Currently reading: RAC launches EV flat-battery recovery scheme
UK-developed device can recharge 99% of electric vehicles stranded at the roadside

The RAC has launched a new emergency charger for drivers of electric vehicles stranded at the roadside.  

Called EV Boost, the EV recovery device has been installed on six of the breakdown service’s Ford Transit Custom patrol vans ahead of a large-scale roll-out over the coming years. 

As with the RAC’s Fuel Assist service, customers with an EV that’s run out of charge will receive a top-up boost, allowing them to progress to the nearest charging point. 

The EV Boost system is powered by an electrical generator mated to the patrol van’s 1.9-litre diesel engine, and sends charge through an inverter to the power unit in the stranded EV. The RAC says the charging device is compatible with all Type 1 and 2 connections, accounting for the vast majority of EVs on UK roads. 

It has been developed by the RAC in partnership with Original Ltd, a Shrewsbury-based automotive engineering firm. The initiative is the first of its kind in the UK, and highlights the need for recovery services to adapt to growing demand for electric vehicles.

Broken-down EVs usually have to be transported by flatbed truck, which makes recovery a slower, more expensive process. With its new charging device, the RAC aims to restart stranded EVs as quickly as possible, in order to minimise traffic disruption. 

Chris Millward, head of roadside rescue at the RAC, said: “With nothing like it on the market, the real challenge was to develop a mobile EV-charger system which is compact and light enough to fit into our normal patrol vehicles.” 

2019 Rac hd 4x4 patrol van front on

Alongside the portable charging scheme, the RAC has unveiled a new Isuzu D-Max heavy-duty patrol vehicle.

Equipped with a 1.9-litre diesel engine, a 2.8-tonne towing capacity and four-wheel drive, the RAC says the 50 new vehicles will be able to recover “up to 90% of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles”. 

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Felix Page

Felix Page
Title: News and features editor

Felix is Autocar's news editor, responsible for leading the brand's agenda-shaping coverage across all facets of the global automotive industry - both in print and online.

He has interviewed the most powerful and widely respected people in motoring, covered the reveals and launches of today's most important cars, and broken some of the biggest automotive stories of the last few years. 

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NotHandMade 30 April 2019

Tow?

Just tow the customer it will be a great deal quicker and most (I guess all) recovery vehicles can already do it.

An electric recovery vehicle would be a good upgrade.

405line 30 April 2019

That's prawgress...

And not for the first time the reality and the hype are at odds.

405line 30 April 2019

That's prawgress...

And not for the first time the reality and the hype are at odds.