Evie, Jolt Travolta, Sparky McChargeface: Would you name your Electric Vehicle?
It’s a convention as old as the automotive industry itself, yet the new wave of electric vehicles hitting the road is prompting a fresh trend for people giving their cutting-edge EVs humanising names.
It’s a comical habit for drivers in the UK to christen their vehicles and is symptomatic of the emotional bond that leads many of us consider cars or vans to be a member of the family.
The trend is now taking on a new evolution as the influx of electric models forge new avenues for quirky monikers that reflect the technology that powers them, according to a new survey commissioned by Isuzu UK.
The Japanese commercial vehicle manufacturer is gearing up to launch its first-ever electric model – the Isuzu D-Max EV – which will become one of the first fully-electric pick-up trucks to hit the market.
Indeed, with the shift to electric power dictated by a necessity to reduce the world’s carbon footprint and be more respectful to the environment around us, it is this ‘kinder’ way of thinking that is apparently leading us to extend a similar fondness to cleaner, greener vehicles.
This affection has seen electric vehicles take on their own naming culture, with the appropriately worded ‘Evie’ (as in E-V, geddit?) topping the survey of most common names given by owners’ to their electric vehicles.
Then there is Sparky, Volt and Electron which rank highly in a direct connotation to the electronic powertrain... but from here the puns get a bit more tenuous.
It means there are electric vehicles out there right now that have been christened Charge Clooney, Zap Efron, Morgan Freecharge and Jolt Travolta (why not John Travoltage?!).
Sparky McChargeface and Silent but Deadly deserve greater love, however.
Elsewhere, 32 per cent of respondents believe they are seen as a good potential partner because they drive an EV, while 44 per cent claim charging point etiquette – such as not parking in a charging spot if not charging or moving your car once it is charged – should become common lore.
TOP NICKNAMES FOR EV CARS, ACCORDING TO DRIVERS:
1. Evie – 29%
2. Herbie – 15%
3. Sparky – 13%
4. Yoda – 10%
5. Silent Ride – 9%
6. Electron – 8%
7. Voltaire – 8%
8. Charge Clooney – 7%
9. Precious – 7%
10. Volt – 7%
11. Ghost machine – 6%
12. Lighting – 6%
13. Whisper – 5%
14. Hushmobile – 5%
15. Watts Up? – 4%
16. E-Motion – 4%
17. AC/DC-Angelo – 4%
18. Zip – 4%
19. Jolt Travolta – 4%
20. Silent but deadly – 3%
21. Chargezilla – 3%
22. Sparky McChargeface – 3%
23. Watt Smith – 3%
24. Zap Efron – 3%
25. Morgan Freecharge – 3%
