric cars, which are about twice as heavy as standard models, could cause ‘catastrophic’ damage, according to the British Parking Association (BPA), which wants local authorities to carry out an urgent structural investigation.

Most of the country’s 6,000 multi-storey and underground facilities were built to guidelines based on the weight of popular 1976 cars, including the Mk 3 Ford Cortina.

But the electric cars currently on the UK market are much bigger. For example, the best-selling Tesla Model 3 weighs 2.2 tons fully loaded, making it more than 50 percent heavier than a 1.4-ton Cortina.

Structural engineer Chris Whapples, a member of the BPA who represents car park owners, said: ‘If a vehicle is heavier than the car park was originally designed for, the consequences could be catastrophic. We haven’t had an incident yet, but I suspect it’s only a matter of time.

‘We have advised to carry out a load check at all older car parks. And the industry is responding.’

Electric vehicles are heavier primarily because of the batteries used to power them, and the reinforced frame and suspension required to transport them.

“All the internal components make these batteries very, very heavy,” said Mr. Whapples. ‘Nowadays the battery forms the underfloor of most EVs. It covers almost the entire footprint of the vehicle, from axle to axle.”

Electric cars have exploded in popularity in recent years. Today there are an estimated 620,000 on the road in the UK and 440,000 plug-in hybrids running on both petrol and electric.

One in ten new cars sold in 2021 was electric, while another seven percent were hybrid.

Sales are expected to surpass diesels by the end of this year, an increase fueled by environmental concerns, but also by rising diesel costs, city center congestion charging and London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone.

Most of the country’s 6,000 multi-story and underground facilities were built to popular car weight guidelines from 1976

But Mr Whapples said the increasing risks to infrastructure such as car parks and bridges are not being recognised.

“When you start to see the weights of the vehicles coming out of the factories, you start to wonder if the existing standards are adequate,” he added.

The Institute of Structural Engineers will update its design recommendations for multi-story and underground parking garages in January, to recommend larger parking bays and an ability to withstand higher loads.

However, this only pertains to new buildings – and reinforcing existing car parks can prove prohibitively expensive.

In the meantime, Mr Whapples suggests that some car parks may restrict vehicle access based on their weight.

Britain’s heaviest electric car weighs FOUR TONNES

A report earlier this year pointed to the increasing weight of larger electric SUV models and warned that adding more mass could lead owners to potentially violate their driver’s license rules.

It’s because the giant Hummer Electric is now sold to customers through a UK dealer who imports them from the US for £320,000 each.

This behemoth of a pick-up weighs a whopping 4,103 kg. To put it in perspective, that’s almost two Range Rovers

The vehicle tips the scales at a colossal 4,103 kg.

To put that in perspective, that’s almost three Ford Cortinas.

The battery pack alone even weighs 1,326 kg, which is heavier than a Ford Fiesta currently sold in showrooms.

The colossal weight will pose a legal problem for drivers under 42 years of age purchasing one, as they must pass an additional test to legally get behind the wheel.

A normal driver’s license is simply not suitable for a vehicle of this tonnage.

For those who passed their test after January 1997 and hold a conventional ‘Category B’ car driving licence, the maximum legal mass (MAM) of a vehicle is 3.5 tonnes – you can read more about MAM here.

Anything above that weight – such as the 4.1-tonne Hummer EV – means a conventional driver’s license becomes invalid and a ‘Category C1’ truck license is the legal requirement.

You can only achieve this by taking a separate driving test to demonstrate your ability to drive a vehicle up to 7.5 tons.

It won’t be a problem for older drivers who passed their exam before January 1997; they have automatic rights – known as ‘grandfather rights’ – to drive vehicles up to 7.5 tons, as they were given the C1 right when they passed.